Electromagnetic guns - Revision history

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-11-03T06:36:12Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:36, 2 November 2026
Line 184:		Line 184:
	The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.		The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.

	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. The original Traveller description reads "the gauss rifle generates an electromagnetic field along the length of the barrel which accelerates a [...] needle bullet [...]."<ref>Game Designer's Workshop, "Traveller: Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far Future – Book 4: Mercenary" (1978)</ref> Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at considerably higher speed than that which it was first sent rolling. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs (2007)</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at considerably higher speed than that which it was first sent rolling. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs (2007)</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-24T16:54:59Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:54, 24 October 2026
Line 186:		Line 186:
	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at ~~some~~ speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs (2007)</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at considerably higher speed than that which it was first sent rolling. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs (2007)</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-23T15:03:17Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:03, 23 October 2026
Line 186:		Line 186:
	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs (2007)</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-23T15:02:23Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:02, 23 October 2026
Line 186:		Line 186:
	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c (2008)</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-23T15:01:34Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:01, 23 October 2026
Line 186:		Line 186:
	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 ~~to 2015~~ before the term Gauss gun ~~took over~~<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 before the term Gauss gun started to be used<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref><ref>robgallagher, The Worlds First Real Gauss Rifle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPciBQnZw3c</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-22T17:03:30Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:03, 22 October 2026
Line 184:		Line 184:
	The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.		The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.

	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; ~~presumably~~ indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; indicating a high aspect ratio bullet perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-22T17:02:42Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:02, 22 October 2026
Line 184:		Line 184:
	The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.		The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.

	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is ~~noted~~ to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is said to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-21T17:44:24Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:44, 21 October 2026
Line 186:		Line 186:
	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is noted to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is noted to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at ~~some~~ considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-21T17:43:01Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:43, 21 October 2026
Line 184:		Line 184:
	The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.		The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.

	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the ~~Guass~~ gun is noted to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Gauss gun is noted to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at some considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at some considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.

Lwcamp: /* Gauss guns */

2026-10-21T17:39:28Z

Gauss guns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:39, 21 October 2026
Line 184:		Line 184:
	The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.		The name implies that a Gauss gun is somehow associated with Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), a German mathematician and scientist whose wide-ranging interests and penetrating genius has led to his name being associated with many different things in both mathematics (Gaussian functions, Gaussian integration, Gauss's theorem for vector fields; among many others) and physics (Gauss's law of electromagnetism is of particular note). Gauss was known for his exacting work on the measurement of the geomagnetic field and work on electromagnetism including an unsuccessful attempt to unify electricity and magnetism. This painstaking effort led to a unit of magnetism in the cgs system to be named for him; the gauss (1 gauss = 10<sup>-4</sup> tesla in the mks system). What Gauss was <i>not</i> known for was inventing any kind of magnetic or electromagnetic weapon. So we find no real clue here, except that perhaps people were trying to associate a nebulously magnetic gun with a polymath who was famous for his work on magnetism.

	The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss rifle date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Guass gun is noted to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.		The earliest examples this author is aware of for the term Gauss gun (or Gauss rifle or Gauss pistol) date back to the 1970's, in the tabletop role playing game Traveller and in the novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge by Harry Harrison. This will be updated as new information comes to light. Later, the term appears in various other works, notably many science fiction role playing games and video games. The descriptions of their mechanisms and physical principles are typically very vague. Descriptions commonly include non-descript mentions of "magnetic field", "electromagnetic field", "magnetic impulse", or "electromagnetic impulse" <ref>David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 1989; David Pulver, "GURPS Ultra-Tech 2", Steve Jackson Games, 1997; David Pulver and Kenneth Peters, "GURPS Fourth Edition Ultra-Tech", Steve Jackson Games, 2006</ref><ref>"Traveller: The New Era", GDW, 1993</ref>. Occasionally, the description seems to imply some kind of coilgun or railgun – "electromagnetic coils" or electromagnetic rails", sometimes both in the same document<ref>Traveller SRD: Equipment https://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/equipment/</ref>. The Traveller: The New Era supplement Fire, Fusion, & Steel states "These weapons use electric energy to power electromagnets which accelerate a projectile down the barrel of the gun", and then shows a diagram that explicitly shows how it works – which turns out to be what the Galactic Library calls a [[Helical_railguns\|helical railgun]]<ref>"Traveller The New Era: Fire, Fusion, & Steel Technical Architecture" GDW, 1993</ref>. In most cases, the Guass gun is noted to fire projectiles at notably high speed (presumably higher speed than a modern rifle) and commonly launches projectiles that are described using terms like "needle", "dart", or "sliver"; presumably indicating a high aspect ratio bullet, perhaps like smaller versions of the APFSDS long rod anti-tank penetrator rounds fired from modern tank cannons.

	More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at some considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.		More recently, there has been a trend to use the term Gauss gun for a physics demonstration involving a high field permanent magnet attracting a steel ball down a track from one side, while the other side has a stack of steel balls stuck to the magnet. When the first ball rolls down the track it is attracted to the magnet so that it hits it at some speed. The impact is then transferred through the stack of balls in the same manner as a Newton's cradle<ref>Chris Schulz, "How Newton's Cradles Work", HowStuffWorks, https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/newtons-cradle.htm</ref>, and because the last ball in the stack is only weakly bound it is launched at some considerably higher speed than the initial speed of the first ball<ref>Arsène Chemin, Pauline Besserve, Aude Caussarieu, Nicolas Taberlet, and Nicolas Plihon, "Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle", Am. J. Phys. 85, 495–502 (2017), https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/article-abstract/85/7/495/1039674/Magnetic-cannon-The-physics-of-the-Gauss-rifle?redirectedFrom=fulltext</ref>. The earliest reference this author has been able to find so far dates to a toy from around 2002 called a Gaussian gun, although it is claimed that the idea came from Japan so the name may go back even farther <ref>Grand Illusions toy shop, the Gaussian Gizmo, https://www.grand-illusions.com/collections/magnetic-toys/products/gaussian-gun</ref><ref>alien7 "Gaussian Gun", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CyPtF0ChA</ref>. This device seems to have been referred to as a Gaussian gun up until about 2007 to 2015 before the term Gauss gun took over<ref>sdense, Gaussian Gun, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxkZaYYSHFs</ref>. Again, this will be updated as new information is found.