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Guy Creates Handheld Railgun With a 3D-Printer (engadget.com)

turkeydance writes: Using a combination of 3D printing and widely available components, David Wirth built a functioning handheld railgun that houses six capacitors and delivers more than 1,800 joules of energy per shot. So far he has tested the gun using metal rods made of graphite, aluminum and copper-coated tungsten. David has shot projectiles at over 250 meters per second in tests.

276 comments

  1. So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    3D printed handheld rail guns shooting nails?

    1. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      When is murder control going to stop murder?

      The whole argument that people can get guns anyway is stupid. If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

    2. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

      True-ish, but the devil is in the details... you'd probably need a lot more law enforcers to be able to do that. AKA a "police state".

      I, for one, prefer a society were it is generally acceptable that individual members take some responsibility for their own well-being. I always thought the liberal mindset is all about the individual and his liberties.

    3. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Troed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

      True-ish, but the devil is in the details... you'd probably need a lot more law enforcers to be able to do that. AKA a "police state".

      Sweden respectfully disagrees.

    4. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When is murder control going to stop murder?

      The whole argument that people can get guns anyway is stupid. If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

      So, you've put a "Gun Free Zone" sign on YOUR home?

    5. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

      True-ish, but the devil is in the details... you'd probably need a lot more law enforcers to be able to do that. AKA a "police state".

      I, for one, prefer a society were it is generally acceptable that individual members take some responsibility for their own well-being. I always thought the liberal mindset is all about the individual and his liberties.

      The rest of the developed world with its massively lower murder rates disagrees as well as Sweden.

    6. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So, you've put a "Gun Free Zone" sign on YOUR home?

      Don't need to. Where I live it is commons sense to not bring a gun into my home.

    7. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sweden actually has a pretty high gun rate per capita due to our big hunting community.

      However, with gang shootings becoming an every day occurance in our ghettos and our tiny police force strained from uncontrolled immigration things are about to get ugly.

    8. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by beerbear · · Score: 2

      The crime statistics don't seem to support this.

      --
      Hold my beer and watch this!
    9. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Rei · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yeah, you and your appalling ghetto murders unconstrained by your tiny police force - all 0,7 murders per 100k population per year. How do any of you survive? (US = 4,7 murders per 100k per year)

      What are you doing on the net - don't you have a Sverigedemokraterna party meeting to attend?

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    10. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course not. Such a sign would be entirely redundant.

    11. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by geantvert · · Score: 2, Funny

      Please! Do no obscure the debate with facts!

    12. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Uncontrolled immigration", yeah... Another one that has drunk the cool-aid of the now-said-to-be-reformed-racist extremists. The likes of you are more a part of the problem than the solution.

      I used to live in one of the said "ghettos" for the first 25 years of my life, and believe me, the crime rate there isn't higher than in the central parts of the big cities, quite the contrary. Also ghetto is a very strong word, so I guess that you have never set foot in one of these areas, nor seen a real ghetto, or else your retorics would be quite different.

      The problems in Sweden are with criminals, not immigrants per se. Anyone alienated from society have to find new ways to get by and most does in peaceful and meaning ful ways, forming their own groups within society (sad to see competence wasted this way because we are too stupid and stubborn to let good people find good work). A few turn to crime, but from the criminals I have met more have had "pure" swedish background than being first or second generation immigrants.

      But making up "facts" to support one's twisted world view is standard practice within these extremist circles, so I am not surprised at all.

    13. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Troed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      tiny police force strained from uncontrolled immigration things are about to get ugly.

      It's nice to be able to hide one's racist views behind the anonymous moniker, isn't it?

      With a fascist government you wouldn't be able to.

    14. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Yes, I understand things are very simple in binary land, where you believe that the intent of gun control is to magically stop all shootings overnight, but here in the real world things are a little more nuanced.

      You see, even if gun control did magically eliminate all guns from all criminals (which it wont, even the most ardent gun control advocates aren't retarded in believing that kind of extreme nonsense) such that all that was left were 3D printed guns, then you're still in a better place, because 3D printed guns break more easily so can still inherently be involved in less killings anyway. Of course people can just carry more to make up for that problem, but the more 3D printed guns and parts they're lugging around, the less mobile they are and the more obvious it is and the easier they are to catch.

      Hence even in your extreme binary world, where gun control magically stops all gun ownership overnight just like that, and the criminals defeat the initial binary success with arsenals of 3D printed weapons, they're still far easier to catch, and can still do far less damage than they could before.

      Sorry, but as usual, you've proven that anti-gun control arguments are intellectually bankrupt.

    15. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sweden doesn't have as much crime in the first place. The US has twice the *non-gun* murder rate that Sweden does. The self-defence or guns-as-deterrent arguments make much more sense in the US than in Sweden.

    16. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      immigration, likes its the federal governments job or something to control immigration for its citizens.

    17. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SwedenYES

    18. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by SchroedingersCat · · Score: 1

      If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

      40% of households have guns in them so about half of the people you know are likely own a gun. Can you name them?

    19. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most countries didn't deliberately run down their cities to get around that pesky desegregation thing. I'm guessing you're an American though?

    20. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by dave420 · · Score: 1

      With a uniform distribution you'd be right, but as that's clearly not the case, you are incredibly wrong. Quelle surprise.

    21. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any attempt to do that in the United States will result in an instant civil war. Some project the deaths to be in the millions. Are you sure it would be worth it?

    22. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A majority of the countries around the world have more murders per 100k than the U.S. does.

    23. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OTOH with a fascist government there is no shame in posting racist comments so he would be happy.

    24. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Cederic · · Score: 1

      As someone not in America, fuck yes.

    25. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Rei · · Score: 1

      Even ignoring that, Sweden's rate is very low - 14th lowest in the world. So hearing someone from Sweden talk about how horrid their murderous "ghettos" are just reeks of "First World Problems". Norway, which has a small fraction as many immigrants as Sweden (both on a percentage and absolute basis) has three times the murder rate (2,2 per 100k).

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    26. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by lhowaf · · Score: 1

      There are (at least) 270 million civilian guns in the U.S.

      There are 800,000 police officers - including security guards and detectives.

      If we were delusionally optimistic and said each of those officers could pick up one gun per day, it would take about 11 months. Just in the time it would take to debate a law authorizing gun removal, those who intend to keep (or amass) a firearm cache would have ample time to acquire and store any number of weapons.

      The entire point of the Second Amendment, though, isn't self-defense. It is to ensure the American people can throw out an oppressive government. How can that right be preserved without citizens bearing arms? Facebook DisLikes?

    27. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      That has less to do with gun ownership than with people actually having something to lose.

      In Sweden you can actually survive if you're poor. There is no need to ponder "Hmm... if I'm in jail, at least I have food and shelter..."

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    28. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So go send polite folks down to the US South, telling people that they have nothing to fear, they're only there to collect all the guns.
      If a civil war is your idea of a safer nation, I'd rather live in the current one thankyouverymuch.

    29. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Captain sweden makes an appearance

    30. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      How is that whole "war on drugs going"?

      It should be simple. Just find anyone with drugs and lock them up.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    31. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      can you imagine, that the government might see protecting migrants as a priority and lie in their crime statistics as a result?

      Is that a shocking idea?

      You can imagine goverments lying, right?

    32. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Define developed?

      Mexico is widely considered to be a developed country, it has more restrictive gun laws than the US, and much higher murder rate. You might try to claim that Mexico is going through a drug war, but then I would have to ask, why is the drug war such a problem in Mexico, but it is considered part of the figures in the US?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    33. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, if what you say is true then why do we pay taxes for welfare?

      This singer also disagrees with your assertion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzspsovNvII

    34. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Coren22 · · Score: 0

      Well, I would say that a militia is more for defense of the country, in a Red Dawn type situation, not really to oust the government.

      Also, for all you with a hardon for gun control, the phrase "shall not be infringed" has a meaning, if you want so much to control the guns, than put out an amendment, until that amendment is passed, I will kindly ask that you fuck off.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    35. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by nickittynickname · · Score: 1

      A home made rail gun is pretty cool. Can we say the word gun without it getting turned into a stupid gun control argument.

    36. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Thing+1 · · Score: 1

      Are you aware there was no "kool-aid" drunk in Jonestown? It was a CIA murder-op. Best not to propagate the propaganda of an earlier era.

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
    37. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by F.Ultra · · Score: 1

      Exactly. What gets people like him upset is the sudden uprising of shootings in Gothenburg. However if one looks at the numbers; there where a total of 50 reported shootings in 2014 with a total of 4 deaths and 24 injured, his position seams even more ludicrous.

