Optical Flash Essay

There are three main attributes that characterize gunfire facilitating the detection and location of gunfire. An optical flash, which occurs when an explosive charge is ignited to propel a projectile from the chamber of the weapon, a muzzle blast, and a shock wave which occurs as a projectile moves through the air at supersonic speeds (Maher 2007). The combination of a muzzle blast and a shockwave provides additional information that can be used along with the physics of acoustics and sound propagation to determine the range of a discharge to the sensor, especially if the round or type of projectile is known.