Like every other crimson - blooded American male child , I enjoy the notion of move a piece of lead at up to Mach 8 and at “ extreme ” ranges . That ’s why I was glad to hear that BAE Systems has delivered a rail gun adequate to of such feats , and that the US Navy signed for the parcel .
A rail gas pedal , to freshen your retention , is one that relies on precise and extremely juiced electromagnets to shove the projectile , rather than ever increasing amounts of packed and wadded gunpowder or other fuel . Explosives are , after all , dangerous . On a ship , they either blow up or get sloshed , and either way that ’s just bad .
The twist BAE Systems shipped to the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren , Va. is the 32 - megajoule Electro - Magnetic Laboratory Rail Gun ( 32 - MJ LRG for short , but we ’ll call her “ Julie ” ) . It is about four times as strong as the last coevals of rail triggerman , but demands 3 million adenylic acid of major power per shot — enough to drain your Metal Gear ’s stamp battery in a heartbeat . You ’ll notice the parole “ testing ground ” stuck in there . Real - life rail guns have rick that still involve to be operate out :
Effective rail guns will require a major find in capacitor technology between now and 2020 , as well as a way to keep the bbl from being shredded by each high - velocity shooter .
bear in mind you , the Navy is n’t like pissing its pants for joy that it get to represent with a 32 - megajoule rail accelerator pedal . This is America , after all . What the Navy really wants is a 64 - megajoule rail gun . But since that might take 13 years and would require , yep , 6 million AMP per shot , the Navy ’s gon na have to take leave bitching and enjoy the toy it has , at least for now . [ Popular Mechanics ]
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