    38. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by kuzb · · Score: 1

      Sometimes the defense of a country has to start with defending itself from its own government.

      --
      BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    39. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by breagerey · · Score: 1

      if you consider Mexico 'developed' you haven't spent much time there

    40. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by breagerey · · Score: 1

      incorrect

      ~ 32% of Americans live in a house where *somebody owns a gun.
      ~22% of Americans actually own a gun.
      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nu...

    41. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by breagerey · · Score: 1

      there are far fewer gun nuts in America than the NRA wants everybody to believe.

      At some point the rest of the country will call their bluff and demand sane gun control laws.
      The gun nut lobby will end up being a paper tiger just like the confederate flag loons in SC.

    42. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by jewens · · Score: 1

      Well if "only" criminals had guns, your police might have a little difficulty executing that arrest warrant.

      --
      That group of bovine standing over there appears quite portentous. That's right it's an ominous cow herd.
    43. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      The whole argument that people can get guns anyway is stupid.

      Any good machinist can fabricate a gun. Small pistols are no bigger than a wallet; they can be easily concealed. An effort to truly rid the citizenry of firearms would require hourly searches of every household in the country. Assuming the effort would not set off a rebellion, would you want to live in such a country?

      --
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    44. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      Define developed?

      Mexico is widely considered to be a developed country,

      Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... by whom exactly?
      Have you ever been there? By "developed" we're talking US, Canada, UK, all of North West Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan etc.
      I've been to all those countries, and I've been to Mexico. One of those things is so completely unlike the others it's not funny (your claim is though)

    45. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Statistics say gun deaths are down, but shootings are a lot more common. The reason deaths are down is that the emergency rooms are better at treating gun wounds now.

      You should listen less to Jerzy Sarnecki*, swedens very own bagdad Bob.

      *Sarnecki is a prominent figure of the political entity BRÅ (Crime prevention council) which collects statistics about crimes and makes reports. Reports which inexplicably get less detailed when the facts get uncomfortable (rape)

    46. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, uncontrolled immigration. The cool-aid I have drunk is the interviews with the head of the migration department and our politicians who brush off the notion of knowing who we give residency as non-humanist.

      We are currently talking about a rate of 2000 people per day, which translated to US terms would be about 60.000 people per day. Into a country which has a high welfare system, a fairly high unemployment rate already and a job market without jobs for unskilled workers.

      I agree though that the party you speak of is uncomfortable, and in sane country they would not be necessary.

    47. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Todays headline

      "Police leadership: we are reorganizing and deprioritizing our regular operations"
      http://www.dagensjuridik.se/2015/10/polisledningen-vi-staller-om-organisationen-och-prioriterar-ner-var-ordinarie-verksamhet

      It goes on to say that because of the great amount of asylum seekers the police has to reduce their normal operations. But everything is fiiiine, don't worry.

    48. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's nice to be able to hide one's racist views behind the anonymous moniker, isn't it?

      With a fascist government you wouldn't be able to.

    49. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      OTOH with a fascist government there is no shame in posting racist comments so he would be happy.

      Only if they're on the approved hate-list this week.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    50. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      http://www.westernjournalism.c...

      Seriously, define developed.

      Many people use OECD membership as developed, that includes Mexico, what do you define developed as?

      Why would it make sense to lump the US with any of the countries you name but Canada? None of them are anything like the US, or many other countries, the nearest analog is the Americas, and among them, the US is pretty safe. Do any of the countries you named have any type of minority populations anywhere near what the US has? Do any of those countries have a former slavery issue? Do any of those countries have an ongoing drug war?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    51. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by breagerey · · Score: 1

      Why would it make sense to lump the US with any of the countries you name but Canada? None of them are anything like the US

      We could start with all except Mexico having nearly universal municipal sewage and clean water.
      Outside of a big city you don't either of these things in Mexico - and even in one it's unlikely you have both.
      Even *in a big city you don't drink the water that comes out of the pipes ... and it has nothing to do with the garbage you were taught as a kid that it's because we don't have the same gut bacteria; the LOCALS don't drink the water.
      Everybody either gets bottled water at the store, takes jugs to the big water purification joints you find all over Mexico, or filters their own well water.

      If you had ever traveled through Mexico you'd understand just how ludicrous it is to call it a 'developed' country.

      Mexico is literally a 3rd world country.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    52. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Outside a city in the US you don't have water and sewer either. I guess we aren't a developed nation now. The definition of municipal is city, so I wouldn't expect the country to have municipal anything.

      The drink ability of the water has to do with that they don't properly treat their water supply. You could plausibly claim that this is a sign of being an undeveloped country, but it is just as true in suburbs in the US, there are houses around mine that are well water and septic, and that is maybe 20 miles from multiple major cities. We don't have "Montezuma's revenge" in the US because we properly separate the sewer from the drinking water, not everywhere does that.

      You can make all these arguments all you like, but please explain this table with any of the countries instead of Mexico, they are all widely considered developed by the UN.

      https://www.lewrockwell.com/as...

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    53. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by catprog · · Score: 1

      Along with the phrase "Well regulated"

      --
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    54. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you lived next door to Swede's you'd be homicidal as well!

    55. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      , but please explain this table with any of the countries instead of Mexico, they are all widely considered developed by the UN.

      Did you even read that link? Lithuania? Panama? Belarus? These are the places you think the US should be compared to? The richest country in the world compares itself to fucking Latvia?
      Development is generally tied to wealth, and democracy and personal freedoms. Take out the crack-pot dictatorships, and this list is who you should be comparing yourself to. Once you get out of the top 30, "development" tends to drop off.
      If the US has to get down to number 66 to feel better about itself, there's something wrong.

    56. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      Also see this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... Compare with the GDP (PPP) list and tell us all why The US ranks at 109, while *every* other similarly wealthy democracy is at the top?

    57. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by cavebison · · Score: 1

      If only criminals have guns it will be damn easy to identify them and lock them up.

      True-ish, but the devil is in the details... you'd probably need a lot more law enforcers to be able to do that. AKA a "police state".

      I, for one, prefer a society were it is generally acceptable that individual members take some responsibility for their own well-being. I always thought the liberal mindset is all about the individual and his liberties.

      More probably, you're talking out of your ass. Hi, Australia here. No guns, no police state, we're very happy thank you very much. I take personal responsibility for my own well-being by voting for gun control. What a concept. Seems to be working fine, too. You're very welcome to your "I can protect mine, fuck you" mindset, if that's how you want to live. Call me crazy, but I always thought "civilisation" happened when a bunch of people get together and agree on ways to help and protect *each other*.

      No doubt you're so amazed that your assumptions can be so completely incorrect that nothing I've said will be remembered tomorrow. It's ok, shock can do that.

    58. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

      Less guns will mean less shootings, regardless if the guns are made in a factory or one's basement. To reach that we need to eliminate a good amount of stupidity from those folks who think that owning a gun makes them safer. All evidence shows that it is exactly the opposite. Owning a gun means you are more likely to get shot. I can see the need for a rifle in wild Alaska (why the heck even go there), but what is the need for a firearm in suburbia or inner cities?

    59. Re:So when's "gun control" going to stop guys with by Meski · · Score: 1

      More cool than a gun control argument at any rate. More than over them.

  2. Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Do railguns have any potential benefits over traditional powder-based guns?

    1. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Theoretically rail guns should be able to fire shots at way way higher speeds (like thousands of times faster) than powder-based guns.

    2. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      For proof and pudding, look to the US Navy's Railgun program. They have successfully shot test projectiles at Mach 8, the end-game is a reliable system to fire 10KG round at Mach 7.

      Keep in mind the speed drops dramatically after exiting the barrel/rail assembly.

    3. Re:Smokeless powder by goarilla · · Score: 1

      I guess no wear and tear and higher precision.

    4. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Recoil.

      Where firearms and railguns have the same energy (and therefore the same total recoil) the energy in a firearm is produced at the detonation time, whereas in a railgun the energy is spent continuously during the time the projectile travels the length of the barrel. This allows for faster projectiles for the same felt recoil (although the recoil is felt longer)

      (note : this is top-off-my-head, living-in-a-gun-controlled-country opinion, not an expert one)

    5. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, railguns suffer a lot of wear in the rails.They get a lot of friction and need to be replaced. The heat generated damages the metal too (bends or cracks, so you want high quality rails), and you want to keep the rails perfectly straight.

    6. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      theoretically silent.

    7. Re:Smokeless powder by RogueyWon · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes - though not at the level of the one in TFA and probably, for the foreseeable future, only in the realm of large naval guns (and possibly - slightly further down the line - guns mounted on tanks or large aircraft).

