Railguns - Revision history

Lwcamp: /* Exploding railguns */

2026-04-01T02:53:33Z

Exploding railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:53, 31 March 2026
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	=== Exploding railguns ===		=== Exploding railguns ===

	Issues of railgun durability go away if you are only ever planning on using the railgun once. In fact, you can plan on destroying the railgun in the process of its use. One innovative proposal involves turning the railgun itself into a [[Energy_Storage#Explosively_pumped_flux_compression_generator\|flux compression generator]]<ref>D. R. Peterson and C. M. Fowler, "Rail gun powered by an integral explosive generator", Proceedings of the Imapct Fusion Workshop, ~~july~~ 10-13, 1979, LA-UR 79-2220 https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5892095</ref>. An initial magnetic field is set up between the rails, between the breach and the armature. A detonation wave is started in the explosives along one of the rails, crushing it into the other rail. This compresses the magnetic flux through the rails and drives an electric current that propels the armature and projectile. As the detonation wave propagates down the rail the projectile experiences further acceleration until it exits the rails. The railgun, of course, is blown to smithereens in the process.		Issues of railgun durability go away if you are only ever planning on using the railgun once. In fact, you can plan on destroying the railgun in the process of its use. One innovative proposal involves turning the railgun itself into a [[Energy_Storage#Explosively_pumped_flux_compression_generator\|flux compression generator]]<ref>D. R. Peterson and C. M. Fowler, "Rail gun powered by an integral explosive generator", Proceedings of the Imapct Fusion Workshop, July 10-13, 1979, Los Alamos, NM, LA-UR 79-2220 https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5892095</ref>. An initial magnetic field is set up between the rails, between the breach and the armature. A detonation wave is started in the explosives along one of the rails, crushing it into the other rail. This compresses the magnetic flux through the rails and drives an electric current that propels the armature and projectile. As the detonation wave propagates down the rail the projectile experiences further acceleration until it exits the rails. The railgun, of course, is blown to smithereens in the process.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp: /* Gun railguns */

2026-04-01T02:52:48Z

Gun railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 31 March 2026
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	Here, the basic idea is to use a charge of gunpowder in a barrel to drive a piston down the barrel. A pair of conductive rails run along the barrel, past the conductive piston head, and to the projectile and its armature. A strong magnetic field passes between the rails in the vicinity of the piston but not near the armature. When the gunpowder is ignited, it drives the piston down the barrel. This decreases the magnetic flux through the circuit loop along the rails between the piston head and the armature. By Lenz's law <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenz%27s_law Wikipedia:Lenz's law]</ref> this induces a current around this loop that acts to oppose the change in flux. The current through the rails past the armature accelerates the armature and projectile as normal for a railgun, while simultaneously slowing down the piston head. In essence, you can use this design to move the kinetic energy from a massive but slow moving piston into a less massive and thus much faster moving projectile. Because chemical propellants are most efficient at slower speeds, this can allow more efficient transfer of chemical energy of the powder into the kinetic energy of the projectile than you could get using a gun alone. At the end of its stroke, the piston is moving slowly enough to be captured and re-used.		Here, the basic idea is to use a charge of gunpowder in a barrel to drive a piston down the barrel. A pair of conductive rails run along the barrel, past the conductive piston head, and to the projectile and its armature. A strong magnetic field passes between the rails in the vicinity of the piston but not near the armature. When the gunpowder is ignited, it drives the piston down the barrel. This decreases the magnetic flux through the circuit loop along the rails between the piston head and the armature. By Lenz's law <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenz%27s_law Wikipedia:Lenz's law]</ref> this induces a current around this loop that acts to oppose the change in flux. The current through the rails past the armature accelerates the armature and projectile as normal for a railgun, while simultaneously slowing down the piston head. In essence, you can use this design to move the kinetic energy from a massive but slow moving piston into a less massive and thus much faster moving projectile. Because chemical propellants are most efficient at slower speeds, this can allow more efficient transfer of chemical energy of the powder into the kinetic energy of the projectile than you could get using a gun alone. At the end of its stroke, the piston is moving slowly enough to be captured and re-used.

