Posted on 01/19/2007 1:06:51 AM PST by FLOutdoorsman
No doubt there are Democrats who will want this technology to be handed to our enemies just to be 'fair'.
I want to hear a gun go BOOM!
Of course, a gun that goes ZOT is kinda cool, too.
Interesting link. This article states that the objects are to be shot to 95 miles. Your link might represent a version of this. I love it. :)
Do you think material advancements might have overcome a few of the initial problems?
"Garnett said specifications call for each railgun to be capable of firing four to six times a day, but he expects to reach a maximum of 10 times per day."
Give me a holler when man-portable, version like a Gauss Rifle from the Traveller game is available!
early attempts...
http://www.coilgun.ru/
Will a photon shield stop the projo?
What good are these fantastic weapons of destruction -- if we refuse to utilize them against the enemy?
We already have the ability to destroy the world's population, several times over with weapons in our current arsenals..
Yet -- we allow ourselves to be drawn into battles on the enemy's terms --- one on one whenever we can spook them to come out from behind their women...while we're schlepping around THEIR neighborhoods with a target on our backs...
In previous SUCCESSFUL wars--- we killed them in large numbers -- even if we had to kill their women and children in the process..
War toys are only worthwhile - if we're willing to use them..
To date - I haven't seen us willing to use anything more lethal than grunts on the ground with some air support...
Semper Fi
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Because the gun uses electricity and not gunpowder to fire projectiles, it's safer, eliminating the possibility of explosions on ships and vehicles equipped with it. Instead, a powerful pulse generator is used.
64 megajoules comes out to be over 17 kilowatt hours. I wonder what size generator it would take to allow fairly rapid fire from a vehicle.
The primary one being payload - we don't have any explosives around that can take the acceleration or fuzes that will work either. Right now the thing fires solid metal projectiles and those lose velocity quickly through aerodynamic drag.
Up close, lots of Zot. Further out, very little whack left.
I guess the next generation of sailors will never know the joy of merrily lobbing shells at a target ship in the Caribbean. :-(
Sounds as if they are charging a bank of capacitors. It would take less of a generator and more time.
A human and a small capsule might weigh about a ton. This is requires a lot more energy than firing a smaller metal projectile.
For humans to survive the g forces, the thing would have to be very long. Humans can only take a max of about 10 gs for a short time. Maybe an average of 5 for longer times. To accelerate a human from 0 to orbital speed of 18 000 miles/hour at 5 gs would take a gun many miles long.
no, the dems will use it on us
One small problem..."batteries NOT included!"
The projectiles wouldn't have to be explosive. Just the kinetic energy of a high mass projectile (e.g. using tungsten) accellerated to a high speed could do enough damage to eliminate the need for explosives.
He said estimates today are that railgun projectiles will cost less than $1,000 each, "but it's going to depend on the electronics."
I guess the electronics must be for guidance purposes.
That explains the hole in the side of my deck!
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