      With a traditional naval or tank shell, much of the damage comes from the explosive contents of the shell (which tend to be quite sophisticated in their design these days). The downside of this is that the ship or tank ends up carrying a substantial quantity of explosive material, just waiting to be set off. Magazine explosion is a particular danger for ships.

      Railguns, by contrast, fire inert slugs. The damage comes from the (much) higher velocity at which the slug is fired, which translates into much higher kinetic energy transfer on impact. This means that the ammunition tends to be smaller (so you can carry more of it) and safer. The higher velocity also has significant potential benefits in terms of accuracy.

      The US Navy is currently conducting real-world tests of railguns on ships and there has been a lot of progress over the last few years. The challenges include the high power requirement and the need to replace rails regularly (due to the extreme stresses associated with each firing), which can substantially harm rate of fire.

      Practical handheld railguns which offer significant benefits over existing firearms are still a long way off (if, indeed, they ever happen). The one in TFA has a muzzle velocity which is at the low end of the range for a "traditional" firearm, with significantly lower convenience (and some quite worrying looking safety issues).

    8. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Unfortunately, the "Mach 8" version is ridiculously long and only works once. It needs rebuilding between shots, and is ridiculously expensive. It's easier, and more aimable, to fire an ICBM. The allegedly more practical versions can be safer on a nuclear vessel, which has a prodigious and stable and well well armored power supply, as opposed to having an armory filled with chemical propellant powered munitions that have to actually be loaded, full of chemicals, into the weapons on deck.

      They've also really not perfected projectiles without electrical contact with leads on the railgun's launching rail. Those leads tend to wear out *really fast*, much faster than the rail gun builders like to admit: it's been a limiting factor since the first designs, once that keeps being "solved" with a lot of handwaving that has never worked well. Kind of like garbage collecting in Java, actually....

    9. Re:Smokeless powder by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 5, Informative

      With a traditional naval or tank shell, much of the damage comes from the explosive contents of the shell

      Umm, the primary round shot from a tank gun is APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot). It's a big dart. No explosive at all.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    10. Re:Smokeless powder by Rei · · Score: 1

      Do you know what sort of projectiles they're using? It seems one could hybridize simple projectiles with rockets. The latter would not only be a range extender due to simple propulsion alone, but it'd also fill in the low pressure wake behind the shell (even a small rocket could do that).

      These sorts of velocities are comparable to the best achieved by the HARP gun. If the payload was greater they could literally shoot things into orbit via staged rocket projectile.

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    11. Re:Smokeless powder by Rei · · Score: 2

      ... or, for that matter, shoot things *out* of orbit (much harder from an aiming perspective, much easier from an energy perspective; the "warhead" would be sand scattered like buckshot by explosives)

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    12. Re:Smokeless powder by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Informative

      The electrical effects are pretty brutal, as well. The two rails function as bus bars, with the conductive projectile completing the circuit. Given the fairly heroic currents required to get useful projectile velocities, you are squeezed between trying to reduce resistance(which makes driving the railgun easier and makes for less arcing and resistive heating; but involves more contact area between the projectile and the rails, and greater mechanical wear) and trying to reduce friction(which reduces friction heating, mechanical wear, and slowing of the projectile by the rails; but tends to increase resistance, encourage arcing and electrical damage, and so on).

      Your ideal rail/projectile interface would be a frictionless superconductor; a flavor of unobtanium that is in short supply at present. By throwing enough power at the problem, and treating much of the rail assembly as sacrificial, you can get pretty impressive results; but if you thought that barrel erosion sucked in gunpowder weapons...

    13. Re:Smokeless powder by SpinyManiac · · Score: 2

      The main problem with magazine explosions in warships or tanks is the propellant charge, not the shell filling. Shells are generally pretty insensitive and the bursting charge of an armour piercing shell is comparatively small.

      Obviously rail guns remove the risk of propellant and warhead explosions, but the price is no indirect fire. Naval gunnery is mosty used for shore bombardment these days, firing at targets behind a hill isn't going to happen with a railgun.

      While "traditional" tanks rounds were explosive, modern ones are generally kinetic, but ammunition explosions are still a risk due to the propellant. Surprisingly some WWII tanks fired solid shot at the start of the war, but almost modern APDS rounds appeared in 1944.

      --
      It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
    14. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rail guns have much better uses as deterrents.

      If I'm firing a chunk of metal at mach 1+, the ability of the target to both see it and respond is almost zero ( the navy tests had a projectile at >2500 m/s (hypersonic or about a mile every 2 seconds) ). The sheer transfer of kinetic energy is so absolutely massive, even if the speed of the projectile decreases massively, the round will essentially punch through almost any type of armor.

      Also depending on distance from target, say it's hypersonic and we're only 5 miles away, the projectile will hit at something like 2k m/s -> anything near the target will also be greatly compromised.

    15. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only in a vacuum. The sound barrier is loud.

    16. Re: Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rail gun can shoot through the hill

    17. Re:Smokeless powder by peragrin · · Score: 2

      This part has always bothered me. Why do the rails have to be straight? Would rails spiraled to match the Lorenz force work better? Think DNA. Bonus the round would leave the barrel with rotation adding accuracy and trajectory stablization. Also it would work better for exterior force pushing agonist the rails as round shapes deal with pressure better.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    18. Re:Smokeless powder by RogueyWon · · Score: 2

      Apologies - you're correct. I allowed myself to get stuck back at the WW2-level for tanks there. Warships, however, do still fire explosive shells, as do land-based ballistic artillery pieces.

    19. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [discussion of conductivity vs friction]

      Railgun clueless here, but how would conductive oil affect the situation? I my eyes it would give less friction with the same or better conductivity.

    20. Re:Smokeless powder by daedalus2097 · · Score: 1

      It would also introduce drag which will slow the projectile down. How much of an effect it has comes down to its viscosity and the velocity of the projectile, so even the lightest oil will have a noticeable effect at the high velocities we're talking about...

    21. Re:Smokeless powder by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      With a traditional [naval or] tank shell, much of the damage comes from the explosive contents of the shell
      For anti personel or soft Targets perhaps.
      Anti Tank shells are usually full metal/kinetic Shells made from depleted Uranium or in Europe mostly from Wolfram or Tungston.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    22. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In fact the impact is so massive that the metal slug evaporates into a plasma explosion.

    23. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, so it's like the Sprint ABM that's half a century old? Plus the Sprint kicked ass much harder, nuclear-style.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msXtgTVMcuA

      ..oh, and it went *faster* after exiting its "barrel", LOL.

    24. Re:Smokeless powder by goarilla · · Score: 1

      I always tought a railgun would be implemented like a maglev train, nothing touching the actual rails. With a temporary power source in the slug to create magnetic field.

    25. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only partially correct, High-Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) rounds still exist and are still used, they are shaped charge explosives designed to burn their way through armor.

    26. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No, you are thinking of a coil gun, which is based on magnetic effects on a (ferromagnetic) slug. A railgun requires current to flow between the rails (behind the projectile) to create the force, and this causes the effects that the parent post refers to.

    27. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would turn into plasma within microseconds, if not nanoseconds. We're talking millions of amps here. It ain't lubricating much.

    28. Re:Smokeless powder by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      You can't add much to a Mach 7 tungsten bolt that already caught fire from friction with the air by adding explosive rocket fuel to it. Well, maybe if you intend to fire it from space you could since there's no atmosphere, but the Navy is still mainly water-based.

    29. Re:Smokeless powder by myowntrueself · · Score: 4, Funny

      Unfortunately, the "Mach 8" version is ridiculously long and only works once. It needs rebuilding between shots, and is ridiculously expensive

      So its perfect for the US navy.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    30. Re:Smokeless powder by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      With a traditional naval or tank shell, much of the damage comes from the explosive contents of the shell

      Umm, the primary round shot from a tank gun is APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot). It's a big dart. No explosive at all.

      It seems to me that tank vs tank combat is very rare these days and most of the time tanks aren't going to want an armor piercing round at all, they are going to want anti-personnel or anti-structure rounds.

      One day, when the USA is at war with a country that can fight back like for like, then those AP rounds will come in handy but surely not in Afghanistan, for example.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    31. Re:Smokeless powder by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      Rail guns have much better uses as deterrents.

      If I'm firing a chunk of metal at mach 1+, the ability of the target to both see it and respond is almost zero ( the navy tests had a projectile at >2500 m/s (hypersonic or about a mile every 2 seconds) ). The sheer transfer of kinetic energy is so absolutely massive, even if the speed of the projectile decreases massively, the round will essentially punch through almost any type of armor.

