In simple terms,its an electrical gun that pushes things that would conduct electricity to speeds not previous possible with that item. Several times more than even sound can travel is can amplify it speed wise. So take your average bullet of any calibur and it can push it out at a rediculous travel speed(Imagine a 50 cal sniper round traveling at 5+ times the speed of sound at something) and you can see the potential power.
I guess that wasn't completely simple terms,but as simple as I could get,sorry >.<
It's basically a gun that uses electricity and magnets (in a complicated fashion) to drive a projectile forward at speeds faster than what normal gunpowder can do.
"In simple terms,its an electrical gun that pushes things that would conduct electricity to speeds not previous possible with that item. Several times more than even sound can travel is can amplify it speed wise. So take your average bullet of any calibur and it can push it out at a rediculous travel speed(Imagine a 50 cal sniper round traveling at 5+ times the speed of sound at something) and you can see the potential power.
I guess that wasn't completely simple terms,but as simple as I could get,sorry >.< "
Don't know anything about railguns or anything, but many sniper rifles fire rounds that travel many times the speed of sound already. Rifles like the Barret M107, a 50 cal, fire bullets that travel up to 3 times the speed of sound.
I thought I was going to be able to explain this but I had a Rail gun confused with a Gauss/Coil gun.
Ok, so, from what I can get from the wikipedia page...it consists of two rails. One has a positive current applied to it, one has a negative. The rails do not touch, and therefore the circuit is not completed. However, when a projectile is placed between the rails, it completes the circuit. It then creates an electromagnetic field, which propels the projectile forward.
ElectroMagnets pull a projectile between rails. Theoretically, at high voltage, the projectile could travel much faster and much farther than a gas operated gun.
In Metal Gear Solid, the arm on metal gear is a rail gun that can fire a nuclear warhead over tremendous distances, and since there is no propulsion system, the warhead would be invisible to radar. Pretty neat huh?
Should also probably mention that railguns / gauss guns / coil guns are designed to launch solid conductive materials, such as metal rods, and not explosive munitions. They deliver purely kinetic damage, which has the potential to be absolutely devastating, if the object is large enough and moving at a sufficient speed (A 9 meter asteroid can explode in the atmosphere with the force of a small nuke).
This offers an additional benefit: The lack of a need to store explosive munitions. Naval vessles or land-vehciles mounted with this technology would not only gain the use of a far more accurate weapon, but would no longer need to carry potentially catastrophic armories stuffed full of dangeous explosives. Taking a direct hit amidship would no longer run the risk of secondary explosions from detonating munitions!
It's a fantastic idea, and should have been implemented years ago.
We studied the theory behind railguns in Physics today, I kid you not. We also made a kinda cheap railgun which just shot metal rings, it was pretty obvious that the power could be monsterous.
In reality, a man portable (rifle sized) railgun is very unlikely, due to certain minimum parameters of rail length and power pack as they relate to anything close to effective power. Gauss or coil guns are more likely substitutes for infantry use. If I remember correctly the next wave of US battleships will have an engine that can provide motive power and weapon system power simultaneously, meaning they can use railguns rather than more conventional ordinance delivery. When you consider a tomahawk missile costs US$1,000,000 to fire, a weapon that can deliver that kind of accurate destruction without an expensive rocket engine and explosive warhead makes strong financial sense.
"We studied the theory behind railguns in Physics today, I kid you not. We also made a kinda cheap railgun which just shot metal rings, it was pretty obvious that the power could be monsterous. "
I wanna be in your fucking physics class!
But really, this topic is pretty interesting! I didn't expect much going into this thread but I'm really learning about rail guns! This is fascinating!
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