|
Railguns operate on the principal that a force is created whenever an electric field passes through a magnetic field; the resulting force (which goes in a direction perpendicular to the electric and magnetic field) is called a Lorentz force. Although in theory the railgun is rediculously powerful, there are several factors which reduce the likelihood of us seeing a viable version anytime soon. Even large-scale guns for battleships aren't feasible at the moment.
Why? Inefficiency. If I recall correctly, most railguns are around 15% efficient. That means that 15% of the energy that goes into the railgun is actually transmitted as kinetic energy; the remainder is dispersed through heat and friction. That heat and friction causes another problem; the rails typically wear down after a few shots. Given that you're transmitting orders of magnitude more current than an arc welder, it's no surprise that things can heat iup. In fact, if the bullet isn't going fast enough it will weld to the rails.
Railguns would work in space, and I don't think they would push back against the user. The force is a result of the interaction between a magnetic and electric field, and I don't think it's transmitted back to the rear of the gun. I could be wrong (maybe there's an interaction between the fields and the gun itself that I forgot).
So yeah. Railguns are fun and they shoot a lot of sparks, but unless someone comes up with a way to make them more efficient you're not going to get a lot of use out of them.
__________________
If ignorance is bliss, you must be having an orgasm.
|