      Also depending on distance from target, say it's hypersonic and we're only 5 miles away, the projectile will hit at something like 2k m/s -> anything near the target will also be greatly compromised.

      Good job someone is developing laser weapons then, to shoot down the railgun projectiles.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    32. Re:Smokeless powder by serviscope_minor · · Score: 2

      That, by definition isn't a railgun, though they're often mixed up in reporting.

      What you're thinking of is some sort of linear induction motor. The simplest sort is a gauss gun. Those are easier to build than railguns. Basically you take some sort of iron core, i.e. an iron pole and build a biggish electromagnet on one end with an emphasis of a small number of turns of relatively thick wire. Drop an aluminium ring on to the pole and use a big capacitor bank to dump current into the electromagnet.

      The easiest way to do that is wire it in series with a camera flash: that provides the high voltage, high current circuit and a camera flash is a moderately efficient, moderately fast switch.

      You can get reasonably impressive results that way.

      There's no levitation, but no contact is required between the projectile and the barrel so you don't get bad barrel ware.

      There are lots of variations of this. You can have multiple stages. You can also have many many stages and wire them up in groups to 3 phase making essentially an unrolled 3 phase induction motor. One of those used to feature at the Cambridge University Engineering Department open day and I saw it operating when I was a kid. A fairly small one (a meter long) could fire a copper/steel slug through a decent sheet of plywood (after blowing a breaker).

      There are variations on linear motors which do have levitation, but I think the annular motors are more efficient since they're pretty good solenoids and so you get better flux coupling.

      The local power source in all those cases is induced current in the slug from the magnetic coils. In a true rail gun the current goes through the projectile.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    33. Re:Smokeless powder by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Do railguns have any potential benefits over traditional powder-based guns?

      Lots of potential benefits...

      No muzzle flash, probably less noise, a potentially faster reload cycle, and the ammunition is safer, i.e. more inert.

      The velocity of the round could be varied easily, and lots of different types of projectiles could be used more easily.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    34. Re:Smokeless powder by Rei · · Score: 1

      There is no amount of atmospheric friction that cannot be withstood in any practical circumstance. Worst case, one uses ablatives. HARP shot projectiles at those speeds without destroying their contents - even electronics.

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    35. Re:Smokeless powder by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      It seems one could hybridize simple projectiles with rockets

      This is already done for artillery, particularly land based 155mm artillery. See, for example teh M549 shell. I think they don't bother with naval artillery because you can just make the guns bigger and heavier.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    36. Re:Smokeless powder by fnj · · Score: 2

      Facts which surprise most people:

      1) Not just today, but even in WW2, generally or very often armor piercing tank rounds were solid shot.

      2) The amount of explosive in one of the shells of old battleship big guns was rather ludicrously small. The Mark 8 AP armor-piercing projectile for the 16 inch gun had a complete weight of 1225 kg, of which 18.55 kg was the explosive charge. Even the Mark 13 HC "high capacity" non-armor-piercing projectile intended for purely explosive effect, which weighed 861.8 kg, had an explosive charge of only 69.67 kg. That's right: even the smallish Mark 82 general purpose 500 pound bomb, which weighs 232-259 kg with an explosive charge of 89 kg, makes a bigger bang, and did so in WW2 too. The more impressive Mark 84 general purpose 2000 pound bomb packs 428.6 kg of explosive charge and makes the 16 inch round seem puny.

      Over the years, the big guns have acquired an aura of supernatural power which was never justified from the standpoint of bang. What remains impressive is that they could penetrate a foot of homogeneous steel armor at perpendicular impact BEFORE exploding. Supposedly they could penetrate 10 meters of reinforced concrete (I believe the last to be a gross exaggeration, given that armor piercing bombs of 5500 kg had trouble penetrating the 3-5 meter concrete roofs of U-boat pens).

      Incidentally, when fired from the Mark 7 16 inch 50 caliber gun of an Iowa class battleship, these rounds were propelled by 299 kg of "smokeless powder" (which was neither smokeless, nor was it anything like a powder in form) hand-placed in the loading tray in the form of six 50 kg silk bags.

    37. Re: Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rail gun is like honey badger. Rail gun don't care. Hill in between Rail gun and target? Rail gun don't care, punch a hole through the hill. Armor? Rail gun don't care, its gonna be vapor. Man, only thing rail gun cares about is honey badger 'cause they like be bros, man.

    38. Re:Smokeless powder by peragrin · · Score: 1

      There were several tank battles in both Iraq wars. In both wars the Iraqis got curb stomped by American tanks and aircraft.

      However tanks are expensive to operate and terrorists can't afford to keep tanks when a Toyota with a machine gun and load of RPGs can do triple duty as troop transport, and mobile attack platform. Survivability isn't high but Isis doesn't care how of its troops get wounded.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    39. Re: Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's the centripital force exerted by an object accelerating to Mach 8, for $100, Alex?

      A: thousands of times more than the tensile strength of any known material, for an arc radius of any reasonable size. Would probably make a pretty spectacular explosion tho.

    40. Re: Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, why does the navy not build those? Don't scale well?

    41. Re: Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      " thousands of times more than the tensile strength of any known material"

      But computers got better, and 3D printing. Are you a Luddite?

    42. Re:Smokeless powder by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Good job someone is developing laser weapons then, to shoot down the railgun projectiles.

      "Shoot it down" how? It's a thrown rod. It has no engines, wings or electronics. What are you going to do - flash-vaporize several kilograms of iron in a second with a laser small enough to be ship-mounted from miles away? Congratulations on having a death ray; but why are you playing tag with the US navy rather than building a Star Destroyer?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    43. Re: Smokeless powder by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      So, why does the navy not build those? Don't scale well?

      Yeah I think so. Basically the coils mean there's a fair old inductance and that slows things down. On a rail gun there's basically a single turn effectively which means the inductance is very low, which means the power transfer can be very high.

      Very high power transfer is necessary to get the projectile to go fast enough within the length of the ship. I think the induction motors are much more efficient, but you'd need unfeasibly long cannon to get the required speeds.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    44. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Posting anon since I work with the Dahlgren EMLF (Electro-Magnetic Launch Facility)

      I'm not going to comment on specs, but the current test launchers (to my knowledge) does not require rebuilding every shot (even with higher MJ launches). They did about 6 years ago. The navy's final launcher also is going to fire at rates over 9 / min, which puts a lot more load on the rails and power supply system (and other things). This is part of why it's taking awhile to develop. Compressing a building's worth of equipment down to fit in a ship is also non-trivial.

      It's not particularly expensive to shoot. I have been told there are some times we do shots as opposed to using modeling because it's quicker, cheaper, and is better data. The missile development people would kill for something like that.

      There are some issues with rail wear, but a round only ever gets fired once, so the electrical destruction of the round that occurs only has to not affect the aerodynamics of the round for that shot.

    45. Re:Smokeless powder by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      But in turn the gun is WAY less inert. I mean, you can pretty much maim and abuse a conventional gun in most any way you could imagine and at worst it won't shoot anymore (or at least would not be safe to shoot anymore).

      I wouldn't want to hold a railgun that gets hit by something, though. Even if unloaded.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    46. Re:Smokeless powder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not for man portable weapons.

      Backed by a sufficient energy source they can deliver higher projectile velocity than chemical propellant can. However chemical propellants can deliver projectile velocities too fast for a human to absorb the recoil, so the point at which the added complexity and matinance for the railgun is worth it is somewhere around the warship level where the energy is supplied by a nuclear plant, tons of steel ballast against the recoil, ad the whole ocean is your heatsink.

    47. Re:Smokeless powder by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Yup, the majority of the OMG factor from those guns was the kinetic energy involved. They were firing Volkswagen weights that were the size of an 8 year old (I have a picture of my son when he was 8 standing next to one of the "shells" on the New Jersey). These shells would fire for quite a range, and impact the target, usually just totally demolishing the target in the process.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    48. Re:Smokeless powder by HiThere · · Score: 1

      My thought was that they should use case shot rather than rods. I can't imagine that at that velocity you need that much mass to take down your target. The velocity is probably required to get it there soon enough. Since case shoot bullets would "fly in formation" they should benefit from the leading edge and not loose velocity as rapidly as "grape shot" would, not to mention spreading a lot less.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    49. Re:Smokeless powder by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      Depends. There was a significant amount of time postwar when tank rounds were primarily HEAT rounds, which is shaped charge explosive. Today there is a lot of design around rendering HEAT rounds less effective (due to their popularity in portable anti-tank weapons), so the tanks frequently use kinetic rounds these days.

