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Build Your Own Gauss Pistol

BdosError writes "A Russion software developer has developed a homemade Gauss pistol. It's not very powerful yet, but as a proof of concept, it's interesting. Nice, non-chemical slugthrower that should appeal to fans of Science Fiction and related games, like Traveller and many others."

18 of 648 comments (clear)

  1. Found something better in a google search by adzoox · · Score: 5, Informative
    So I could find out what the heck a gauss gun is .... it's a magnetic propulsion gun icase some of you were wondering like I was.

    This is a do EASY do it yourself I found:

    http://www.scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/magnets/g auss.html

    --
    Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
    1. Re:Found something better in a google search by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
  2. sonic boom... by Thinkit3 · · Score: 2, Informative

    It'd have to be subsonic, and if it was, it'd be no different than a silencer today.

    --
    -Libertarian secular transhumanist
  3. 5mm bullet, 33 m/s muzzle velocity by homer_ca · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Bullet is iron, diameter is 5 mm, length 25 mm, weight is 2,75 g.
    Muzzle velocity about 33 m/s."

    In comparison, an air rifle shoots a 4.5mm pellet at about 800 ft/s.

    1. Re:5mm bullet, 33 m/s muzzle velocity by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2, Informative

      Diameter. That is the standard mesurement when talking about bullets with a sinlge number. If I say I have a 9mm gun, I mean it has a barrel 9mm in diameter, likewise a .223 is a gun with a barrel 0.223 inches in diameter. If you want length then a second number is specified. For example standard 9mm amuniton is 9x19mm (that includes the length of the case). However, for much ammunition, it is assumed form the name that the length is known. If I say 9mm Luger, .45ACP or 5.56 NATO, I am talking about a standard type of ammo and the length is known.

      In the case of pellet air guns, you are generally talking about a plastic sphere for a bullet, and so a uniformsize in all directions.

  4. Metal Storm by Squidgee · · Score: 3, Informative
    This has been done, and is now recieving military funding. Check it out here.

    Scary stuff.

    1. Re:Metal Storm by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Informative

      Metal Storm is not a Gauss gun. It's simply one or more barrels, each containing multiple bullets with a propellant stacked in between the bullets. Electronics set off the propellants in a timed fashion, allowing incredible rates of fire.

      The use for Metal Storm seems to be rather limited though. Large caliber and/or explosive or armor-piercing rounds are more efficient against hardened targets, and a Gatling seems to do just fine against fast moving targets (Goalkeeper / Phalanx antimissile systems). The only interesting application I saw was in underwater anti-torpedo systems.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  5. Re:No sound! by BWJones · · Score: 4, Informative

    Except for the fact that the bullet (~1000m/s in most rifles) will break the sound barrier (~340 m/s).

    While the parent post is disturbing, I will respond regarding this post. Sub-sonic ammo with silencers take care of most of that problem with traditional guns, while coil guns are tunable with the desired weight and size of the projectile used in them to keep the round sub-sonic.

    There are very active research programs going on in a number of defense groups concerning rail guns at all scales from personal defense to large scale cannons.

    --
    Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
  6. Re:Hrmm by pi_rules · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are a myriad of firearm laws. Last I knew it was darned near 22,000 nationwide. It's a mess. Sure has done a heck of a lot to keep illegal guns off the street though. As a law abiding citizen I'm glad to know that I can't buy the same kind of firearms that my coke dealing cousin can illegally. Makes me feel real damn safe at night.

    Ranting aside, laws generally apply to chemically propelled weapons. That leaves BB and pellet guns out of the regulations. The magnetic weapons are still slow enough and bulky enough that they're not under regulation yet. As soon as somebody gets one that works well and starts selling it though you can bet stink will hit the fan though.

    While I'm not a fan of what he did Timothy McVeigh did build a weapon of sorts that was somewhat like a shotgun but fired a modified flare that would explode. It was meant to take down helicopters. The ATF went after him for a bit on this one, or at least confronted him I guess, even though it was prefectly legal to sell. Couldn't sell the explosive flares but empties with instructions on how to make shells were illegal.

    "Shall not infringe" sure has come to mean "shall not entirely infringe" over the years.

    Yes I'm a pro-2nd ammendment person. If you have a problem with that I suggest you post a sign on your front lawn saying that you refuse to own guns if you think that will make the world a safer place.

