once thought to be just science fiction is now, very close, a reality. The Electromagnetic(EM) Railgun being developed by BAE Systems for the Office of Naval Research is sure to change the landscape of future wars. From its cost effectiveness, devastating power, and a myriad of other benefits the EM Railgun is something special. The best way to wrap your head around what an Electromagnetic Railgun is would be to understand the basic idea of how it works. Two rails are electrically charged while
projectile and then exits through the second rail. Railguns are currently being developed by the United States Military because they provide a range of advantages over conventional artillery. For example, railguns are able to launch munitions at higher velocities than explosive powered weapons, which results in a higher destructive force and a less expensive way to propel such objects. NASA is also experimenting with the concept of using a railgun to launch small payloads into space, which would provide
or railguns, use the electrical energy, and the concomitant magnetic field (energy), to propel the penetrators/projectiles at velocities up to 10 km/sec. This increase in velocity results in greater kinetic energy for the same penetrator mass. The greater the energy, the greater is the damage inflicted on the target. For this and other reasons, the DoD (especially, the U. S. Army) has conducted extensive research into the railguns.
first model of railguns is expected to see combat between 2020-2025 (Railguns 1). Railguns in the long term are more cost effective than the weapons we see today because they don’t use gunpowder or explosives (Railguns 1). Railguns can be used in many different ways such as being mounted on a boat or a trailer or can be placed on a building. Railguns even have the capability to fire projectiles at Mach 6 or even Mach 7 which is 6-7 times as fast as the speed of sound (Railguns 1). The way that
The theory behind gauss guns is that you can take electrical energy and convert it to kinetic energy by using an electromagnetic energy storage field. In essence, you take a ferrous object (the projectile) and place it at one end of a hollow solenoid. When electricity is applied to the coils inside the solenoid, a magnetic field is generated which pulls the projectile towards the center of the coils. As the projectile reaches the center and continues, the magnetic pull decreases and eventually
really just directed at the Soviets. This was presented as an alternative to the policy of M.A.D., aka Mutually Assured Destruction, which was seen as worst case scenario in case of nuclear war. The plan for S.D.I. was to put a defensive laser or railgun in space to shoot down any nukes coming after the US and its allies. This was seen as over-ambitious due to how expensive such an endeavor would entail. The media called this the “Star Wars” program due to the plan sounding like it came straight from
An important question that has been asked about the genre of science fiction is that of sciences role within it. Specifically what effect does it have? Does science fiction have to accurately portray science in order to be able to be considered science fiction in the first place. Or does it even really matter? Countless arguments and debates have been sparked by the topic, insearch of not only what constitutes science fiction, but good science fiction, a good story. Does science fiction need