      However, HEAT rounds are still a common carry, especially for dual purpose use and are still effective against armor, depending on your target.

      Of course, kinetic rounds have existed throughout, but HEAT was useful because your penetrating power is not dependent on your projectile velocity, allowing tank guns with relatively underwhelming velocity and man/jeep portable weapons to become tank killers.

    50. Re:Smokeless powder by dfsmith · · Score: 1

      One big benefit is that it's not classified as a "firearm" by the various US governments.

    51. Re:Smokeless powder by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      But in turn the gun is WAY less inert. I mean, you can pretty much maim and abuse a conventional gun in most any way you could imagine and at worst it won't shoot anymore (or at least would not be safe to shoot anymore).

      I wouldn't want to hold a railgun that gets hit by something, though. Even if unloaded.

      Yep, a damaged railgun could cause a lot of injuries to bystanders or the shooter.

      With that said, I think few attempts have been made to ruggedize them so far and I suspect that one could be made that was far more "battlefield friendly", so to speak. Up to now they've mostly been proof-of-concept devices, but put a few good engineers on it and they could probably build a fairly robust device.

      It seems like they'd be more prone to damage from knocks and drops, but that was true of the first field phones and radios- drop them once and they were junk. Now you can kick them out a window and they'll hardly notice. Obviously a railgun is a lot more complex and tolerance-dependent, but never underestimate the desire to make a practical weapon of war from a laboratory device.

      Encasing it in a rugged shell and cushioning the parts would probably go as long way towards making it durable and resilient enough to be used in certain settings, much like a sniper rifle. Drop a sniper rifle and you've probably borked the accuracy if not ruined/broken the scope, but still, I suspect railguns may find a home in some sort of vehicle mounted application or possibly a portable, crew-served device.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    52. Re:Smokeless powder by KGIII · · Score: 1

      And they fire them at targets - over the horizon (often at land-based targets) while on the water, still with forward momentum, and with the three-dimensional movement from wave action. And they hit their target. Heh... Some of the earliest computers were on navel vessels and used for targeting. And it is awesome. I've been in Norfolk when they were out to sea but close enough to still hear them. Every ounce of me wanted to get closer. I've only seen videos, otherwise.

      I confess, I'm an aged three year old. Truly, I just want to push the button.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    53. Re: Smokeless powder by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Modern advanced energy storage flywheels have tip speeds around 1000 m/s, or mach 3. Ignoring necessary details like a release mechanism, we're off by a factor of 7, not 1000.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    54. Re:Smokeless powder by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      A muzzle brake on a firearm directs spent gasses out radially from the end of the barrel, reducing the recoil to roughly that caused by accelerating the bullet. If the muzzle brake were designed to vent the gasses backwards, recoil could be reduced even more.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    55. Re:Smokeless powder by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      I must confess to knowing almost nothing about what approaches people doing railgun R&D at higher-than-recreational power levels use to cope with this tradeoff; but it wouldn't entirely surprise me if some sort of lubricant(whether fluid or powder) does figure into the plan. One of the issues with resistive heating at the rail/projectile interface, especially before the projectile has picked up speed, is that it can actually weld the projectile to the rail; which either stops it dead or reduces firing efficiency because some of the energy that should go into accellerating the projectile goes into tearing it loose. One approach is to use a pneumatic or similar 'first-stage' accelerator, so that the projectile is already moving when it hits the rails; but a conductive fluid, graphite powder, or something in that vein might also help.

      My impression, based on the videos of the navy's railgun experiments(notably, the dramatic billowing clouds of glowing metal vapor/metal plasma) is that, in practice, the projectile does end up with a fluid layer between it and the rail, whether you want it or not; because resistive heating causes some of the rail and some of the projectile to vaporize or flash into plasma at the point of contact. The currents involved are simply too high to keep all the metal solid. Presumably, a suitably elegant choice of materials might produce a vapor that serves as a fairly good conductive fluid lubricant, while a poor choice might be substantially resistive or dielectric; but we are talking about downright alarming power densities at points of contact between the projectile and the rails. A theoretical 'ideal' railgun(superconductive in all the parts that need to be conductive, frictionless in all the parts that experience abrasion), would just convert electrical energy to kinetic energy, with little drama. A real world railgun( like this navy test model features a dramatic cloud of gas and/or plasma because of just how much material gets vaporized by non-ideal conditions. Especially when the plan is to substantially exceed the energy levels or muzzle velocities of existing gunpowder weapons; the currents involved are truly massive.

    56. Re:Smokeless powder by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      The important thing about the railgun, though, is that it's a big conductive chunk of dumb metal. It's a direct-fire or ballistic weapon, not a guided one. We already have supersonic missiles. Missiles and rockets cost a lot of money to build and then are destroyed, but are often launched from relatively inexpensive platforms. Railguns put the expense in the maintainable, reusable launcher and use cheap ammunition that causes plenty of damage from kinetic impact.

    57. Re: Smokeless powder by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Inductance is not a limitation because the number of turns in the stator can be reduced if necessary however magnetic saturation of the ferromagnetic projectile limits flux density so at some point, increasing the current does not result in an increase in force which limits acceleration.

    58. Re:Smokeless powder by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I think you're underestimating the penetration of the battleship guns. Later US battleship belt armor was a foot of sloped face-hardened armor, and US battleships could penetrate that at about ten miles. The only armor afloat in WWII that couldn't be penetrated was the turret face armor on the biggest Japanese battleships, two feet of homogeneous armor slanted at a 45-degree angle.

      I have no problem believing the ten meters of reinforced concrete, provided the shell still has much of its initial velocity.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    59. Re:Smokeless powder by Meski · · Score: 1

      The important thing about the railgun, though, is that it's a big conductive chunk of dumb metal. It's a direct-fire or ballistic weapon, not a guided one. We already have supersonic missiles. Missiles and rockets cost a lot of money to build and then are destroyed, but are often launched from relatively inexpensive platforms. Railguns put the expense in the maintainable, reusable launcher and use cheap ammunition that causes plenty of damage from kinetic impact.

      The manufacturers will hate that. They'd rather be supplying a lot of expensive ammo.

  3. Hand-held? by OolimPhon · · Score: 1

    For values of "hand-held", obviously.

    I'd like to see the holster for that.

    1. Re:Hand-held? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My full-tower liquid-cooled PC is obviously a hand-held computer by this standard. I think the term they are looking for is "man-portable".

    2. Re:Hand-held? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, this can be fired (accurately and usefully) by a single person, that meets the standard definition of hand-held when it comes to firearms. The term 'man-portable', on the other hand, refers to weapons systems which can be *carried* by individual humans, but which require setup and possibly even a crew to man them. These include heavy machine guns, which cannot usefully be fired unless they are mounted on a tripod, or other similar hard point, such as a vehicle mount.

      Mortars are another example of 'man-portable' weapons which do not meet the definition of 'hand held'.

  4. Misleading title.. But omg 3d printing. by oic0 · · Score: 2

    There are no function related parts in a rail gun that can be 3d orinted. You cant print capacitors or metal rails. Theres even less to print than you could on a normal gun.

    1. Re:Misleading title.. But omg 3d printing. by Sique · · Score: 1

      Actually, there are methods for 3D printing metal.

      --
      .sig: Sique *sigh*
    2. Re:Misleading title.. But omg 3d printing. by oic0 · · Score: 1

      True, but not any I know of that would work well as a high voltage conductor. Milling or cnc yes, but not sintered together metal particles.

    3. Re:Misleading title.. But omg 3d printing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depends.

      You could also put said metal rod in an oven for a while to make it melt together more solidly.
      Needs to be one of those fancy rotatery-doo ones though, this is not your turkey oven.

      In the end, it would really always be a hybrid process, until we get to super-tech with things like nanobots, or even Star-Trek tier replicators.
      That's if we do. I mean, given what we know about physics now, we probably will be able to make a replicator-like device at some point.
      We roughly know how Higgs works, and now we might have found it, we can attempt to experiment with it to see if we can generate mass from energy directly.
      After that, it is pretty much plain-sailing using offsets and quantum comput--fuck.

