[Tedd]

So it seems the consensus is that the bb, as it travels down the barrel, rides on the roof of the barrel. But why? One might assume because the of the magness effect. But inside the barrel, the air flow would be from the back instead of the front, wouldn't it? Meaning a downward force. I know test results would be better than asking more questions, but it's the chairsofting way. Happy new year by the way.

 

[Jeppe]

Don't believe everything you read on the internet

 

[Reliku]

The "top of the barrel" claim is nonsense in my opinion. Because indeed, the force would be downward, rather than upward.

A few years ago someone did a simulation I believe, and it turned out that the force centering the bb due to airflow was at least an order of magnitude greater than the magnus force in free space. So considering those two things, I'm pretty convinced that the bb doesn't ride the top of the barrel.

Quite a few people still claim it does, sometimes with anecdotal evidence, other times without evidence at all, so I don't really take those claims seriously.

I am rather convinced though, that if you use an LRB, the bb does touch the top of the barrel due to the bend.

 

[SilverLion]

Maybe this idea could be proven if someone put something inside the barrel, like some kind of residue or a powder of some kind that would show where the BB rode? I don't know if that would be possible but it would finally prove the theory.

 

[Dimitri MdP]

That sort of test has been done with some metal dye, and it clearly showed much more wear down on the upper part of the barrel than the lower after some thousands shots.
But then again, no way to know if the bb themselves were riding on top, or it was just the high pressure air causing the wear down, or if the dye was acting that way because gravity, etc

Sincerely, this is one of those arguments that never ends, for a fact that has no relevance whatsoever. Riding on top or perfectly centered, we need a high quality barrel.

So while I would strongly argue for "floats in the middle" camp throughout years and years, overtime I've come a much more sane answer: I don't care, and neither should anyone

 

[Reliku]

But then again, no way to know if the bb themselves were riding on top, or it was just the high pressure air causing the wear down, or if the dye was acting that way because gravity, etc

This :yup:

Sincerely, this is one of those arguments that never ends, for a fact that has no relevance whatsoever. Riding on top or perfectly centered, we need a high quality barrel.

And this :hehe:

Dimitri hit the nail on the head

 

[Plazmaburn]

This topic has been covered numerous times. Go search for them and read. There are a numerous times I have suggested using Dykem layout fluid to do such testing. (There are reasons why I said Dykem specifically.) While I argue for the "rides the top of the barrel" side, I just do not care anymore, because at the end of the day it just does not matter. You still need a high quality barrel, like Dimitri said.