A 23 lb projectile at 5,300mph. Several ergs of energy being consumed and released. Assuming the caravan accompanying the launch vehicle is one YUGE generator and several trailer loads of capacitance to store and discharge. Would be interesting to know number of shots per charge, and recharge time after full discharge...
I'm pretty ignorant about this technology - but why does it go "bang" and smoke, just like a conventional cannon?
I believe that the projo has to be MOVING, as the first band of magnetic flux grabs it and tosses it into the next waiting band of flux, and so on down the 'Barrel'. .....difficult to orient a whole different series of projos PRECISELY enough to start the show ? Or .....Just to much energy needed / wasted, and just a more efficient way to accelerate the mass ?
So, what is it, guided in some fashion, what's it's effective range, and what is it supposed to do? Could have simply been a movie set from all I know.
I'm still kind of skeptical that that is the real projectile. The laws of aerodynamics still apply and that one has a lousy ballistic coefficient
I think the "pointy thing" is the projectile. The square horse shoe looking thing I "think" is a sabot. About halfway thru the video they show a slow mo of the firing sequence and you can see the sabot stripping off after it exits the barrel.
I'm pretty ignorant about this technology - but why does it go "bang" and smoke, just like a conventional cannon?
I believe that the projo has to be MOVING, as the first band of magnetic flux grabs it and tosses it into the next waiting band of flux, and so on down the 'Barrel'. .....difficult to orient a whole different series of projos PRECISELY enough to start the show ? Or .....Just to much energy needed / wasted, and just a more efficient way to accelerate the mass ?
Pretty weak on alla' this myself, here.
GTC
Or maybe all the electricity vaporizes some of the projectile on it's way out the barrel. I think the projectile is based on the old Hornady SSt's and they are using a 7 twist barrel.
I'm pretty ignorant about this technology - but why does it go "bang" and smoke, just like a conventional cannon?
I believe that the projo has to be MOVING, as the first band of magnetic flux grabs it and tosses it into the next waiting band of flux, and so on down the 'Barrel'. .....difficult to orient a whole different series of projos PRECISELY enough to start the show ? Or .....Just to much energy needed / wasted, and just a more efficient way to accelerate the mass ?
Pretty weak on alla' this myself, here.
GTC
Or maybe all the electricity vaporizes some of the projectile on it's way out the barrel. I think the projectile is based on the old Hornady SSt's and they are using a 7 twist barrel.
Everyone knows SST's work best in a 1/8 twist.
I think the idea is rapid fire without explosive propulsion and velocity coming out your arss. Fire rate would be limited to how fast you can load and re-charge the capacitors.
I wonder if a railgun would have any appreciable muzzle blast at all. The projectile isn't propelled by compressed gas behind it, and a number of smaller railguns I've seen have vents all up and down the barrel to make them lighter. I can imagine some loud mechanical transients from the stresses involved in firing, and I anticipate a loud supersonic signature, but muzzle blast? I don't think I'd expect one.
[/quote]I think the idea is rapid fire without explosive propulsion and velocity coming out your arss. Fire rate would be limited to how fast you can load and re-charge the capacitors. [/quote]
Electromagnetism will cause heat - possibly in great quantities. There are NO free rides.
I wonder if a railgun would have any appreciable muzzle blast at all. The projectile isn't propelled by compressed gas behind it, and a number of smaller railguns I've seen have vents all up and down the barrel to make them lighter. I can imagine some loud mechanical transients from the stresses involved in firing, and I anticipate a loud supersonic signature, but muzzle blast? I don't think I'd expect one.
Dunno those vents you reference are to make the tube lighter or reduce pressure at the muzzle. I would be guessing the air pressure in front of the projectile to be impressive regardless. Muzzle blast? Probably not in a conventional sense. Sonic shock signature? In spades and from numerous sources.
The U.S Naval Institute Proceedings has featured SCADS of technical treatises on hyper velocity shootin, ....and not just with railguns, there's a whole new UNIVERSE of higher velocity shooting fun out there awaiting.
The railgun HAS to have a relatively non magnetic barrel , and IIRC correctly the hardened aluminum tubes currently in play are being setup to swap out quickly, with a projected accuracy life of 5-600 shots. Enter Raytheons boosted and guided super 155MM munition at an absolutely ridiculous price, cobbled up in the prior "admin", ....now apparently chitcanned,....the trend toward common caliber munitions is both encouraging and damned SENSIBLE,....as opposed to each service branch having it's own party in Bangkok or Bali. Read between the lines on that one. As far as "the size of those transformers",....that's a test facility with high tension A.C. power close by, so using "shore power" makes good sense,....one less fairly demanding ifrastructure to man and fund. The railgungun RUNS on D.C. current,.....enter Gas Turbines powering BIG D.C. generators, and capacitor banks, forget transformer bulk and weight,.... the raw power end is covered. Railguns are pretty cool,....but some of the work that's been done out at Livermore using BARRELS of 4350 to accelerate a 10 lb "bolt" out of those inert gas, disc rupture guns is truly astounding. 3-4 shot barrel life for an Inconel tube leaves alla' this in the realm of research, v. practical shootin' iron.