    4. Re:Misleading title.. But omg 3d printing. by Rei · · Score: 2

      Most 3d printing metal services online actually due a variant of lost-wax casting. The resulting prints are basically just cast objects, and have the same material properties of any other cast objects. But beyond that, since when is laser-sintered metal not capable of being strong? There's a sort of "in-between" method that sacrifices some strength (but is still quite strong) wherein you print out metal powder with a binder, sinter the part as a whole while burning out the binder, then fill in the pore space with a lower-melting-point metal. But that's not laser sintering. Yes, with laser sintering there is of course some variation, depending on the goal, but techniques designed for maximum strength like SLM fully melt the grains and yield excellent material performance. SpaceX's SuperDraco engine is 3d printed - and one of the reasons that they reportedly chose that approach was that they actually got better performance out of it than with milling in nearly every regard (strength, ductility, fatigue resistance, material uniformity, etc). They actually started out milling them and switched to laser sintering. And now there's a new 3d printing technique involving "laser spraying" that should be able to achieve significantly stronger objects than most conventional processes. The powder isn't simply laid down; it comes in as an extremely high velocity dust stream and thus not only is thermally welded with its surroundings, but also highly compacted by the impact force. A non-3d-printing variant of the technique, thermal spraying, is used to impart high performance coatings to objects. And it's even more flexible in what it can lay down than laser sintering, in that one has full control over both the impact velocity and the temperature at impact.

      3d metal printing isn't a home hobbyist endeavour. But for those who need it done, the technology today is actually quite excellent.

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
  5. muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by vyvepe · · Score: 5, Informative

    AK-47: 715 m/s

    .44 Magnum: 360 - 450 m/s

    Black powder musket: 120 - 370 m/s

    1. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      .45 ACP - 250m/s.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    2. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Heckler and Koch MP7: 735 m/s

      It will turn your Kevlar vest into confetti. This is why the authorities everywhere in the world do not want to see fully automatic versions getting into the hands of private citizens and the black market.

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    3. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by mrxian · · Score: 1

      How does it compare to a well-made crossbow or normal bow?

    4. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

      My groundhog rifle (.22-250 at 4000fps): 1220 m/s or Mach 3.55

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
    5. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the semo-automatic version would have the same muzzle velocity as the automatic. And feature higher accuracy.

    6. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by SpinyManiac · · Score: 1

      the semo-automatic version would have the same muzzle velocity as the automatic. And feature higher accuracy.

      And less collateral damage for the taxpayer to fix. See, banning fully automatic weapons is in the public interest! Murders are inevitable but messy side effects can be avoided. :)

      --
      It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
    7. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      I'm no expert; but a quick look at suppliers of sporting bows turned up numbers in the 350 fps range(with substantial variation based on draw weight, with kiddie stuff coming in well below that; but not much available above 400, either because the draw weights become impractical or because of limits on how fast available materials release stored tension) so arrows are substantially slower, ~100-120m/s.

    8. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Feral+Nerd · · Score: 1

      How does it compare to a well-made crossbow or normal bow?

      That depends on draw weight, draw length and projectile weight of the bow but as a general rule of thumb a medieval longbow would fire an arrow at between 50 m/s for a hunting bow to perhaps a bit more than 100 m/s for a monster of a warbow. This is comparable to modern high-tech recurve bows. Crossbows are a different story. They have shorter limbs in order to make the weapon more compact which shortens the draw length and they made up for that by making the draw weight much greater than that of a longbow. Relatively manageable crossbows for one man field use could have a draw weight that ranged from 200-300 of KG But because of the slower draw weight the speed of a run-of-the-mill crossbow quarrel was about the same as that of a longbow arrow despite the higher draw weight. Crossbow quarrels and longbow arrows weighed about the same. However crossbows existed in much greater sizes than longbows. There were man portable windlass bows (well, theoretically man portable, in practice they seem to have had a two man crew) with draw weights of 500kg or more which would probably have had projectile velocities well above 100 m/s. There were also wheeled/tripod mounted ones with much higher draw weights that also fired stones as well as what amounted to heavy spears. In those cases projectile velocity obviously depended on projectile weight. During the siege of Jerusalem the Romans used a giant Ballista (technically torsion artillery not a crossbow) that flung stones that were so big they could rip the merlon off of the city wall or one occasion a ballista ball ripped the head clean off of a guard standing on the wall (Roman ballista crews were apparently very, very good) but the projectiles of the giant ballista were so heavy and therefore so slow that they could be seen in flight and warnings could be shouted to the target until the Romans got wind of this and camouflaged the stones. These Ballistas were also used quite aggressively by the Romans as field artillery. There are accounts dating back to the 12th-13th century of ranks of crossbowmen firing in relays like musket armed infantry of the 17th-19th centuries.

    9. Re: muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're forgetting projectile mass. A .38 special has lower muzzle velocity than a .380 ACP but the heavier bullet makes for greater stopping power. Nerds. Failing forever.

    10. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Rei · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hmm, interesting, that's the gun that our government (Iceland) was secretly smuggling into the country (bypassing all customs processes and parliament) with the intent to have one in every police car. And then when caught claimed that it was a "gift" from Norway. And when Norway said that no, it's not a gift, you deliberately sought them out and offered to purchase them from us, they "clarified" that Norway marks things as sales for billing purposes, but they never send the bill, it's just a little wink-wink nudge-nudge game between friends. And when Norway said no, we promise you, we're sending the bill.... half a year later they eventually sent the guns back.

      But I guess we have to do something about our one-of-the-lowest-on-Earth murder rates**, and the threat that ISIS wants to take over our rock in the North Atlantic (yes, these are the actual arguments made by proponents...)

      ** In its entire history, our equivalent of SWAT (Víkingasveitin / The Viking Squad) has had to kill a grand total of one person. And they issued an apology to his family for it (the guy was mentally disturbed and shooting at them with a shotgun in a densely populated area, hitting one officer before they decided to try tear gas, hit another after they tried to get him out with gas, and finally hitting another while they went in after him, before they finally had to shoot him).

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    11. Re: muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by samwichse · · Score: 2

      How is he failing forever?

      He made a muzzle velocity comparison, then cited velocities. Comparing with the "gun" from the article which gives only a velocity. Then you respond with "but you're forgetting mass." WTF?

    12. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Historical crossbows (arbalests) had a drawing power of 400kg - 800kg (a bit more than 800lbs - 1600lbs).

      No idea how that translates into energy for the projectile (at it depends on mass and distance of acceleration)

      Hm, here they talk about 5000lbf (note the f): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Modern crossbows often are compound bows. Did not find (quickly) references about their power.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    13. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by swillden · · Score: 1

      Heckler and Koch MP7: 735 m/s

      It will turn your Kevlar vest into confetti. This is why the authorities everywhere in the world do not want to see fully automatic versions getting into the hands of private citizens and the black market.

      Yer granddad's .30-06: 890 m/s. And, more importantly, 3820 J muzzle energy, as compared to 506 J for the MP7.

      Or, if you want to get a little more modern, the 7mm Remington Magnum: 1100 m/s and 4057 J. Or there's the .338 Lapua: 1050 m/s and nearly 5000 J. Or... we could keep going up here.

      Standard hunting rifles are dramatically more powerful than standard military small arms, because they're designed for shooting larger animals and because rapid fire is less important, so recoil can be much greater. All of which means that if you're concerned about the effectiveness of Kevlar vests against private citizens, you're not worried about military-style weapons.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    14. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      My MP7 fits nicely in a backpack . . . how about your elephant guns . . . ? I'm not concerned about some terrorist trying to navigate a Nitro Express rifle in the aisle of a train from Amsterdam to Paris. The terrorist would probably break his shoulder on the first shot.

      With an MP7, you can empty the clip before you say "boo!" to yourself, and take out a bunch of innocent folks, without feeling a thing.

      Speaking about serious weapons, that will fit in your backpack . . . look no further than the McMillian Urban Sniper CS5:

      https://www.google.com/search?...

      A friend of mine, who is a serious shooter, packs his weapons into guitar cases when transporting them. He figures that nobody would steal a guitar case, as opposed to someone who recognized a rifle case.

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    15. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anytime you hear about some new ueberweapon that does magical things... It's BS. The MP7 is H&K trying to get in on the P90, and not use the weird ergonomics and box magazine that the P90 inflicts on people. HK 4.6×30mm is an incredibly crappy proprietary knockoff. 5.7×28mm is equal or superior in every way, and people still (correctly) hate that round as well.

      Modern doctrine has mostly left submachine guns behind. They're fun and cool, but an M4 (or even shorter version) is cheaper, has better performance and is more universal (easier to source parts and accessories). Virtually any rifle caliber other than a .22 will turn most kevlar vests into confetti, unless it has plates added.

    16. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by ItsJustAPseudonym · · Score: 1

      "The Viking Squad"? Okay. What do your countrypeople generally think of that name?

      Thank goodness the guys in the U.S. did not go for a catchy name, or we'd probably have "Team America, World Police".

