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The Gauss gun (often called a Gauss rifle or Gauss cannon) is a device that uses permanent magnets and the physics of the Newton's cradle to accelerate a projectile. Gauss guns are distinct from and predate coil guns , although many works of science fiction (and occasionally educators [ 1 ] ) have confused the two.
Simplified diagram of a multistage coilgun with three coils, a barrel, and a ferromagnetic projectile. A coilgun is a type of mass driver consisting of one or more coils used as electromagnets in the configuration of a linear motor that accelerate a ferromagnetic or conducting projectile to high velocity. [1]
A railgun or rail gun, sometimes referred to as a rail cannon, is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force to launch high-velocity projectiles. The projectile normally does not contain explosives, instead relying on the projectile's high kinetic energy to inflict damage. [ 2 ]
Magnetic induction B (also known as magnetic flux density) has the SI unit tesla [T or Wb/m 2]. [1] One tesla is equal to 10 4 gauss. Magnetic field drops off as the inverse cube of the distance ( 1 / distance 3 ) from a dipole source. Energy required to produce laboratory magnetic fields increases with the square of magnetic field. [2]
Artist's conception of a mass driver on the Moon. A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds.
The gauss is the unit of magnetic flux density B in the system of Gaussian units and is equal to Mx/cm 2 or g/Bi/s 2, while the oersted is the unit of H-field. One tesla (T) corresponds to 10 4 gauss, and one ampere (A) per metre corresponds to 4π × 10 −3 oersted.
The design of a railway gun has three firing issues over and above those of an ordinary artillery piece to consider. Namely how the gun is going to be traversed – i.e. moved from side to side to aim; how the horizontal component of the recoil force will be absorbed by the gun's carriage and how the vertical recoil force will be absorbed by the ground.
The helical railgun is a cross between a railgun and a coilgun. They do not currently exist in a practical, usable form. A helical railgun was built at MIT in 1980 and was powered by several banks of, for the time, large capacitors (approximately 4 farads). It was about 3 meters long, consisting of 2 meters of accelerating coil and 1 meter of ...