Tactit One
- Technology
Navy Tests 32-Megajoule Railgun
Um, wow. This video comes from a test firing of the Navys Elecromagnetic Railgun (EMRG), which was carried out yesterday at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. The gun—which generates a powerful electromagnetic field to hurl projectiles at extremely high speeds—is rated at 32 megajoules, but the railgun engineers have to work up to that number slowly: this test was designed to reach a record-setting muzzle energy rating of 10 MJ. (The actual number turned out to be 10.64 MJ, according to Collin Babb with the Office of Naval Research.) One big question this video begs is, what causes the giant fireball?
2.24.2008 at 08:45pm - Comment by Tactit OneSo how's about that huge EMP from the weapon firing? Seems like a waste of power considering the potential weight issues for sheilding that might be better spent loading conventional weapons aboard the ship.
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