    17. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by operagost · · Score: 1

      You have a right to be concerned. There is no need for police to have such a weapon-- anywhere. If there is a such a threat that you need a weapon that can penetrate body armor, the military is required. Our police in the USA, for example, are acting like murderous bullies because more time is being spent having them practice assaults with automatic weapons than learning how to interact with the public to maintain law and order.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    18. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Rei · · Score: 1

      What's wrong with it? We use viking-related terms a lot. For example, what you call "banksters" we call "útrásarvíkingar" - that is, "outvasion vikings" ;) That is to say, they went on "útrásir" to plunder and brought home the spoils to enrich themselves. Names from the viking era (both names of people and old norse deities) are popular here, Reykjavík has number of streets named after Norse gods and famous vikings (also, coast guard ships do the same thing), and there's even a religion here that worships the old norse gods. The viking era was a major part of the history here... really, most of the history here.

      Also, unrelated, we use lots of volcano related terms. You see lots of places in town for example that have "lava" (hraun) in the name (I live near a place whose name means "lavatown"), there are candies with volcanic names, Icelandair names its airplanes after volcanoes... even the word for soft drink (gos) means "eruption" :)

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    19. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by operagost · · Score: 1

      Fuck yeah!

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    20. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by swillden · · Score: 1

      Hunting rifles are not elephant guns, and many of them can break down nicely, especially sportsterized versions with shorter barrels. Also, MP7s do not have a "clip", and you're absolutely wrong that I could take out a bunch of innocent folks without feeling a thing, regardless of weapon.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    21. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by ItsJustAPseudonym · · Score: 1

      I don't have a problem with it at all. I was just wondering what the locals thought. It's a name with powerful imagery, so I assume that there would be either great acceptance or great opposition.

      Thanks for the insights.

    22. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by bsolar · · Score: 1

      From what I understand it's actually 1 kill in 70+ years by the whole police force, not only the special squad.

    23. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "With an MP7, you can empty the clip before you say "boo!" to yourself, and take out a bunch of innocent folks, without feeling a thing. "

      MP7? The innocent folks won't feel a thing either. 4.6mm, come on. You can make more victims by driving a lawnmower over loose gravel.

    24. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Rei · · Score: 1

      Most police don't have lethal weaponry, so one shouldn't expect a difference between those two numbers.

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    25. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      You might want to look into what the MP7 is designed for before offering better weapons. The MP7's round is made from steel, it is designed to penetrate body armor. It isn't meant for spray and pray.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    26. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Also, MP7s do not have a "clip"

      Well, if you want to split hairs, the MP7 has a magazine . . . the funny thing is that folks in Germany call them "clips". They also call cell phones "handys", but that is a different matter.

      and you're absolutely wrong that I could take out a bunch of innocent folks without feeling a thing, regardless of weapon.

      Well, not you, personally, but a kook with a Maschinenpistole can do a lot of damage with very little training. They only get into trouble when it jams, and they need to clear the weapon.

      When I first fired a MAC-10 .45 ACP, I was surprised how easy that thing handled.

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    27. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only people who know nothing about guns calls it a "clip", it's a magazine.

    28. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by swillden · · Score: 1

      and you're absolutely wrong that I could take out a bunch of innocent folks without feeling a thing, regardless of weapon.

      Well, not you, personally, but a kook with a Maschinenpistole can do a lot of damage with very little training. They only get into trouble when it jams, and they need to clear the weapon.

      When I first fired a MAC-10 .45 ACP, I was surprised how easy that thing handled.

      But did you actually spend any time trying to hit targets? The "spray of bullets" method is actually dramatically less effective in the real world, even against a crowd, than people expect. Barring extreme training, full auto really only has one application, and that's convincing someone who is shooting at you to take cover, because without extensive training you can't hit the broad side of a barn with a fully-automatic rifle and machine pistols are even worse. Actual machine guns are different; they have the weight to be controllable.

      With sufficient training, you can learn to fire controlled bursts, all the way down to single shots, with a fully-automatic rifle or machine pistol. But your kook will not have that. Most professional soldiers don't have that much training, which is why many militaries have moved away from full-auto small arms, preferring select-fire weapons that support single shot and small burst modes.

      If I were a terrorist leader and I wanted to send a kook to deliver maximum damage in a crowded place (and didn't have a bomb, which is really the ideal option), I'd give him an extremely reliable medium-power semi-auto rifle and spend time training him to aim carefully and change magazines quickly. A semi-automatic AK, with a folding stock, probably. I would not give him an MP7. He'd empty the magazine in less than a second, hitting maybe three or four people with a 30-round magazine, leaving him fumbling to change magazines and giving even unarmed people an easy chance to tackle him and take him out.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    29. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I didn't know you were from Iceland. I've been their twice and you guys are awesome. Polite, human, and personable. I actually considered retiring there. It's too windy for me. I don't mind the cold but I hate the wind. That's not what stopped me from moving and retiring there but it was a drawback. Does the wind ever stop?

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    30. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Rei · · Score: 1

      Wind... stop...? I don't understand the question. This concept of "stopped wind" confuses and infuriates us! ;)

      Hehe, just like anywhere else we have variation. It's just like we have a higher base multiplier on wind strength than most of the world. So what would normally be an imperceptible breeze in most places is a light breeze here, what would be a light breeze is a stiff breeze, what would normally be a stiff breeze is a strong wind, what would normally be a strong wind is a gale, what would normally be a gale is like being in a tornado.... etc.

      I don't know when you came, but just so you know, summer is the calm season. Late winter / early spring is the peak of the windy season.

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    31. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by KGIII · · Score: 1

      It probably doesn't "help" that I was there in the Spring and then, the following year, during Autumn. It was pretty windy both times. The odd part is that I ended up on the side of a mountain in Maine. It's still pretty windy. I'm not far (as the crow flies) from Mt. Washington - where there old scientists had to chain down their building so that the wind would stop tearing it away. It is, on the other hand, slightly warmer.

      It was surprisingly inexpensive to visit. I'll probably return some day.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    32. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Rei · · Score: 1

      Speaking of "chaning down buildings", I had 130m/s winds on my land last spring. Ripped down my entire windbreak (posts all snapped at the base) and flipped my steel crate full of steel beams, a huge stack of timber, dozens of large window panes, a cast iron stove, and numerous other heavy objects. On the other side of the river it flipped another loaded crate and ripped down the middle of an old concrete stables. The stables was in bad shape, but still... At least my crate is underground now.

      Fall usually isn't too bad. But late winter/early spring can be pretty unreal. Last winter/spring we hardly got a break, it was one windstorm after the next, no more than 3 days between them, usually less.

      If you're driving through the Hvalfjörður area and turn into the first valley on the right (Miðdalur) and see a gate with runes and a crate buried into the landscape to look like the entrance to a mine, that'd be my land. ;)

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
    33. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      But did you actually spend any time trying to hit targets?

      We used old telephone books, at a distance of about 20 meters . . . which was limited by the size of my friend's basement. Full automatic weapons were illegal in the state in the US where I was living . . . so we needed to be a bit discrete about this. Back then, you could buy MAC-10 "parts kits" in the back of Shotgun News". On the next page you could order a lower receiver to convert it to full auto. Those days are probably over now in the US now.

      The "spray of bullets" method is actually dramatically less effective in the real world, even against a crowd, than people expect.

      The first thing that your are taught about firing a fully automatic weapon, is that you need to judge your usage of ammunition, as opposed to the damaged that your do to your target.

      Barring extreme training,

      Hello?!?!?! Are you one on those Muslim creeps, who is going to say that Islamic Terrorists are just innocent boys, who spend all day reading the Koran, and then practice with an AK when they don't have anything else better to do?

      If you take a look at the crowd that held the folks in Mumbai in terror during their attacks, they were very well trained with their weapons. Probably even better with any US troops, aside from the "Secret Squirrels"; the SEALs and their retinue. During the terrorist attack in Paris, one of the terrorist knew exactly how to clear a jammed AK.

      These terrorists are no amateurs.

      full auto really only has one application, and that's convincing someone who is shooting at you to take cover,

      It was sad when I saw some new footage of a US soldier trying to give some suppressing fire. He had an M-* that was obviously limited to three round bursts. So, he just kept pumping it like a water pistol.

      because without extensive training you can't hit the broad side of a barn with a fully-automatic rifle and machine pistols are even worse.

      Islamic Terrorists have all the time in the world for extensive training.

      If I were a terrorist leader

      . . . we wouldn't have to worry about terrorism any more . . .

