Would it work?

Question
QUESTION: I have a question that has been bothering me for a few days.  Everyone I ask says that it sounds logical but they don't know if its possible or not.
This is the question, I was playing a game I'll spare you the details on the story line.  But you need to distract some thugs in a shack.  You find an airplane graveyard and one of the planes has a gun mounted on it that when oiled up is in working order.  Since there is no ammunition you take lipstick you find and dip it in gunpowder that has been in warm humid conditions, then you load it into the ammo chain.  Now the character on the game explains that the Nitroglycerin that is sweated out of the gunpowder will explode and the force will send the lipstick out.  My question is this, I have no interest in the effectiveness of this contraption but would that actually work and would it sound similar to a gun being fired with normal rounds.
ANSWER: Hi Andrew.

This is probably the most unusual question I have ever received related to the topic of firearms.  I was going to decline to answer since there are many factors and details which apply and it is not possible to work all that info out via an anonymous service like this web site.  In the interest of fun I will attempt an answer but you must understand that my comments are purely speculative, not scientifically complete, and this info is only intended for theoretical debate during a game or puzzle scenario.  I make no promises or claims whatever of being an expert or doing the vast amount of research that you might find on popular TV shows like MythBusters.

For starters you have the issue of whether or not you could actually make cartridges of sufficient design and quality that they would actually function safely and properly in the selected firearm.  If you only had lipstick and damp gun powder as your components then I highly doubt that you could make anything that would work at all.

You would need a modern primer or other high-temp spark or fire source in order to ignite modern smokeless powder, and damp powder may not ignite at all.  It might be possible to extract nitroglycerin from some other types of explosives but this would not be possible or practical with modern smokeless powder.  Even if you could extract the nitroglycerin then you would still need a way to detonate it safely and reliably and modern firearms are not designed for this.  Even if you could ignite the powder somehow you would still need a cartridge case or other container to concentrate the gas prior to releasing the projectile, otherwise all you would get is a rush of rapidly expanding gas with a little smoke and a bright flash and very little else.

Next you have the issue of the projectile itself.  Modern firearms are designed for certain types of projectiles, usually lead, copper, brass, zinc, or other soft metals which have a high density and significant weight.  There are some very unique cartridges made for training or other special purposes that use hard wax, plastic, rubber, or other projectiles but these have limitations and will not work in all firearms.  It is highly unlikely that you could get something as soft, light, and low density as lipstick to be expelled from a modern firearm in an effective manner.  Even if you did manage to get some of it out the barrel, it would most likely melt, be vaporized, or fall to the ground just a short distance from the muzzle, thus it wouldn't have any practical application.  After a few shots the barrel and mechanisms of the firearm would become clogged, unusable, and very unsafe.

So my answer is that the scenario you described is highly unlikely and probably impossible under the circumstances that you indicated.  This stuff may be entertaining on TV shows like McGyver, in the movies, or in an adventure game but it just isn't reality.

I hope this was entertaining.  Remember my disclaimer above and don't try anything even close to this in the real world.  You or others around you could be hurt or killed.

Bob

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you this cleared up a lot of my thoughts.  But one issue that still bothers me is this.  I theoretically however unlikely it were to fire, would the sound from nitroglycerin ignite sound like a gunshot or just a simple cap gun.

Answer
The sound of nitroglycerin detonating would depend on several factors: how much nitroglycerin was used, how it was detonated, whether or not it was compressed inside a container, the degree of compression / resistance provided by the container, the area available for the container to expand, and the direction and distance that the explosive sound waves traveled relative to the listener.  There are secondary factors as well including what objects are in the surrounding area, altitude relevant to sea level, barometric pressure, humidity, and whether the explosion occurred indoors or in an open area.

Most firearms make a significantly loud sound because the cartridges and barrels provide significant compression so when the powder is ignited the gas rapidly expands then forces the bullet out the barrel along with some flame, smoke, and the sound pressure waves.  If you were to take the same amount of powder from a powerful cartridge, dump it in a pile on a table, and ignite it out in the open then it would just burn up quickly with a bright flash of flame, a little smoke, and only a tiny bit of noise that sounded like a rush of air.