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"gunpowder age is ended" seems a bit premature as a tech demonstrator is great, but we're a few technology generation away from replacing the good old rifle, b

"gunpowder age is ended" seems a bit premature as a tech demonstrator is great, but we're a few technology generation away from replacing the good old rifle, both because of power density (40+ shots per charge so you're going to ferry a few of these and battery pack are heavy) and capacitor (2 seconds/round isn't stellar) given the coil/power constraint I think the natural evolution of this tech is probably going to remain a niche application for slow firing and high powered applications, not a tout-court gunpowder replacement; railguns seems to be a better candidate for rifle replacement.

nradov 5y ago
The US Navy has given up on railguns for now and will stick with chemical propellants. https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/navy-electromagnetic-railgun-dead/ https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/navy-electromagneti...
graderjs 5y ago
totally agree. that seemed like marketing schtick. we are still very much in the gp/chemtech age of ballistic propulsion. alternative propellant is not better than electric vehicles are to oil vehicles, for now... but i feel that with higher power density battery tech, warmer superconductors, stronger magnets, and metamaterials with exotic electrical properties, maybe this category isn't something we should totally write off for not just niche 'artillery' applications but something like this hand-held category but gamechanging?
rapjr9 5y ago
So how much do batteries have to improve to make small electric energy based weapons practical? If Li-Ion could store double the energy in the same weight and volume would that change the nature of small guns? Just wondering how close we are to a major change in weapons technologies if it all depends on batteries. Maybe there is a certain limit beyond which batteries should start becoming controlled technology? Even current lithium batteries of all kinds are close to being explosives (at least chemically) which is an indication of how much energy is stored in them.

nradov 5y ago

The US Navy has given up on railguns for now and will stick with chemical propellants. https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/navy-electromagnetic-railgun-dead/ https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/navy-electromagneti...

graderjs 5y ago

totally agree. that seemed like marketing schtick. we are still very much in the gp/chemtech age of ballistic propulsion. alternative propellant is not better than electric vehicles are to oil vehicles, for now... but i feel that with higher power density battery tech, warmer superconductors, stronger magnets, and metamaterials with exotic electrical properties, maybe this category isn't something we should totally write off for not just niche 'artillery' applications but something like this hand-held category but gamechanging?

rapjr9 5y ago

So how much do batteries have to improve to make small electric energy based weapons practical? If Li-Ion could store double the energy in the same weight and volume would that change the nature of small guns? Just wondering how close we are to a major change in weapons technologies if it all depends on batteries. Maybe there is a certain limit beyond which batteries should start becoming controlled technology? Even current lithium batteries of all kinds are close to being explosives (at least chemically) which is an indication of how much energy is stored in them.