3 ms·
The projectile is moving so fast the friction against the air makes enough heat to create a ball of plasma
by nerfhammer 12y ago
The projectile is moving so fast the friction against the air makes enough heat to create a ball of plasma
- weland 12y agoI wouldn't be entirely surprised if the breakdown voltage of whatever is in there (I'm guessing air...) would be exceeded, thus ionizing it, either.
- darkmighty 12y agoI think the gun is specifically designed so that won't happen, since the current has to go through the projectile (else you're just "short circuiting" the weapon)
- weland 12y agoOh, fair enough. I'm not familiar with how railguns work. I paid a quick visit to Wikipedia and the current is supposed to go through the armature of the projectile, so breakdown of the air inside the shaft is detrimental.