The US Navy has a prototype railgun that can fire a 25lb projectile at 4,500 miles an hour.
Photo Credit: Wall Street Journal
Photo Credit: Office of Naval Research
The 32-foot barrel uses opposing electromagnetic currents to accelerate the projectile.
Photo Credit: Wall Street Journal
It exits the barrel at a speed more than double the average bullet velocity.
Photo Credit: Wall Street Journal
And the shoe that acted as a conductor splits away like something out of a movie.
Photo Credit: US Department of Defense
But its potential for wrecking everything from a ship or a tank, to a bunker or even a flying nuclear missile stays intact.
More GIFs and videos after the jump.
