Debut of Navy railgun

From CowTowner:
"That just means that some enterprising individual with a great imagination will develop HD ammunition for the gun."

Maybe I can make one with a laser printer! ;):D:eek:
 
I'd like to know how they get rid of that much heat in the windings.
Click to expand...

My guess would be something similar to the M1917A1 .30 Caliber Water-Cooled Machine Gun that got rid of the barrel heat....just slightly more sophisticated.:D
 
The Navy runs ships..... which ride on the largest heat sinks on the planet. The only trick would be to move that heat in the gun to the underside of the ship .....
 
Dashunde said:
I'm curious how long it'll take for a hand-held version to show up, powered by a backpack full of lipo batteries?
Perhaps a truck mounted version for tank killing?
Click to expand...
Unless there's a miraculous development in battery technology, I suspect that it will be several decades before we see a rail gun small enough to fit in a single roadworthy vehicle, much less a backpack. Furthermore, as I've said in past rail gun threads, the current state of small high-powered battery technology would make such a unit the modern equivalent of the M2 flamethrower- almost as dangerous to wearer as it is to enemy troops. :eek:

OTOH I'm actually curious about the technology's potential in an anti-aircraft application. The ridiculously high muzzle velocity could solve the main problem with using traditional AAA against fast high-flying jets- limited range and the difficulty of compensating for wind drift. At ~8,000 fps, the projectile could conceivably hit most combat aircraft after only 5-12 seconds of flight time, even if the aircraft is flying over and past the battery as the gun is fired. :)
 
Last edited:
Water-Cooled Machine Gun that got rid of the barrel heat....just slightly more sophisticated
Click to expand...

Its probably in the liquid nitrogen realm, or similar.
If the field winding temps are brought way down (below -200F) before its fired there would be less resistance to the current flow, less overall heat generated in the first place, less to dissipate before the next shot and most of the energy goes straight into the projectile instead of the barrel/windings as heat.

When you cool a material to near absolute zero the atoms basically freeze in place, when the atoms are still the electrons can pass by with minimal resistance and resulting heat.
Its win-win... minimal heat, maximum electrical efficiency.
 
OTOH I'm actually curious about the technology's potential in an anti-aircraft application. The ridiculously high muzzle velocity could solve the main problem with using traditional AAA against fast high-flying jets- limited range and the difficulty of compensating for wind drift. At ~8,000 fps, the projectile could conceivably hit most combat aircraft after only 5-12 seconds of flight time, even if the aircraft is flying over and past the battery as the gun is fired
Click to expand...

SAM's already hit Mach 6 or so, and they're radar/lidar guided and self-correct for any atmospheric condition.

Lasers would be the next step for ground-based anti-aircraft.
I think we already have them.
Maybe even mounted in a 747 for missile interception by now? I havent kept up with that project..
 
When you cool a material to near absolute zero the atoms basically freeze in place, when the atoms are still the electrons can pass by with minimal resistance and resulting heat.
Its win-win... minimal heat, maximum electrical efficiency.
Click to expand...

I imagine that they start with supercooled barrels to get that kind of velocity with the power constraints of a ship.

SAM's already hit Mach 6 or so, and they're radar/lidar guided and self-correct for any atmospheric condition.
Click to expand...

Aye, but they don't start at Mach 6 ...... that and their rocket motors have a huge signature....... As I understand it, one of the advantages of these rail gun projectiles is is that they don't have much of one .... with their tiny cross section and streamlined shape, they are probably nearly invisible to radar .....

...... and imagine if a SAM that could be launched by this thing ..... pilots would have effectively no time to react to that kind of threat speed.
 
carguychris said:
Unless there's a miraculous development in battery technology, I suspect that it will be several decades before we see a rail gun that small enough to fit in a single roadworthy vehicle, much less a backpack. Furthermore, as I've said in past rail gun threads, the current state of small high-powered battery technology would make such a unit the modern equivalent of the M2 flamethrower- almost as dangerous to wearer as it is to enemy troops. :eek:

OTOH I'm actually curious about the technology's potential in an anti-aircraft application. The ridiculously high muzzle velocity could solve the main problem with using traditional AAA against fast high-flying jets- limited range and the difficulty of compensating for wind drift. At ~8,000 fps, the projectile could conceivably hit most combat aircraft after only 5-12 seconds of flight time, even if the aircraft is flying over and past the battery as the gun is fired. :)
Click to expand...
America is about 25 years behind the japs when it comes to this stuff. 10 years ago they had a 3 man portable unit capable of 5 shots.

