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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 5843630" data-attributes="member: 177">I think you may be getting your terminology confused.  There are a small number of materials (like iron, nickel, and cobalt) that are called "ferromagnetic" - which traditionally means that they can show spontaneous magnetization, or have a magnetic moment without an externally applied magnetic field.The phrase "reactive to magnetism" doesn't mean anything to me.  The rails and projectile need to be good electrical conductors, but that's about it.  This last is not exactly true.  The round is fired in a chamber specifically so the expansion is restricted, and more of the energy of expanding gas will be transferred to the bullet.An engineer friend of mine looked at fiction (with it's aliens, super-powered heroes, and such) and realized that there is a lot of cool stuff we can conceive happening, that doesn't.  He reasoned that there must be a maximum amount of Coolness in the Universe, and anything that exceeded this Universal allotment was not allowed to happen.  He dubbed this the "Too Cool Rule."I'm not sure he was correct.  If he was, then when we suffered the losses of Johnny Cash and Warren Zevon (who were among those who are "Cooler than You" for almost all values of You), we should have seen a sudden increase in incidence of adamantium claws and aliens coming down to play Super Mario Bothers with terminally ill children.  But the idea may still have merit.Suffice it to say, I'm dreadfully sorry the laws of the Universe don't yield your desires.  I don't make 'em, I just report the results.  If you wish, you may take a number to file a complaint with The Management.</blockquote>

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