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.
Check this out:
Photo Credit: Reuters
That’s seven layers of steel right there. And there are no explosives in the cartridge. It’s the fury of friction and velocity you’re seeing.
However, the rail gun is also huge, and it requires a traveling power plant that could otherwise generate enough electricity for 18,750 homes.
So it’ll mostly live on ships.
Here’s a video with more info:
As the technology improves, they hope to be able to steer the projectile with GPS.
But right now, they’re still working on finding a way for the electronics to withstand the G-forces.
Credit: GIPHY