			=== Exploding railguns ===

			Issues of railgun durability go away if you are only ever planning on using the railgun once. In fact, you can plan on destroying the railgun in the process of its use. One innovative proposal involves turning the railgun itself into a [[Energy_Storage#Explosively_pumped_flux_compression_generator\|flux compression generator]]<ref>D. R. Peterson and C. M. Fowler, "Rail gun powered by an integral explosive generator", Proceedings of the Imapct Fusion Workshop, july 10-13, 1979, LA-UR 79-2220 https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5892095</ref>. An initial magnetic field is set up between the rails, between the breach and the armature. A detonation wave is started in the explosives along one of the rails, crushing it into the other rail. This compresses the magnetic flux through the rails and drives an electric current that propels the armature and projectile. As the detonation wave propagates down the rail the projectile experiences further acceleration until it exits the rails. The railgun, of course, is blown to smithereens in the process.

	== Credit ==		== Credit ==

Lwcamp at 19:05, 7 March 2026

2026-03-07T19:05:37Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:05, 7 March 2026
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	== References ==		== References ==

	[[Category:Warfare]][[Category:Physics & Engineering]][[Category:Engineering]][[Category:Military Technology]]		[[Category:Warfare]][[Category:Physics & Engineering]][[Category:Physics & Math & Engineering]][[Category:Engineering]][[Category:Military Technology]]

Lwcamp: /* Segmented railguns */

2025-11-04T20:33:16Z

Segmented railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:33, 4 November 2025
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	One of the limits to efficiency of the railgun is that magnetic energy is stored throughout the rail that the projectile has passed through. One potential solution is to break the rails up into electrically independent sections and energize each pair of rails only when the projectile is in them. In principle, this could reduce the stored magnetic energy and increase the efficiency. One known problem is the difficulty of getting the projectile to transition smoothly from one set of rails to the next.		One of the limits to efficiency of the railgun is that magnetic energy is stored throughout the rail that the projectile has passed through. One potential solution is to break the rails up into electrically independent sections and energize each pair of rails only when the projectile is in them. In principle, this could reduce the stored magnetic energy and increase the efficiency. One known problem is the difficulty of getting the projectile to transition smoothly from one set of rails to the next.

	A solution to the problems of segmented rails while retaining the benefits may be had with the Distributed Energy Source (DES) method.<ref name="McNab et al 2011">I. R. McNab, M. J. Guillot, M. Giesselman, G. V. Candler, D. A. Wetz, F. Stefani, D. Motes, J. V. Parker, J. J. Mankowski, and R. Karhi, "Multistage Electromagnetic and Laser Launchers for Affordable, Rapid Access to Space AFOSR MURI Final Report 2010", https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA590562.pdf (2011)</ref> Here, the standard pair of monolithic rails are used, but a series of capacitors (or other energy storage devices) directly connect to the rails at intervals along their length. After the projectile has passed, the previous energy supply can be turned off and the new one turned on. Carefully tuning the timing and operation of the capacitors can allow them to recover magnetic energy previously left in the rails when the projectile was not as far along.		A solution to the problems of segmented rails while retaining the benefits may be had with the Distributed Energy Source (DES) method.<ref>Richard A. Marshall, "The Distributed Energy Store Railgun, its Efficiency, and its Energy Store Implications", IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 33, No. 1. pp. 582-588 (January 1997), https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/560078</ref><ref name="McNab et al 2011">I. R. McNab, M. J. Guillot, M. Giesselman, G. V. Candler, D. A. Wetz, F. Stefani, D. Motes, J. V. Parker, J. J. Mankowski, and R. Karhi, "Multistage Electromagnetic and Laser Launchers for Affordable, Rapid Access to Space AFOSR MURI Final Report 2010", https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA590562.pdf (2011)</ref> Here, the standard pair of monolithic rails are used, but a series of capacitors (or other energy storage devices) directly connect to the rails at intervals along their length. After the projectile has passed, the previous energy supply can be turned off and the new one turned on. Carefully tuning the timing and operation of the capacitors can allow them to recover magnetic energy previously left in the rails when the projectile was not as far along.

	=== Plasma armature railguns ===		=== Plasma armature railguns ===

Lwcamp: /* Plasma railguns */

2025-11-04T00:51:48Z

Plasma railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:51, 3 November 2025
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	=== Plasma railguns ===		=== Plasma railguns ===

	Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> These free arcs often run at speeds of between 10 and 20 km/s. One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.		Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> These free arcs often run at speeds of between 3 and 15 km/s. One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.

	=== Plasma rails ===		=== Plasma rails ===

Lwcamp: /* Plasma railguns */

2025-11-04T00:49:28Z

Plasma railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:49, 3 November 2025
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	=== Plasma railguns ===		=== Plasma railguns ===

	Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.		Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> These free arcs often run at speeds of between 10 and 20 km/s. One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.

