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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 ]
A magnetic weapon is one that uses magnetic fields to accelerate or stop projectiles, or to focus charged particle beams. There are many hypothesized magnetic weapons, such as the railgun and coilgun which accelerate a magnetic (in the case of railguns; non-magnetic) mass to a high velocity, or ion cannons and plasma cannons which focus and direct charged particles using magnetic fields.
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.
Although the "GR" designation purports the device to be a "Gauss Rifle", as evidenced both by the company [1] and media reports, [2] [3] this is technically a misnomer on two counts—it is neither a rifle (as it doesn't use rifling) nor a Gauss gun (a type of accelerator that uses permanent magnets and is distinct from a coilgun).
There's no difference between a Gauss or Coil gun. Saying the former uses an electromagnet whereas the latter uses a solenoid is analogous to saying one uses a pen while the other uses a Biro. The term electromagnet (IE pen) encompasses the term solenoid (IE Biro).
A plasma railgun is a linear accelerator which, like a projectile railgun, uses two long parallel electrodes to accelerate a "sliding short" armature. However, in a plasma railgun, the armature and ejected projectile consists of plasma, or hot, ionized, gas-like particles, instead of a solid slug of material. Scientific plasma railguns are ...