Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!orion.oac.uci.edu!ucivax!alleyne From: alleyne@olympus.ics.uci.edu (Brian Derek Alleyne) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: How to make a RAIL GUN? Message-ID: <27EE910A.10011@ics.uci.edu> Date: 26 Mar 91 00:08:42 GMT References: Reply-To: alleyne@ics.uci.edu (Brian Derek Alleyne) Organization: UC Irvine Department of ICS Lines: 41 Nntp-Posting-Host: olympus.ics.uci.edu Use the same principle as a linear accelerator. I once shot a bb about fifty feet using a tube and 8 coils. c c c c c c c -=--=--==----===------===----------===---------------===-- -=--=--==----===------===----------===---------------===-- c c c c c c c 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 c = coil wound with thick copper wire = = Ferrite or soft iron ring around which the coil is wound to increase the magnetic field. Each coil from left to right is energized in sequence, and should be timed to turn off as the projectile reaches it. ie. coil "1" is turned on first. Just as the projectile reaches it, it is turned off and coil "2" is turned on. Just as the projectile reaches coil "2", it is turned off, and coil "3" is turned on etc. As a result, the projectile (if magnetic) is accellerated (pulled) by the magnetic field travelling down the tube. I just used a shift register and a 555 timer to control the switches which controled the coils, and experimented with the distances between the coils to get the maximum range. happy shooting... Brian ------------------------------------------------------------- Je ne pense pas donc "poof"... alleyne@ics.uci.edu ------------------------------------------------------------- -- ------------------------------------------------------------- Je ne pense pas donc "poof"... alleyne@ics.uci.edu -------------------------------------------------------------