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FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET (A First Look at America’s Supergun)
The Wall Street Journal ^ | May 27, 2016 | Julian E. Barnes

Posted on 05/27/2016 10:28:47 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki

click here to read article


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To: Flick Lives

yes that’s almost fast enough to out run a ford truck.


61 posted on 05/27/2016 12:22:24 PM PDT by old gringo (a wise monkey never monkeys with another monkeys monkey.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Requires a hit, though. A standard naval gun proximity fused can do significant damage on a near-miss.


62 posted on 05/27/2016 12:24:25 PM PDT by JimRed (Is it 1776 yet? TERM LIMITS, now and forever! Build the Wall, NOW!)
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To: arthurus

I saw that too. Knuckleheads.


63 posted on 05/27/2016 12:29:05 PM PDT by SgtHooper (If you remember the 60's, YOU WEREN'T THERE!)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

“In conventional guns, a bullet loses velocity from the moment the gunpowder ignites and sends it flying. “

If that were the case, explosive guns wouldn’t use long barrels - like rifles.


64 posted on 05/27/2016 12:32:29 PM PDT by DaxtonBrown (wrote Harry Reid.s only biography www.futurnamics.com/reid.php)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

“25 megawatt of power is enough to light a city.”

You guys are confusing watts with joules. Watts is a measure of power, energy per second. It may require a 25megawatt generator that only operates a second or two.

A 10kg projectile requires 35,000,000 joules to get it to 45000 mph (double that for inefficiencies = 70,000,000 J). Sounds like a lot, but if you are charging a capacitor bank, that’s only 2.5 seconds if you have a 25 megawatt generator (that’s a 33,000 horsepower plus engine)..


65 posted on 05/27/2016 12:56:06 PM PDT by DaxtonBrown (wrote Harry Reid.s only biography www.futurnamics.com/reid.php)
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To: sauropod

read


66 posted on 05/27/2016 12:59:00 PM PDT by sauropod (Beware the fury of a patient man.)
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To: arthurus

Right. Since the bullet is still at the moment of ignition, it has to gain a whole lot of velocity before it starts losing velocity.


67 posted on 05/27/2016 1:03:02 PM PDT by maro (what did the President know and when did he know it?)
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To: mountainlion

It ain’t the Watts, it is the Joules - how long does it take to charge the gun at 25 MW?


68 posted on 05/27/2016 1:21:57 PM PDT by Little Ray (NOTHING THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO PAY FOR IS A RIGHT.)
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To: fella
Edger KB(ka-Boom) McKenzie of Possum Lodge fame always says “There’s no problem that can’t be solved with explosives”.

:D

Thank you for that.

69 posted on 05/27/2016 1:22:47 PM PDT by Edward.Fish
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To: Little Ray

A 25 megawatt power plant and large capacitor bank are required to provide enough pulse power to fire the weapon 10 times a minute.


70 posted on 05/27/2016 1:28:42 PM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: mountainlion

So that is 150 MegaJoules - 35.85 kg of TNT.


71 posted on 05/27/2016 1:49:33 PM PDT by Little Ray (NOTHING THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO PAY FOR IS A RIGHT.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Hillarious picture at article, showing ultra high-tech, 25 megawatt powered gun being loaded by hand.


72 posted on 05/27/2016 2:00:33 PM PDT by Mr. Blond
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To: Little Ray

1000 watts is about 1 horsepower.

One Megawatt used to be enough power for 7,000 houses.

I did not notice the voltage or amperage of the discharge but the instantaneous power must be amazing.


73 posted on 05/27/2016 2:09:02 PM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: mountainlion

Put a guidance system on the round for anti-aircraft or anti-missile work. No more aircraft within 10-20 miles of the ship.


74 posted on 05/27/2016 2:13:04 PM PDT by Little Ray (NOTHING THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO PAY FOR IS A RIGHT.)
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To: rightwingcrazy
Also, it's 25 megawatts for a fraction of a second - easily stored up in supercapacitors or something like this over a period of time, then all discharged at once. Say, 25 Kw for 1,000 seconds (about 17 minutes). It's a high power requirement, but the total energy requirements are fairly modest (a couplafew megajoules?)
75 posted on 05/27/2016 2:14:23 PM PDT by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like tractor.)
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To: Little Ray

No more aircraft within 10-20 miles of the ship.

I wonder if an internal guidance system could take the acceleration of the firing?


76 posted on 05/27/2016 2:15:34 PM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: dangerdoc

Actually, 45 Mw for a microsecond is only 45 Joules. Your car could provide that in less than a second - typical car alternator is somewhere in the 1 Kw area, so it would only take .045 seconds to generate that 45 Joules of energy.

But I’m guessing the pulse necessary for a rail gun is probably at least in the 10s of milliseconds area. Let’s say 50 ms. so 45 e06 * 50 e-03 is 2.25 MJ. That would take your car’s alternator a couple thousand seconds to produce.


77 posted on 05/27/2016 2:20:49 PM PDT by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like tractor.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Metal Storm https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiPs6aXmvvMAhVJ74MKHUggB44QtwIIJDAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwKlnMwuCZso&usg=AFQjCNF9_TzlV0ni1tSM_YzBLtvtBa3uRQ&bvm=bv.123325700,bs.2,d.eWE


78 posted on 05/27/2016 2:30:09 PM PDT by stockpirate (Flush Limbaigh a low information talk show host concerning Ted sCruz and Marco foamboy Rubio.)
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To: Seruzawa

Yes.

Assuming you could armor-up a tank to defend against this, the weight, and the energy needed to move that weight are impractical to impossible. And the armament? The current Abrams main gun MV of a 120mm sabot round is +/- 5,200 fps (if memory serves). Doesn’t come close to generating the same kinetic force.

Yes, this is a potential game changer. But...how to provide the power to fire this beasty is the $64,000 question.

regards,


79 posted on 05/27/2016 2:31:05 PM PDT by Thunder 6
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To: -YYZ-

Where I used to work, we called them BFCs. Still, you need something to charge them up.


80 posted on 05/27/2016 2:33:14 PM PDT by rightwingcrazy (qq)
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