[FPSPACE] US Navy electromagnetic cannon successful firing...33 megajoules

[Peter Pesavento]

Could this be used (when it is fully realized) in launching objects into
space?

 

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-navy-electromagnetic-cannon.html*/

 

Via Agency France Presse

 


Navy test fires electromagnetic cannon


December 10, 2010

The US Navy announced a successful test Friday of an electromagnetic cannon
capable of firing a projectile 110 nautical miles (200 kilometers) at five
times the speed of sound. 

 

"This demonstration moves us one day closer to getting this advanced
capability to sea," said Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, chief of naval research.

Tested at the Navy's Dahlgren Surface Warfare Center in Virginia, the
futuristic weapon uses powerful jolts of electric current to propel a
non-explosive slug along rails before launching it at supersonic velocities.

The latest test involved a 33-megajoule shot, the most powerful ever
attempted and three times that of the previous test in January 2008.

A megajoule <http://www.physorg.com/tags/megajoule/>  is equivalent to the
energy released when a one-tonne vehicle slams into a wall at 100 miles (160
kilometers) per hour.

"Today's railgun test demonstrates the tactical relevance of this
technology, which could one day complement traditional surface ship combat
systems," Carr said.

"The 33-megajoule shot means the Navy can fire projectiles at least 110
nautical miles, placing sailors and marines at a safe standoff distance and
out of harm's way."

He added that "the high velocities achievable are tactically relevant for
air and missile defense <http://www.physorg.com/tags/missile+defense/> ."

The test model bears little resemblance to a gun. Instead, thick black
cables plug into the rear of what looks like a long rectangular grill.

That armature holds the rails together as a powerful electric current surges
through them, pushing the slug forward.

 

 

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