Gauss Guns :: physics gauss gun

The theory behind gauss guns is that you can take electrical energy and convert it to kinetic energy by using an electromagnetic energy storage field. In essence, you take a ferrous object (the projectile) and place it at one end of a hollow solenoid. When electricity is applied to the coils inside the solenoid, a magnetic field is generated which pulls the projectile towards the center of the coils. As the projectile reaches the center and continues, the magnetic pull decreases and eventually reverses. Before this happens, you need to either shut off the field, or reverse it. This will allow the particle to continue out the opposite side of the solenoid and beyond, thus being a "gun". This system cannot make for a very powerful projectile without becoming prohibitively draining in terms of power for the coils. But it is possible to line up multiple coils and by carefully timing electrical pulses fire the projectile with much more acceleration. However, in terms of a man-portable "gun", anything beyond a single stage would be too heavy, while a single stage gun that is portable cannot generate too much force. Thus, there are no soldiers carrying Gauss rifles. The formula for Projectile Force from a Gauss Gun F = A*N*I(((ÃŽ ¼0*N*I)/(2*(c)2))+(1/CL)) Breakdown of Formula: F = Final force of projectile, in Newtons A = Area of cross-section of barrel, in meters N = Number of turns in solenoid coil I = Current through coils, in Amperes ÃŽ ¼0 = The permeability of free space (12.5663*10-7) in Teslas c = (ra/2b) Found from measurements in figure 1 C = Quantity of electric charge, in Coulombs (A/s) L = Length of barrel, in meters Using this formula and the mass of your projectile, you can determine the acceleration your projectile will have when exiting the gun. (F=ma) There are too many variables to ever find a perfectly efficient setup for a gauss gun, but it is possible to find various setups that provide a very high level of efficiency. If you are looking to see a gauss gun being used as a weapon, your best bet is too run out and buy some futuristic video game. At this point in time, there are no known (unclassified?) portable weapons that fire with electromagnetic forces. However, some prototype, tabletop sized models have been built, and below you can find some links to see some current experiments in Gauss Gun technology. Sam Barros's POWERLABS currently has built a nice single stage Gauss Gun and there are also developing a powerful multi-stage gun.