Rail Guns Closer to Reality

kaimera

yahoo_news_link

quote from slashdot >>

emtboy9 writes "Yahoo News is reporting that scientists at Sandia National Labs have created a magnetic pulse gun (rail gun) that can accelerate small aluminum plates at 34 kilometers per second, faster than the Earth travels through space. The accelerated plates strike a target after traveling only five millimeters, or less than a quarter-inch. The impact generates a shock wave -- in some cases, reaching 15 million times atmospheric pressure -- that passes through the target material turning matter into various states almost instantly (solids into liquids, liquids into gas, and even gas into plasma)."

nice.

Talliesin

Eh, rail guns are a reality. Not practical as weapons, but they're real.

nesf

I got to get me one of those....

Gilgamesh

yeah me too, just think shooting at somethig point blank with one of those puppies. Mwahaha

wouldn't mind mounting one on the roof of my new place, overlook entire Dublin from there,

nesf

Gilgamesh wrote:

yeah me too, just think shooting at somethig point blank with one of those puppies. Mwahaha

wouldn't mind mounting one on the roof of my new place, overlook entire Dublin from there,

Eh, just nuke it and solve most of this country's problems

KTRIC

All those billions of Euro / Dollars spent on armour for tanks etc is going to be pissed down the drain when they start using these.

Capt'n Midnight

K-TRIC wrote:

All those billions of Euro / Dollars spent on armour for tanks etc is going to be pissed down the drain when they start using these.

Rail guns aren't that portable yet.
And you need a big battery.
And the target has to be within 5mm. :rolleyes:

34Km/s wow..

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/L/Lo/Low_Earth_orbit.htm

Atmospheric and gravity drag associated with launch typically add 1,500-2,000 m/s to the delta-V required to reach normal LEO orbital velocity of 7,800 m/s.

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/rocket_sci/orbmech/formulas.html


http://waterocket.explorer.free.fr/How%20high.htm

For a satellite to stay in a base circular orbit of 200kms. The velocity required is 7.8 Kms /sec and is referred to as the 'First Cosmic Velocity'.
To escape the attraction of the Earth's gravitational force the space module needs to be traveling at at least 11.2 Km/sec. This is known as the Second Cosmic velocity
To explore outer space beyond our solar system you need to be traveling at a velocity of 16.6 Km /sec. This is the Third Cosmic velocity.

nesf

Nicely put in perspective

Moriarty

K-TRIC wrote:

All those billions of Euro / Dollars spent on armour for tanks etc is going to be pissed down the drain when they start using these.

Until reactive armor for rail guns is developed..