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Friday, December 10, 2010

RAIL GUN!

HEADS UP BOYS & GIRLS
“ A theoretical dream for decades, the railgun is unlike any other weapon used in warfare. And it's quite real too, as the U.S. Navy has proven in a record-setting test today in Dahlgren, VA.

Rather than relying on a explosion to fire a projectile, the technology uses an electomagnetic current to accelerate a non-explosive bullet at several times the speed of sound. The conductive projectile zips along a set of electrically charged parallel rails and out of the barrel at speeds up to Mach 7.

Navy Sets World Record With Incredible, Sci-Fi Weapon

I posted below the segtment from Future Weapons that explains what a rail gun is.  It looks like develpment is ahead of schedule, but raises in my my mind two questions.
  1. Have the Chinese stolen this technology too?
  2. Will Chuck Schumer try to ban the sale of this weapon to the public?

I'm somewhat serious about the Schumer question.  It's my contention that when the founders recognized the need for an armed citizenry to defend against tyrannical government, the long rifle was what both sides would use.  If we are to maintain that ability,  then it's necessary that we be able to defend in kind against whatever Obamuntists  a theoretical out of control government could throw at us.  Oui?

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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous12/10/10, 2:20 PM

    Oui, RKOF.
    mary

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  2. Anonymous12/10/10, 2:56 PM

    I recall one state, Wisconsin, I believe has already banned the use of railguns for hunting.

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  3. franco (please don't hate me) fellini12/10/10, 3:21 PM

    Conventional guns already fire regular bullets at Mach 6 (~4000 fps - see 220 Swift). I'm sure there are lesser-known rifle calibers with even greater velocity. I'm trying really hard to be impressed here boss, but I'm having trouble believing this isn't just a megadollar boondoggle.

    It still destroys its tracks every time it's fired. It fires light plastic projectiles with little momentum or penetration, but with great velocity, which provides the high energy numbers. The "record-setting" achievement is merely an improvement on a previous railgun record.

    It's all pretty nifty high-tech stuff, but I really doubt it will ever become a usable weapon, except in video games. The article reads like "don't slash our funding" P.R. of the sort NASA's been putting out lately.

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  4. Anonymous12/10/10, 4:27 PM

    Looks like a line of sight weapon even if it becomes useable. How will it have high kinetic energy and still drop on area targets in defilade with a "shotgun blast" as the good captain inferred? Maybe OK against other ships/aircraft, but useless in bombardment support of inland targets in hilly terrain or built up cities.
    Wishful thinking like controlled fusion.

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  5. Anonymous12/10/10, 6:20 PM

    Dahlgren is right across the river from me ! They have been rattling my windows my whole life ! When I was a child my Father , and I would go out on the Potomac , and watch the HUGE splashes from the Navy guns ! PRICELESS : ) smibsid

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  6. Helly12/10/10, 6:34 PM

    Oui?

    Niet. Sadly, DU and HE rounds are not magnetic. Birdshot won't withstand the acceleration. Optical and moving parts (think guidance) can't take hypersonic air friction. The ranges where a rail gun could be useful are impossible to target accurately with dumb projectiles. This project is another dead end, that some senator won't let die. That's why we get to see the video.

    When I was in the biz, we tried to make 30mm guns that used liquid propellant pumped into the chamber. It would go but made quite a toxic mess. There's always something.

    But more importantly, you called me "Ms. Trouble Maker. FYI it is now Mrs. Trouble Maker, although I'm still susceptible to such gratuitous flattery. I am so sorry to have destroyed the sanctity of marriage, but you can't make an omelet without breaking every egg in the world.

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  7. Anonymous12/11/10, 3:00 AM

    Ah Grace Potter...

    I think she likes the french. Oui?

    thoR~
    III

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cheesy12/11/10, 11:40 AM

    Build one at home:
    http://www.amazing1.com/electric-guns.htm

    ReplyDelete

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