  7. Re:Gauss driven pistol by Zirnike · · Score: 4, Informative
    APDSFSDU ammo, used in tank rounds: Armor piercing discarding sabot fin stabilized depleted uranium (I'm almost sure that's the right order for the acronym...)

    Alternately, you could use magnets that are 'twisted' in pole (I can't get to the site to see the actual design, so bear with me). For example, you could use 3 rod magnets in each 'stage' (or 3 e-mags, whatever) and then rotate them relative to the previous row, giving you a triple helix. Then 'lobe' the slug. The magnets will 'draw' the lobes along and spin it.

    --
    I'm not shy, I'm stalking my prey
  8. Re:No sound! by BenEnglishAtHome · · Score: 4, Informative
    Of course it is possible to keep the bullet subsonic, but then your weapon is pretty useless as a sniper rifle.

    Wow. I never ceased to be amused by people who pop off so confidently about things they obviously know so little about. What on earth makes you think that supersonic projectile velocity is necessary for a sniper rifle? The whole family of Whisper cartridges are astonishingly useful while deliberately being designed to stay subsonic. In fact, it's become clear from some long-range shooting sports that holding velocity below the sound barrier avoids certain wind drift problems. Try reading Understanding Firearm Ballistics by Robert A. Rinker. If you can hack the math, his explanation of the characteristics of transonic bullet flight make very clear that low velocity rounds can be highly useful in a number of applications.

  9. Re:No sound! by Locmar · · Score: 2, Informative

    In WWII, the British developed a little gun specifically for commandos called the Delisle Carbine...it's basically a Lee-Enfield rifle mated with a Colt 1911 which has a silencer built in as an integral part. It was rechambered from the Enfield's .303 to the Colt's .45 ACP so that it would be subsonic, and commandos could use it as a sniper rifle (despite the fact that it was essentially a large pistol).

  10. Re:Hrmm by AceMarkE · · Score: 4, Informative

    Only after the Civil War? Sorry, wrong. That's part of what Michael Bellisles tried to claim in his book "Arming America". See the archives of Clayton Cramer's blog for research showing that American gun ownership was quite common well before the Revolutionary War (Cramer has dug through numerous archives of town records, all of which prove his point). In particular, see here, here, and here
    Mark Erikson

  11. Here, have a mirror by Biogenesis · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://members.optushome.com.au/dbsite1/www.pskovi nfo.ru/coilgun/index.htm

    abount time i used the webspace my ISP gives me for something usefull.

  12. Re:They don't exist? by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 3, Informative

    IIRC, the light 5.56mm slug is unstable, and tumbles when it hits an object. It spins in the body like a circular saw.

    The new, heavier round used with the M16A2 is more stable, hits and penetrates better, but is less lethal.

  13. Re:No sound! by nettdata · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't doubt that at all, but now the issue was their benefit in sniper rifles, in particular those made out of Gauss guns. And I think my point still holds, that subsonic is not your typical method of choice for sniper rifles

    Hmmm... some people/snipers would beg to differ with you.

    You may wish to check out these titles for some interesting concepts/tidbits:

    The Ultimate Sniper"

    or

    US Army Special Operations Target Interdiction Course"

    They are very interesting reads.

    --



    $0.02 (CDN)
  14. Re:"hopelessly irrational mind" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    That would be kind of ridiculous, since every other right listed in the bill of rights applies to individuals. Individuals have a right to free speech, not the militia,...individuals have a right to assembly, not the militia...the militia doesn't have a right to practice whatever religion they want, individuals do. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure? Oh, that's indivduals, too, not the militia. So, every right listed in the bill of rights applies to individuals, except the right to keep and bear arms, which lists a right for the government. Riiiiiight...sorry buddy, that dog won't hunt.

  15. Looks good - works... by yabHuj · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...not really. 1.5J is just double as much as an average "SoftAir" pistol.
    These are good enough for a "ouch", but cannot even penetrate bare skin.
    For a "real" weapon you need a muzzle velocity that is ~3 orders of magnitude higher than in the current model (i.e. km/s instead of m/s).

    Cudos to the design though - the gun looks nice. Much nicer than all the other Gauss-thingies I have seen so far...