	=== Plasma rails ===		=== Plasma rails ===

Lwcamp: /* Plasma armature railguns */

2025-11-03T20:16:33Z

Plasma armature railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:16, 3 November 2025
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	Additional work<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> has suggested that restrike can be suppressed if the plasma arc simply does not have time to vaporize the rails or nearby insulators. This requires the projectile to already be moving rapidly, so it will need to first be accelerated by other means – and if those other means of accelerating the projectile also produce gas you need to keep that gas out of the railgun or it can allow restrike. These works generally inject the projectile already moving at between 0.5 to 1 km/s. Augmentation also helps; the additional magnetic field from the augmentation rails gives additional acceleration without the additional voltage that can drive unwanted arcs. Distributed energy supply along the rails further helps to cut off power to the downstream rails, inhibiting arc formation while simultaneously increasing efficiency (although it was found necessary to wait for the entire length of the driving arc to pass before activating the next energizing segment or you could split your arc, driving part of it backwards down the rails toward the breach and reducing acceleration). By using these methods and carefully engineering the rails and insulators to resist ablation, the authors were able to achieve results suggesting that restrike could be avoided.		Additional work<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> has suggested that restrike can be suppressed if the plasma arc simply does not have time to vaporize the rails or nearby insulators. This requires the projectile to already be moving rapidly, so it will need to first be accelerated by other means – and if those other means of accelerating the projectile also produce gas you need to keep that gas out of the railgun or it can allow restrike. These works generally inject the projectile already moving at between 0.5 to 1 km/s. Augmentation also helps; the additional magnetic field from the augmentation rails gives additional acceleration without the additional voltage that can drive unwanted arcs. Distributed energy supply along the rails further helps to cut off power to the downstream rails, inhibiting arc formation while simultaneously increasing efficiency (although it was found necessary to wait for the entire length of the driving arc to pass before activating the next energizing segment or you could split your arc, driving part of it backwards down the rails toward the breach and reducing acceleration). By using these methods and carefully engineering the rails and insulators to resist ablation, the authors were able to achieve results suggesting that restrike could be avoided.

			However, a plasma armature railgun is now operating much as a conventional gun, with a hot vapor pushing on the projectile to accelerate it. Reference <ref name="Cowan_1993">M. Cowan, E. C. Cnare, B. W. Duggin, R. J. Kaye, B. M. Marder, I. IL Shokair, "The Continuing Challenge of Electromagnetic Launch", https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10177176</ref> suggests that this limits the performance of the gun in the same way that propelling a bullet with combustion products from powder limits a conventional gun, with efficiency falling off at high speeds. Indeed, railgun performance plots out similarly to light gas guns which can achieve similar high speeds. The authors suggest that "Experimental results strongly indicate that high performance railguns are electrically-powered, gas-dynamic rather than electromagnetic guns" and "Railguns do not appear to offer a clear advantage over gas dynamic-guns. In fact, when they are operated for high performance, they show launch pressure limitations which are more gas dynamic than electromagnetic in nature. Since solid armatures transfer their current to an arc, there is no successful theory which has established the railgun as a true electromagnetic launcher."

	Not all plasma armature railguns are used at extreme speed, with some experimental railguns designed with plasma armatures with design goals of approximately 2 km/s projectile speeds<ref name="Tatake1994"></ref>. However, sliding contact designs offer significantly improved efficiency and barrel lifetime at these lower speeds<ref name="Zielinski1996"></ref>.		Not all plasma armature railguns are used at extreme speed, with some experimental railguns designed with plasma armatures with design goals of approximately 2 km/s projectile speeds<ref name="Tatake1994"></ref>. However, sliding contact designs offer significantly improved efficiency and barrel lifetime at these lower speeds<ref name="Zielinski1996"></ref>.

Lwcamp: /* Plasma railguns */

2025-11-03T16:59:55Z

Plasma railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:59, 3 November 2025
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	=== Plasma railguns ===		=== Plasma railguns ===

	Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.		Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.
	One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.

