Mad Coiler's RAILGUN  Page
What the heck is a railgun?
     The railgun is an electromagnetic device that uses the fundamental concepts of electricity and magnetism. I don't have all the answers when it comes to railguns, but until I do, here is a link to a page that has all sorts of theory and formulas on railgun design and operation.   http://www.wpi.edu/~gummi/ph1121.html
 
Using the 'left hand rule' you can see from my picture (I did it in paint - yeeks!) that current flowing through the projectile, along with magnetic field lines that pass vertically through the projectile, create an induced force that propells the projectil down the rails.
 


 

I haven't built a railgun yet, I am in the design process.  I hope to build one sometime by the end of '99.  Here is a picture describing a basic railgun.

If someone out there has any information on railguns or sees any flaw in my design please email me!  Here is some design specs that I have preliminarily come to:

Power source:
- Rectified 120V or 240V (for a small railgun).
- Pulse capacitor, 10kV 240uF or 20kV 60uF, either are 12,000Joules.
Rails:
- Copper pipes?
Projectile:
- Dont know yet. Maybee an aluminum slug.
Field coils:
- I really need some assistance here. Untill I can figure otherwise, I plan on using #18AWG magnet wire wrapped around a ferrite rod, 0.5" diameter, 3" length, several layers.

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