Wadding is a disc of material used in gun

Gun

A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...

s to seal gas behind a projectile

Projectile

A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....

 or to separate powder from shot

Lead shot

Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets and early rifles, but today lead shot is fired primarily from shotguns. It is also used for a variety of other purposes...

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Wadding can be crucial to a gun's efficiency, since any gas that leaks past a projectile as it is being fired is wasted. A harder or more carefully designed item which serves this purpose is often called a sabot

Sabot

A sabot is a device used in a firearm or cannon to fire a projectile, such as a bullet, that is smaller than the bore diameter, or which must be held in a precise position. The term is also applied to a battery stub case, a device used similarly to make a small electrical battery usable in a...

. Wadding for muzzleloader

Muzzleloader

A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and usually the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun . This is distinct from the more popular modern designs of breech-loading firearms...

s is typically a small piece of cloth, or paper

Cartridge paper

Cartridge paper is a high quality type of heavy paper used for illustration and drawing. It was originally used for making weaponry cartridges.- External links :**...

 wrapping from the cartridge.

Wadding can also kill. The father of Robert Morris, "Financier of the American Revolution," died as the result of being wounded by the wadding of a ship's gun that was fired in his honor.

Wadding is also a term used in the United Kingdom for the soft inner layer of patchwork quilts. In the USA, this is referred to as Batting. Quilt Wadding can be made from a variety of materials, cotton, polyester, wool, bamboo etc. The different materials will then influence the loft (bounce, thickness) of the quilt and the distance between the quilting threads.

Model rockets

Wadding is also used in model rockets to prevent the parachute from melting when it ejects. Without the recovery wadding the parachute would melt because the ejection is by a small solid-fuel engine. It gets so hot it melts hot glue almost immediately.