Navy Tests High-Tech Railgun in Virginia

AP ^ | 18 Jan 2007 | AP

[aruanan]

This should be scalable for space applications as well.

There was a lot of talk of this in the early 1980's.

[aruanan]

I thought at one time Saddam was trying to build one.

No, Saddam was building a gigantic cannon.

[bmwcyle]

Can we test it shooting from VA to DC?

[Redleg Duke]

The first cannon shells were rocks. It took a long time to develop fuzed projectiles. The first were mortar rounds where the fuze was an actual impregnated-cotton cord that was lit just before the propelling charge fuze was lit.

When the need is there, the innovation will follow.

My main concern is that there are plenty of "Rosenberg s" out there ready to sell us out. We call them DemocRATS now.

[AntiGuv]

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[Lazamataz]

Yeah, kinda glad Hitler did have todays weaponry.

He DID?

He showed restraint.

[samtheman]

My main concern is that there are plenty of "Rosenberg s" out there ready to sell us out. We call them DemocRATS now.

And they have rights to sell us out. And don't you forget it.

[bert]

I Thought the Project Bablylon gun was a conventional explosive charged projectile with a very very long barrel.

It did not use electromagnetic energy.

[FLOutdoorsman]

Your right, I was just saying, in theory that they had a Rail Gun.

[FreedomPoster]

For space applications, a 1" sphere of iron would probably make a great anti-sat/missile/warhead projectile.

[Flightdeck]

"The main problem w/it is that the electric arc chews up the rails = constant refurbishment, IF you are firing LOTS of projectiles. "

One of my buddies is hard at work on this project for the Navy, and he tells me the main problem here is heat removal if there is any type of repeated firing. The ohmic loss of the electricity in the gun is liable to completely melt the thing.

[CMAC51]

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.

Wrong. It is a kinetic energy weapon. Note that the projectile is fired upward, reaching an altitude of 95 miles. Descending from that altitude toward the target, it can reach the target at near terminal velocity. All of that kinetic energy is expended on the target; big bang with no expolosives.

Today they are using cement bombs in Iraq which have no explosive charge. The speed of the bomb (kinetic energy)is enough to destroy a building without doing any damage to the buildings next to it. Quite cool.

Explosives are merely a way to deliver potential energy to a target and covert it rapidly to kinetic energy for destruction. The railgun projectile arrives with the kinetic energy ready to go.

[OregonRancher]

45,000 G's...............!!!!

[FLOutdoorsman]

Kinda in your line of thinking, imagine these orbiting overhead and hitting any target and anytime.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/12/INGS6HID5A1.DTL

[timer]

Well, I was "up" on EMSL 20 years ago. One approach was rail guns run on banks of car batteries. There are several possible ways to cool the ohmic heating in rapid fire mode, we just hope they don't get BILLIONS from the federal budget, THEN find a genius $100 solution...

One EMSL concept was a 1/2 mile long track of ultracapacitors, to achieve 5 mps injection velocity. I talked to the engineer in Denver that thought it up. He said the main problem was the power spike was equivalent to a 5 million person city-useage.

But hey, good luck with the railgun. Maybe it will make more, and more IMPORTANT, people start thinking about EMSL again. Think of what the chinese are up to now : turning space into a military sphere of operations. And all we have is this lumbering 3g SHUTTLE!!!???

[VaBthang4]

Recoil?

[CMAC51]

During the early Starwars development stage, this was known as project THOR. The intent was to develop the capability to take out Russian missle silos to eliminate any second strike capability. How far along it got I don't know for sure, but the Russians were made to suspect it was near ready for deployment.

[USMCVet]

"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."

Remember the air drag part; the velocity drops of very quickly and with it the kinetic energy. KE=1/2 MV^2

No free lunch.

[USMCVet]

"Wrong. It is a kinetic energy weapon. Note that the projectile is fired upward, reaching an altitude of 95 miles. Descending from that altitude toward the target, it can reach the target at near terminal velocity. All of that kinetic energy is expended on the target; big bang with no expolosives."

I see..So the idea is to launch our rock almost into space, then let it fall as fast as it can go - which, thanks to the thickening atmosphere it encounters on the way, it heats and slows to something far less than muzzle velocity - Then it hits somewhere within the target's ZIP Code, since it's not remotely guided and it's been flying a really long ways - with all of the inherent ballistic errors compounded during the aforementioned long flight.

Should we also mention the really long time of flight? Few targets are patient enough to wait several minutes for their projectile to arrive.

I sense that you haven't been in this business very long.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

"It did not use electromagnetic energy."

You are correct. I should have been clearer on that.

In my other post when I said "very true" I was referring to the fact that Saddam and Bull were trying to build a huge (cannon) device with the intent of launching satellites.

There were several devices planned in Project Bablylon, none of which were railguns.

Thanks for helping clear that up!