Silencers or Suppressors?

How do silencers work?

Early in the 20th century, the term' silencer' was the name coined by Hiram Maxim when he invented and patented the first apparatus to reduce a firearm's noise when it was fired. The silencer is a muzzle device attached to the barrel of a pistol or rifle that reduces the sound made when the gun is fired. While the device did not completely silence the sound made, it did suppress the firearm's noise. Thus, the term suppressor is commonly used instead of silencer.

The sound from firing a gun comes from two primary sources.

The Muzzle Blast and the Supersonic Boom, or small shockwave, of the bullet traveling faster than the speed of sound. The Muzzle blast is the loudest of the two components and is the component that a silencer can suppress.

• The Supersonic Boom: A small shockwave is created when a bullet exceeds the speed of sound (1,125 ft per second), similar to how jets break the sound barrier. A silencer cannot eliminate this, but using subsonic ammunition can eliminate the supersonic boom.
• The Muzzle Blast: Rapidly expanding high-pressure gases send the bullet down the barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the muzzle of the gun, the gases that were confined in the barrel rapidly expand, creating the 'muzzle blast'. Similar to popping a balloon, a sudden release of high-pressure air into ambient air creates an explosive sound. The primary job of a silencer is to suppress the muzzle blast by acting like an exhaust system, where the silencer slows down the hot, high-pressure gases when the gun is discharged.

The Components and Function of a Silencer

The primary function of a silencer is to suppress the muzzle blast. The typical components of a silencer are:

1. Outer Tube or the "Can," which is made of a durable metal such as Titanium, Inconel, or Stainless Steel
2. Baffles are a series of internal cone- or other complex-shaped internal partitions designed within the "Can". Each of these baffles has a bore hole slightly larger than the diameter of the bullet, allowing it to pass unimpeded.
   As the high-pressure gases follow the bullet throughout the suppressor, the baffles slow these gases, forcing them to expand into expansion chambers formed by the baffles. This process decelerates, cools, and reduces the pressure of the gases, preventing the sudden explosive decompression that would create a loud muzzle blast.
3. End Cap is at the end of the silencer, closest to the target point, and has an exit bore where the bullet exits after passing through the silencer.
4. Mounting Systems, such as a Direct Thread or a Quick Detach, are how the silencer is attached to the gun.