05-19-2015, 11:50 AM
(05-19-2015, 11:16 AM)Gonzogonz Wrote: Barn owl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLubmL8viE
(05-19-2015, 11:15 AM)Segolia Wrote: Railguns have been a thing for a long while. In fact I've seen those pictures before I'm pretty sure they're at least 5 years old.
You can make one yourself pretty easily you basically just need a high-current power source and 2 metal rails.
yeah, but would it be an actually effective anti-vehicle weapon?
Well what they are planning to put on ships is the same thing just scaled up.
The main problems with railguns still exist: a) you need a MASSIVE current which requires huge capacitors and stuff and a lot of charging time to fire off a shot and b) they aren't very durable, all the plasma and heat and friction generated very quickly destroys the rails of the gun which renders it unusable - there's no real metal which can stand up to the sheer forces and heat for very long.
I think in general, they are not especially effective moreso than conventional arms - the main appeal seems to be the very long effective range but at that point I think it's more desirable to use something like a missile with the present issues. The good thing about putting it on a boat specifically means no explosive ammunition needs to be stored which is normally a major vulnerability for ships.