Do You Know This Scientific Secret?

According to the UK's Daily Mail, a professional explained the engineering behind this fancy toy, including how it fires sponge bullets in quick succession, and in a video posted on Youtube, Bill Hammack also showed how this spring-loaded toy gun fires all the bullets at the same time

In the released video, Bill Hammack reveals the engineering behind the Nerf toy gun, including how it fires sponge bullets in quick succession. Hammack explained that when the toy gun's handle is pulled down - the trigger is pulled up - the plunger moves with it, compressing the spring between the plunger and the bottom of the stock, and the bolt holds the plunger in place.

Bill Hammack, from the University of Illinois, maintains a Youtube channel in which he explains the science behind various everyday objects. This image shows that when the trigger of a Nerf toy gun is pulled, the bolt releases, releasing the energy of a spring that pushes the plunger upward.

As the plunger moves upward, it compresses air into the chamber and fires a sponge bullet. The plunger returns to its original position when the handle is pulled up again. Bill Hammack examined the engineering design of the Nerf toy gun to see how it fired bullets one by one.

Each chamber has a flapper that is pushed forward by a spring if there is no bullet in the chamber; if there is a bullet in the chamber, then the flapper will return to squeeze the spring. The position of the valve determines the path of air flow as the plunger moves upward.

What happens when air enters the bottom of the firing structure of a toy gun. The first empty chamber has an "O" ring that prevents the air from entering the chamber, so the air enters the second chamber and fires the bullet out. The spring then pushes the valve forward, providing a path for the air to enter the third chamber. "The design directs the air to the first chamber that is loaded, even if the bullet is loaded randomly."

Understanding this principle allows you to fire three bullets at the same time. You can leave a little gap when two of the bullets are chambered so that when the trigger is pulled, the airflow is compressed into all three chambers, firing all three sponge bullets at the same time. Since the air is diverted, the three bullets will travel at a smaller speed than when fired individually and will not fly as far.