Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Geek Talk & Media
Navy Railgun Tests Leading to Ship Superweapon by 2020
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Nagol" data-source="post: 5844174" data-attributes="member: 23935"><p>I think you're thinking of a mass driver and not a railgun. They are similar concepts with different details.</p><p></p><p>Railguns use the Lorentz force, in effect a magnet will accelerate charged particles. Anything conductive placed across the rails completes the circuit and carries a charge between the rails. This creates a powerful electromagnet. The magnet accelerates the projectile by pushing on the electrons flowing through it. The projectile could be made from conductive plastic if it wouldn't melt.</p><p></p><p>Recoil is all about momentum transfer, nothing else. Think of it this way. If the gun was fired and the barrel was sealed and the gases contained in a large chamber so that nothing escaped, there would be no recoil. If the explosive were detonated with no constraints of how the force was applied (i.e. with no walls around it) the expansion would be in all directions and there would be no recoil. Recoil happens when the expansion is directed and momentum is transferred.</p><p></p><p>Fricition in the barrel reduces recoil in that it converts kinetic energy into heat and reduces forward momentum of the bullet. </p><p></p><p>Expanding gases affect recoil, but with proper design can be made to reduce it -- see the recoillless rifle. Railguns lose the gases and hence lose a property that could be used to reduce recoil. </p><p></p><p>The explosive force in a gun just a high pressure burst of gas. That gas is directed by the walls of the chamber into expanding in a specific direction. The bullet is in the way and pushed by the gas absorbing some of its momentum. So the recoil of a gun is pretty much the same if a bullet is present or if the explosive charge is bare when detonated. The momentum of the gases alone is about the same as the momentum of the gases and bullet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nagol, post: 5844174, member: 23935"] I think you're thinking of a mass driver and not a railgun. They are similar concepts with different details. Railguns use the Lorentz force, in effect a magnet will accelerate charged particles. Anything conductive placed across the rails completes the circuit and carries a charge between the rails. This creates a powerful electromagnet. The magnet accelerates the projectile by pushing on the electrons flowing through it. The projectile could be made from conductive plastic if it wouldn't melt. Recoil is all about momentum transfer, nothing else. Think of it this way. If the gun was fired and the barrel was sealed and the gases contained in a large chamber so that nothing escaped, there would be no recoil. If the explosive were detonated with no constraints of how the force was applied (i.e. with no walls around it) the expansion would be in all directions and there would be no recoil. Recoil happens when the expansion is directed and momentum is transferred. Fricition in the barrel reduces recoil in that it converts kinetic energy into heat and reduces forward momentum of the bullet. Expanding gases affect recoil, but with proper design can be made to reduce it -- see the recoillless rifle. Railguns lose the gases and hence lose a property that could be used to reduce recoil. The explosive force in a gun just a high pressure burst of gas. That gas is directed by the walls of the chamber into expanding in a specific direction. The bullet is in the way and pushed by the gas absorbing some of its momentum. So the recoil of a gun is pretty much the same if a bullet is present or if the explosive charge is bare when detonated. The momentum of the gases alone is about the same as the momentum of the gases and bullet. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Geek Talk & Media
Navy Railgun Tests Leading to Ship Superweapon by 2020
Top