Rail Guns are Cool
Cool snippet of the day:
Rail guns require a pulse power system to convert prime electrical power to the instantaneous current pulse necessary for electromechanical launch. The most advanced pulsed power systems use rotating alternating current machines, called pulsed alternators, to supply electromagnetic current pulses to the rails
“I’d like a phased plasma rifle in the forty watt range”
Escape velocity from earth is about 11 km/sec. This doc says 2.5 km/sec is being done right now experimentally and could be in the field, firing on targets 250 miles away. 6 km/sec is doable, not enough to break orbit but still pretty darn cool. To power one of these rail guns and fire it at 6 rounds/minute, you need something like 40-80 megawatts. Just the dissipated kinetic energy of the impact of one of these mach 7 projectiles is enough to….. it’s enough; no explosives needed.