World’s Most Powerful Electromagnetic Railgun Tested by the U.S. Navy

A bird in the bed is better than many in the bush??? to misquote an old saying... or a screw in time saves on glue and many later on - to put it in builders vernacular?

 

If this rail gun doesn't use chemical propellants, how come there is such a massive ball of flame behind the "bullet"?

 

SamSam, the introductory post said a "muzzle velocity of Mach seven" - accelarated to that velocity, heaps of condensate and vaporised lubricants and packaging would be expected... - - very roughly I guess that would be in excess of 7000 feet per second?

 

Plasma

It's going so fast that it ignites the air. Look up meteors or the Space Shuttle re-entry for more examples.

Also notice the shock wave in front of the projectile, almost looks like it warping time.

 

sam sam, cororana from electromagno field, (ionises the air around it)
this technology has been out since the 80s
so has f16,,raptor
you are just hearing about it now
longliner

 

newer video

http://www.asminternational.org/news/videos/results/-/journal_content/56/10192/20085491/VIDEO#.VmitpJ4mnqo.facebook


A railgun is an electrically powered electromagnetic projectile launcher. It is made of a pair of parallel conducting rails, along which a sliding armature is accelerated by the electromagnetic effects of a current that flows down one rail, into the armature, and then back along the other rail.