[EricH]

Originally Posted by gallo26

I'm also confused about that... What do you mean exactly? Because if the air is released, shouldn't the pressure on the surfaces inside the reservoir be just a few psi (or whatever is left over. usually 0-5psi)? And how is it instantly filling up in the gun is firing? that's an instant release... I think I'm confused here

It's physics and such. Let's use some everyday examples...

You always have 14 psi pressing down on you, due to atmospheric pressure. But now, you decide to have some fun. You go into a room that is totally sealed, with an air compressor hose coming down to a smaller chamber that seals to your skin. You have gauges and things of that nature all over the room. The room gauges read zero to start--they've been calibrated so 14 psi is zero. You pressurize the smaller chamber to some higher pressure (say, 50 psi as the gauges measure). Now, something jerks the small chamber away from your skin. Instantly, all the pressure is released from that chamber into the other chamber, and air being air, it fills the entire space as fast as it can. The gauges now measure more air pressure than zero (how much more depends on the size of the room and the size of the small chamber). Instantly.

But you've rigged this room with a small air cannon, and it's a small room, with an insane amount of pressure in the small chamber. Suddenly, the small chamber breaks, and all that air finds the cannon, which is loaded. The ammo moves under the pressure, which at the instant the chamber broke, was applied throughout the room, and shoots out, releasing all the pressure. The room returns to the normal air pressure of 14 psi, the gauges read zero, and you now have to reload and try again.

Does this help?