05-18-2016, 10:16 PM
Okay. So lets assume only 25% of the energy released on firing actually makes it into the projectile. I'm not sure how efficient gunpowder weapons usually are, but it can't be too high given the physics involved, but I would expect coilguns to be even worse. You're dealing with circumstances where a lot of energy is straight up thrown away to heat in the components, so the efficiency will probably be poor.
Multiply that energy rate at the muzzle by 4. This would give you a ballpark for how much energy must be supplied. 75% of the provided energy is thrown away as heat, while 25% appears as muzzle velocity of the projectile.
Your design must not only provide the entire amount of energy needed, it must safely dissapate the heat produced. There are equations governing heat transfer to air that you can calculate how fast it will cool down easily enough. Better get a spreadsheet started.
As for how much energy a fusion reactor can make? Don't even start on that one. It is impossible to predict the properties of a technology that doesn't exist yet.
Just take that artistic license and assume it is able to do so.
Multiply that energy rate at the muzzle by 4. This would give you a ballpark for how much energy must be supplied. 75% of the provided energy is thrown away as heat, while 25% appears as muzzle velocity of the projectile.
Your design must not only provide the entire amount of energy needed, it must safely dissapate the heat produced. There are equations governing heat transfer to air that you can calculate how fast it will cool down easily enough. Better get a spreadsheet started.
As for how much energy a fusion reactor can make? Don't even start on that one. It is impossible to predict the properties of a technology that doesn't exist yet.
Just take that artistic license and assume it is able to do so.
Feel free to PM me if anything is broken