	=== Plasma rails ===		=== Plasma rails ===

Lwcamp: /* Plasma railguns */

2025-11-03T16:59:19Z

Plasma railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:59, 3 November 2025
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	=== Plasma railguns ===		=== Plasma railguns ===

	Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds ~~– one~~ study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.		Want something even crazier than making the armature out of plasma? What if you make the projectile out of plasma, too. Now we have a plasma railgun, designed to launch puffs of plasma, or even plasmoids, at ridiculous speeds. This is common during the testing, study, and design phase of plasma armature railguns, where the railgun can just be run with a free arc accelerated along the rails without any load.
			One study<ref>Sovinec, C. R. (1990). "Phase 1b MARAUDER computer simulations". IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. 22 (16). https://inis.iaea.org/search/searchsinglerecord.aspx?recordsFor=SingleRecord&RN=22057516</ref><ref name="Dengan1993">Dengan, J. H.; et al. (1 August 1993). "Compact toroid formation, compression, and acceleration". Physics of Fluids B. 5 (8): 2938–2958. Bibcode:[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhFlB...5.2938D 1993PhFlB...5.2938D] doi:[https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.860681 10.1063/1.860681]</ref> launched plasmoids of roughly a milligram in mass at speeds of several hundred km/s. This is, in fact, an attempt to make a [[Plasma_Guns\|plasma gun]], and they don't work well as weapons for all the reasons described for normal plasma guns. Suggested uses for such things are "fast opening switches, x-radiation production, radio frequency (rf) compression, as well as charge-neutral ion beam and inertial confinement fusion studies"<ref name="Dengan1993"></ref>.

	=== Plasma rails ===		=== Plasma rails ===

Lwcamp: /* Plasma armature railguns */

2025-11-03T16:56:59Z

Plasma armature railguns

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:56, 3 November 2025
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	<li>Improved materials, with a synthetic diamond coating suggested as optimal.		<li>Improved materials, with a synthetic diamond coating suggested as optimal.
	</ul>		</ul>
	It is suggested that these techniques may allow speeds in the 10 to 20 km/s range with the main limit on speed now being viscous drag on the armature plasma.		It is suggested that these techniques may allow speeds in the 10 to 20 km/s range with the main limit on speed now being viscous drag on the armature plasma. Although note that at these speeds, projectiles will not survive long in an Earth-like atmosphere, rapidly being eroded away by the intense heating and pressures of ramming through the air faster than most meteors. They may be useful in exo-atmospheric combat, particularly in setting featuring relatively low performance rocket thrusters where the railgun slugs cannot simply be outrun.

	~~At these speeds~~, ~~projectiles~~ will ~~not survive long in an Earth-like atmosphere~~, ~~rapidly being eroded away by~~ the ~~intense heating and pressures~~ of ~~ramming through~~ the ~~air faster than most meteors~~. ~~They may be useful in exo-atmospheric combat~~, ~~particularly in setting featuring relatively low performance rocket thrusters where~~ the ~~railgun slugs cannot simply~~ be ~~outrun~~.		Additional work<ref name="McNab et al 2011"></ref> has suggested that restrike can be suppressed if the plasma arc simply does not have time to vaporize the rails or nearby insulators. This requires the projectile to already be moving rapidly, so it will need to first be accelerated by other means – and if those other means of accelerating the projectile also produce gas you need to keep that gas out of the railgun or it can allow restrike. These works generally inject the projectile already moving at between 0.5 to 1 km/s. Augmentation also helps; the additional magnetic field from the augmentation rails gives additional acceleration without the additional voltage that can drive unwanted arcs. Distributed energy supply along the rails further helps to cut off power to the downstream rails, inhibiting arc formation while simultaneously increasing efficiency (although it was found necessary to wait for the entire length of the driving arc to pass before activating the next energizing segment or you could split your arc, driving part of it backwards down the rails toward the breach and reducing acceleration). By using these methods and carefully engineering the rails and insulators to resist ablation, the authors were able to achieve results suggesting that restrike could be avoided.

	Not all plasma armature railguns are used at extreme speed, with some experimental railguns designed with plasma armatures with design goals of approximately 2 km/s projectile speeds<ref name="Tatake1994"></ref>. However, sliding contact designs offer significantly improved efficiency and barrel lifetime at these lower speeds<ref name="Zielinski1996"></ref>.		Not all plasma armature railguns are used at extreme speed, with some experimental railguns designed with plasma armatures with design goals of approximately 2 km/s projectile speeds<ref name="Tatake1994"></ref>. However, sliding contact designs offer significantly improved efficiency and barrel lifetime at these lower speeds<ref name="Zielinski1996"></ref>.