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From: ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: rail guns
Message-ID: <2552@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Jan-86 21:01:19 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.2552
Posted: Mon Jan 13 21:01:19 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Jan-86 08:05:38 EST
References: <8601091435.AA06071@s1-b.arpa>
Organization: Circle C Shellfish Ranch, Shores-of-the-Pacific, Ca
Lines: 19
Summary: Why not use capacitors to store energy for the rail gun?

> Actually, current rail guns are not very efficient (30%?).  Much of the
> energy ends up in a residual magnetic field after the projectile leaves
> the launcher.
 ...
> The biggest technical obstacle to rail guns and other electric launchers
> is, suprisingly, not the launcher itself but rather the power source.
> Launching a 100 kilogram payload to orbital velocity at 1,000 gees
> requires a peak power of something like 10 gigawatts (for a brief
> time).  The average power will be much less (depending on the launch
> rate).

Why not use capacitors or something similar to store the energy?
Charge them up over night, then POW, discharge for a launch.

The peak size of the *generator* is reduced by orders of magnetude ...
-- 
E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

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