3 ms·
Railguns are not coilguns. Railguns maintain physical contact between the projectile and the rails for the entire length of the barrel. That's a lot of friction
by coder543 7y ago
Railguns are not coilguns. Railguns maintain physical contact between the projectile and the rails for the entire length of the barrel. That's a lot of friction. Friction leads to heat, light, and a puff of smoke from material that has been ablated during the launch, if I were to guess.
This leads to one of the big problems with railguns, which is that you have to replace the rails frequently due to wear and tear.
- xyzzy_plugh 7y agoThey don't need to maintain physical contact. You can have an air gap, as long as the circuit shorts through the projectile. The rails still wear down.
- FreeFull 7y agoIf you have a gap, then you end up with electrical arcing which generates even more heat