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From: phil@isieng.UUCP (Phil Gustafson)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Storing electricity for railgun shots
Message-ID: <197@isieng.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 17-Jan-86 14:21:08 EST
Article-I.D.: isieng.197
Posted: Fri Jan 17 14:21:08 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Jan-86 04:38:15 EST
References: <8601162257.AA16707@s1-b.arpa>
Reply-To: phil@isieng.UUCP (Phil Gustafson)
Organization: Integrated Solutions, San Jose, CA
Lines: 12

In article <8601162257.AA16707@s1-b.arpa> FRIEDRITR%GAV.MFENET@LLL-MFE.ARPA writes:
>One method (which is used in some fusion reactor experiments) is to use
>a spinning rock. 

The Bevatron at UC Berkeley does this, and has for years. A motor winds
a flywheel up to a high speed.  Then (every minute or so) a bank of thyratrons
lights up blue and  *all* the energy in the flywheel gets dumped into the 
accelerator.  Great fun to watch and listen to.  Cheaper and more compact than
capacitors holding the same energy.

	phil