20" diameter? A darning needle?
But yes, the larger scaled tracks are being upgraded with the new cascade units. We are at 63% complete. This was just the test model. Man portable actually. Only vaccuum prevented that needle from vaporizing. Acceleration protocols can be timed for geometric or straight scalar curves. You could have it light enough to not ruffle a feather, or you could max it out which would reduce any biological matter within the "bucket" to a thin, pink paste.
The bigger tracks can launch tons of material at a time. Of course, the more "magnetic" the material, the more efficient it'll operate. Iron chunks in the 800lbs range can be zipped out at relativistic velocities.
Just don't shoot 'em all off at once, or only on one side. Newton wouldn't like it very much.
Your boys have been busy!
As you know, I tended to concentrate on supervising the gleaning of materials from the ocean currents, but I noticed that the piles of excess material tended to diminish from time to time. Excellent!
Ocean harvesting, GCNR/REs, outfitting and equipping Habitats A and B, and finding personnel for the various hydroponics and other agricultural projects has occupied most of my time.
I've had very little extra time available to investigate my own projects. Everything in my labs is just hanging fire until we get some quiet time.
I did make sure we had those "Radioactive Material Disposal Canisters" operational though, just in case. Now I need to see about retrofitting the GCNR/REs with "asteroid-mining" prospecting LASERs on their noses. Multi-spectral, of course.
Since they are normally parked on the Thrust Ring, that gives them a "Forward Look" that will eventually make it possible to use them as asteroid or meteor defense systems.
Sir Isaac will not be disturbed by their operation.