That was 10 years ago.
 
Last edited:
Super, hollow tube conductors !!!

I'd like to know how they get rid of that much heat in the windings.
Click to expand...
Manufacturers have been pumping refrigerant gases and cooling liquids thru conductor tubing/windings, for years and I'm sure by now, they have really made great advancements not only on super-conductors but their cooling. ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
The article says the thing throws projectiles at roughly 7800 fps and can hit a target 110 miles away…
Click to expand...

If something like this ever became available for small arms you long range enthusiasts would be in heaven. Heck, you might even get that deer without even leaving your backyard.
Click to expand...

If it became available to the public, there'd be guys on the internet bragging about hitting deer 600 miles away using ballistic tables in their heads.
 
To make even more popular among long range deer hunters, it would have to be painted in.some sort of camouflage motif. That would make it possible to get within several hundred miles of that trophy buck without spooking it.
 
Dashunde said:
SAM's already hit Mach 6 or so, and they're radar/lidar guided and self-correct for any atmospheric condition.
jimbob86 said:
Aye, but they don't start at Mach 6 ...... that and their rocket motors have a huge signature....... As I understand it, one of the advantages of these rail gun projectiles is is that they don't have much of one .... with their tiny cross section and streamlined shape, they are probably nearly invisible to radar .....
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
+1. Also, a rail gun would be immune to current anti-SAM countermeasures, and would likely be much cheaper per shot. Historically, one of the main problems with radar-guided SAMs is that each missile is often so pricey that budget-conscious peacetime commanders are averse to making test shots, leading to a lack of thorough understanding of the system's real-world limitations.
Dashunde said:
Lasers would be the next step for ground-based anti-aircraft.
Click to expand...
I will concede this point, however. Lasers are the only AA system on the horizon with the potential to render atmospheric conditions and countermeasures truly irrelevant. Furthermore, there's little practical risk of (a) collateral damage from a miss, or (b) accidentally shooting down known friendly aircraft due to guidance-system errors - both serious problems with SAMs and AAMs, and lesser but still significant risks with a rail gun. (I'd imagine that a "spent" rail-gun KE projectile would be potentially less damaging than a HE SAM warhead when it eventually hits the ground, but this is cold comfort if it comes down on your head. :eek:)
 
On another note...

This thing is all electric, right?
So whats causing the giant fireball coming out of the muzzle following the projectile in the video??
 
Last edited:
So whats causing the giant fireball coming out of the muzzle following the projectile in the video??
Click to expand...
It appears the gun barrel is square .... and uses a square sabot.

It that flash the sabot combusting when it hits the air at Mach 7?
 
When you cool a material to near absolute zero the atoms basically freeze in place, when the atoms are still the electrons can pass by with minimal resistance and resulting heat.
Its win-win... minimal heat, maximum electrical efficiency.
Click to expand...

The problem with cooling to near absolute zero is that items become incredibly brittle. So much so that the simple friction from a round traveling down the barrel would cause it to shatter. Ideally you would want to barrel to probably be within say it normal average temperature of 60 to 80°F. The benefit of the supercooled liquid is that it dissipates the heat extremely well allowing the barrel to not heat up instead of cooling it down to an incredibly cold temperature.
 
The material cooled to those very low temps would be the electrical field windings for electrical efficiency, thereby not generating much heat to start with. Not the "barrel" directly.
However, they're probably not reaching those kinds of low temps, maybe just the mundane temps of typical compressed liquid gases, if even that.

One other interesting thing besides the big unexplained fireball is how a straight square barrel is putting a spin on the projectile.
Theres a lot to this thing than meets the eye, or thats well described in a google search.

Speaking of which... I stumbled across these conventional "rail guns" while wearing out google on the subject.
Now those are pretty cool too! Definitely more our speed :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top