Posted on 08/07/2021 3:51:29 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Arcflash Labs has developed what it calls the world's first and only handheld Gauss rifle, capable of firing metal projectiles at lower velocities.
The company says the weapon is “capable of accelerating any ferromagnetic projectile (under 1/2″ in diameter) to 200+ fps [feet per second]” and can produce up to 100 Joules of force, or 75 foot-pounds, similar to the muzzle energy of some .22 rifles, making it the “most powerful coilgun ever sold to the public, and also (very likely) the most powerful handheld coilgun ever built.”
Arcflash's rifle measures 38 inches in length with a barrel length of 26 inches, weighs 20 pounds, and is powered by a 25.2-volt lithium-ion polymer battery (LiPoly) battery. From the images on the company’s website, the rifle’s stock appears to be 3D printed with some acrylic plastic sections bolted on.
The manufacturer says the rifle uses an “advanced capacitor charging system” and a “dual Clamped Quasi-Resonant Inverter.” This allows the Gauss rifle to fire up to 20 rounds per minute at maximum power, or up to 100 rounds per minute while operating at half power.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
Wake me when they start offering a 40-watt Phased Plasma Pulse-Gun.
My potato gun yields about 600 fps...with hairspray!
Not a phased 40 watt plasma rifle. In black.
5.56mm
—”Make a great party favor at the Zero’s birthday party.”
And that would be a waste of a fun toy!
—”600 fps...with hairspray”
Half the weight times speed squared!
A 200-gram potato??? at about 200 meters/sec...
Fatal.
Well a .5 inch diameter ferrous slug at 200 fps at close range will do some damage(1.25 cm’s or 125mm or close to .5 caliber) What would the weight be...an ounce or so?(it’s not lead so a ferric slug not as dense per cc of volume as lead would be).
Not a firearm. Cool
When I can get one at Harbor Freight, then I’ll know it’s a thing.
I made an electromagnet gun for a tenth grade physics project (1975/76). It fired at 75fps. I timed the successive magnets with a falling weighted switch. It could hit a paper plate at fifty feet with steel BBs. They had a great used parts stockpile at that school. I was using parts from pre ww2 radios etc. Lots of brass, wood, and Bakelite. I could slide the magnets up and down the barrel, and the contacts around the switch stator. I spend days fine tuning the timing.
Nerdiest thing I ever did.
I’ve been able to lob them pretty far out into a lake!😃
...”My Red Ryder had better ballistics than this thing.”
Yeah, but it shoots BBs versus “ferromagnetic projectiles”, but BBs are survivable.
—”a falling weighted switch. “
Totally cool!
Guessing that might limit your muzzle velocity, there would be a limit on how close the switches could be and the spread of the magnets...
You did it.
Totally cool!
LOL. Yep.
At 200 fps you’d have to aim about six feet high at hundred feet.
The magnets were clunky and un-optimized. Slow to build their fields. I was using pretty high voltage, and very slow duty period, but they were still smoking. That, and not having any access to alien technology doomed the project.
Next question: How long does it last before you have to replace the ‘barrel’? Depending on the exact technology, electromagnetic accelerators are notorious for slowly turning the barrel into plasma.
Thanks, but I think I’ll be waiting for that “economy of scale” thing to kick in.
The rate of fire is about the same but that’s even less muzzle energy than T. Jefferson’s 20-shot Girandoni air rifle.
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