5 ms·

I imagine that someone is going to have a visit by the FBI. That or a job offer.

by junto 11y ago

venomsnake 11y ago
It would put interesting spin on the second amendment fights though.
adrianN 11y ago
Is it illegal in the US to build your own railgun? I know that in Germany there is a limit on the Joules you can put in a projectile without a licence, I think something like 8 Joules. This gun would violate that, I guess.
- Rexxar 11y ago
  Applied strictly, this probably means that some Olympic sports require a license (hammer throw, discus throw, shot put and javelin)
  - adrianN 11y ago
    I'm pretty sure carrying a javelin around in Germany gets you in trouble. The police can get you in trouble for carrying around pocket knives if the blade is too long or locking.
    - vetinari 11y ago
      My brother used to carry gladius (in a pouch, on his back, to and from training). No cop stopped him to ask about it, ever.
      - adrianN 11y ago
        Just like cops rarely stop you if you're cycling without lights after dark. If they have a reason not to like you they can still use that to slap a fine on you.
      - jon-wood 11y ago
        However, I'm pretty sure if he'd started waving it at people in the street they'd have become quite a bit less lenient about the fact he was carrying a weapon around.
  - Bouncingsoul1 11y ago
    And of course also Icehockey,Football and a lot more. The german law is bit more specific about it (the exact amount of Joule is 7.5) http://www.dsb.de/media/PDF/Recht/Waffenrecht/Verwaltungsvorschrift/Verwaltungsvorschrift.pdf http://www.dsb.de/media/PDF/Recht/Waffenrecht/Verwaltungsvor... e.g. the weapon/weaponlikethingy must have a muzzle. Also the Intention of usage is considered, so if you produce a hammer with the sole purpose to throw it at me, if may offend German law.
  - amalcon 11y ago
    8 Joules is a really small amount of energy. I wouldn't be surprised if an average healthy child could put that much energy into a ball by kicking it. A quick back-of-envelope calculation says a 0.45kg ball (FIFA standard ball) traveling at 6m/s (~13MPH) has more than 8 Joules of energy.
    - revelation 11y ago
      Then again, a ball is an awfully heavy and big projectile.
agumonkey 11y ago
This or any extremist group ...
speeder 11y ago
There was floating on internet a very old post about how to make a railgun, made by a Brazillian guy... he DID got a job offer, but the superiors of those that tried to hire him shut it down because he was Brazillian (he was a Brazillian living in US, he wasn't allowed to legally make weapons for the government, at least for whoever tried to hire him, I don't remember anymore what department it was)
grecy 11y ago
In the reddit thread [1] the creator mentions many times he asked the BATF it what he was doing was OK, and they never replied. He's confident there is no law against electromagnetic weapons. He also mentions he's an engineer and has designed/built weapons that have actually been used lethally, so I get the feeling he knows what's he's talking about, professionally. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/3s4o4j/diy_250_lb_giant_mobile_railgun_27000_joules/ https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/3s4o4j/diy_250_lb_gian...
- moron4hire 11y ago
  Judging from the size of his projectiles, the bore of his device is almost certainly over 12.7mm in "diameter" (it's square, not round, but it looks to be 0.5" by 1", and I'm not about to leave the hairsplitting to a federal bureau). Classification of a "destructive device" doesn't really care what type of propellant is used. I think it's pretty clear what he has here would be considered a "destructive device". It'll depend on his state whether or not it's legal for him to have. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destructive_device https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destructive_device
DHJSH 11y ago
Maybe Obama will invite him to the White House!

I imagine that someone is going to have a visit by the FBI. That or a job offer.

by junto 11y ago

I imagine that someone is going to have a visit by the FBI. That or a job offer.

venomsnake 11y ago

It would put interesting spin on the second amendment fights though.

adrianN 11y ago

Is it illegal in the US to build your own railgun? I know that in Germany there is a limit on the Joules you can put in a projectile without a licence, I think something like 8 Joules. This gun would violate that, I guess.

Rexxar 11y ago
Applied strictly, this probably means that some Olympic sports require a license (hammer throw, discus throw, shot put and javelin)
- adrianN 11y ago
  I'm pretty sure carrying a javelin around in Germany gets you in trouble. The police can get you in trouble for carrying around pocket knives if the blade is too long or locking.
  - vetinari 11y ago
    My brother used to carry gladius (in a pouch, on his back, to and from training). No cop stopped him to ask about it, ever.
    - adrianN 11y ago
      Just like cops rarely stop you if you're cycling without lights after dark. If they have a reason not to like you they can still use that to slap a fine on you.
    - jon-wood 11y ago
      However, I'm pretty sure if he'd started waving it at people in the street they'd have become quite a bit less lenient about the fact he was carrying a weapon around.
- Bouncingsoul1 11y ago
  And of course also Icehockey,Football and a lot more. The german law is bit more specific about it (the exact amount of Joule is 7.5) http://www.dsb.de/media/PDF/Recht/Waffenrecht/Verwaltungsvorschrift/Verwaltungsvorschrift.pdf http://www.dsb.de/media/PDF/Recht/Waffenrecht/Verwaltungsvor... e.g. the weapon/weaponlikethingy must have a muzzle. Also the Intention of usage is considered, so if you produce a hammer with the sole purpose to throw it at me, if may offend German law.
- amalcon 11y ago
  8 Joules is a really small amount of energy. I wouldn't be surprised if an average healthy child could put that much energy into a ball by kicking it. A quick back-of-envelope calculation says a 0.45kg ball (FIFA standard ball) traveling at 6m/s (~13MPH) has more than 8 Joules of energy.
  - revelation 11y ago
    Then again, a ball is an awfully heavy and big projectile.

agumonkey 11y ago

This or any extremist group ...

speeder 11y ago

There was floating on internet a very old post about how to make a railgun, made by a Brazillian guy... he DID got a job offer, but the superiors of those that tried to hire him shut it down because he was Brazillian (he was a Brazillian living in US, he wasn't allowed to legally make weapons for the government, at least for whoever tried to hire him, I don't remember anymore what department it was)

grecy 11y ago

In the reddit thread [1] the creator mentions many times he asked the BATF it what he was doing was OK, and they never replied. He's confident there is no law against electromagnetic weapons. He also mentions he's an engineer and has designed/built weapons that have actually been used lethally, so I get the feeling he knows what's he's talking about, professionally. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/3s4o4j/diy_250_lb_giant_mobile_railgun_27000_joules/ https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/3s4o4j/diy_250_lb_gian...

moron4hire 11y ago
Judging from the size of his projectiles, the bore of his device is almost certainly over 12.7mm in "diameter" (it's square, not round, but it looks to be 0.5" by 1", and I'm not about to leave the hairsplitting to a federal bureau). Classification of a "destructive device" doesn't really care what type of propellant is used. I think it's pretty clear what he has here would be considered a "destructive device". It'll depend on his state whether or not it's legal for him to have. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destructive_device https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destructive_device

DHJSH 11y ago

Maybe Obama will invite him to the White House!