      So, why do you think that folks like the GSG 9 in Germany or the US Navy SEALs use MP7s . . . ? Because they are quote effective at what they were designed for: Close quarters, anti-terrorism combat.

      Haw! You think an AK is a good choice in a packed train? Look what happened to the jerk on the train from Amsterdam to Paris!

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    34. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most amateur rail gun makers on the web quote the total energy discharged by the capacitors. These devices are, in general, horrendously inefficient at converting the electrical energy stored in the capacitor into kinetic energy in the projectile. The vast majority is consumed by resistive losses in heating the rails, projectile, and air in the interstitial gap. There is also some friction against the rails to contend with. I seriously doubt more than a small fraction of 1.8 kJ is realized in muzzle energy. 250 m/s isn't impressive if the bullet weighs 1 gram.

    35. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's also the name for what was historically a pretty major profession for a lot of the people of Iceland, you're putting an English/Irish interpretation onto the word.

    36. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Are you sure? Unless I messed up my math that's about 291 MPH. The highest land speed was 231 (on Mt. Washington, where the Chain House is) until they decided to count a tropical cyclone that hit 253 MPH down in Australia. The damage you mention sounds like it might be true but you should probably be in the record books for that.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      That's an INSANE amount of pressure and the speed of that must be intense. I'm kind of surprised your house survived. Heck, I'm surprised you survived. If it's tossing around stoves and steel beams that's an insane amount of force. Then again, a crazily high percentage of the World's Strongmen come from Iceland so maybe it was just one of them over at your house in a drunken rage. ;-)

      If I ever get out that way again (I am pretty positive I will but in the summer this time) I'll give you a yell. I do want to do some hiking up your way. Yes, yes I'll be hiring a professional guide. I'm brave, not stupid. I even hired a guide in my new area the first few times I went out just to make sure that I knew the weather because, like where you are, it turns deadly with a quickness - we lose a number of people every year to weather related issues and just plain stupidity. I'd rather not be a statistic.

      I don't normally drink any more but I'll buy the Einstok. I'll even have a couple. Two's my limit. I get stupid with too many - it turns into a habit. I'm good at two, it just takes will power and I have that.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    37. Re:muzzle velocity comparison with firearms by Rei · · Score: 1

      Ack, sorry, that should read "130 mph". I converted it to mph for you but still wrote it as m/s :P

      Most of the hiking near Reykjavík is pretty safe.. it's mainly the dumb ones who go climbing on flowing glaciers or going into ice caves without a guide that are being Darwin Award contenders. Most of what you'll walk on is either solid bedrock or well-compacted glacial sediments. Near canyons or at the edges of cliffs you find scree slopes... in general these are safe, even if you slide (though you can potentially go a *long* way down), but don't trust boulders near/on them, they're often loose or, in the case of bedrock "rotten", crumbling rather easily (hence the scree). And of course be careful with scree slopes that have cliffs partway down, obviously. And avoid scree slopes or other crumbly areas shortly after a thaw or a period of very heavy rains, this is when they "run". Oh, and in geothermal areas, don't walk up to the edge of any geothermal feature containing hot water or mud. The edges aren't stable, a few people fall in and get burned every year. If you want to bathe in a non-touristed geothermal feature, you don't do it where the water comes up, you do it where the water runs off. Usually people have to stack some rocks to make a small dam so it will pool, although sometimes nature does it for you.

      All of that said, in the Reykjavík area, there really isn't that much that's risky - Esjan and her surrounding mountains / hills are fairly old (well, by Icelandic standards ;) ) and for the most part well compacted - you can usually avoid even encountering bedrock except at the very tops if you want to. Another nice side effect of the age is that there's neat minerals - lots of chalcedony and neat zeolites in the Kjalarnes/Hvalfjörður area, basically from Esja on north. If you're a rockhound, look for bedrock at lower layers (such as those exposed by rivers at the bottom of a glacial valley) and check the rock and the scree below it. For chalcedony, train your eye for anything from "fogged-glass gray" to "blood red but not clinker/rust" or "deep green but not moss". For zeolites, look for bright white. Supposedly there's also plenty of pyrite here but I've never found any. Amygdules are common. Spherules can be found in some places. You can find calcite but in this part of the country it usually comes as masses or amygdules - good crystal specimens (iceland spar) are mainly found in the east. Oh, and you can find opal sometimes if you're lucky, although I've never found anything with play of color, just pure white.

      Oh, as for getting lost: in gentle glacial valleys, follow the standard advice for finding civilization: go downhill, follow the rivers/streams, etc. But when there's a canyon, don't do this. Icelandic river canyons, even ones that start out easy, tend to frequently have the river pin up against cliffs - if you're down there, the climb up to get around a barrier can be staggeringly difficult. Take the high road around canyons - the canyon will eventually disappear, and you'll probably find some sign of civilization after it. One nice thing about Iceland: there's often cell reception even in wilderness areas (except the deep highlands). And we have excellent rescue services.

      --
      The War of 1812... the good 'ol days when the federal government actually tried to save New Orleans.
  6. 1,800 joules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1,800 joules doesn't sound a lot. Without taking my shoes off, it's roughly equivalent to a biggish person running.

    1. Re:1,800 joules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, but a biggish person usually has a bigger impact surface than a bullet.

    2. Re: 1,800 joules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or a very small person running at 250 m/s!

    3. Re:1,800 joules by by+(1706743) · · Score: 1
  7. Am I the only one... by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 1

    who thinks this story sounds like a Plague, Inc. in-game headline?

  8. Where is the order form? by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 1

    I need one to deal with desktop wars here (and some clients) :-)

    --
    Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
    1. Re:Where is the order form? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Which raises an interesting question: How would existing gun laws around the world deal with a rail gun . . . ? It doesn't use gunpowder to deliver the projectile, like a gun does . . . and it doesn't use a bow either, like a crossbow or regular bow.

      Will politician be forced to make new laws, when these thing become common . . . ?

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    2. Re:Where is the order form? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In some places it doesn't matter how the projectile is accelerated, powder, air, magnetism, whatever. Its the muzzle velocity that counts, If its over a specific speed then its controlled.

    3. Re:Where is the order form? by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      That would be an issue in Minnesota. Here our law defines a firearm as a something that shoots a projectile using compressed gas, explosive, or a spring. I believe that this follows the federal regulations so it would seem that it would require new laws to regulate them. Also interestingly enough as this would be classified as a firearm one could legally build a fully automatic one and not fall afoul of the law.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    4. Re: Where is the order form? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And if it's slow it will go straight through your shield.

    5. Re:Where is the order form? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      publisher wants to see her blog's

      publisher wants to see her blog is what?

      Sense. Your sig doesn't make any.

    6. Re: Where is the order form? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hopefully there's enough geeks here still who will understand this.

    7. Re: Where is the order form? by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 1

      Dune :-)

      --
      Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
    8. Re:Where is the order form? by Cederic · · Score: 1

      In the UK bows aren't regulated, although various landowners impose restrictions (including the governmental body responsible for the national forests). The restrictions tend to be around crossbows rather than other bows, primarily due to relative ease of use.

      What is defined in law is hunting with bows. It's illegal. What's also clear is that walking through the streets with a cocked bow, or releasing arrows on a crowded thoroughfare will get you arrested whether you hit anybody or not.

      So a rail gun could well fall outside of existing legislation but using it risks contravening multiple existing laws worded broadly around public safety.

  9. InB4 by goose-incarnated · · Score: 1

    The anti-liberty Libertarians :-)

    --
    I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
  10. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Australia too.

  11. Call it what it is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A glorified air gun.

  12. Nifty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now just to figure out the size of the battery pack to charge the capacitors, and we can have a new sport - "Extreme Painball".

  13. Gremlin Gun by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    Don't mis-feed it after midnight and never get it wet.

  14. There are already handheld units over 5 joules by Karmashock · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This thing is less powerful than other youtube handheld rail guns... and the design while funny is not especially practical. Obviously the capacitors need to be mounted on your back or something to distribute the weight more effectively on the user.

    *drops mic and walks*

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    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    1. Re:There are already handheld units over 5 joules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *drops mic and walks*

      Kid, Chris Rock is knowledgeable and courteous. You are not Chris Rock. Stop pretending his move makes you look like a quality human being. You've been abusing that line too long already.

    2. Re:There are already handheld units over 5 joules by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "This thing is less powerful than other youtube handheld rail guns"

      Your 5 joules PALES IN COMPARISON to 1800 joules this does.

      So, no, you're wrong. Try again when you can actually read the fucking article and do the math yourself.

      *drops mic and walks off*

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    3. Re:There are already handheld units over 5 joules by operagost · · Score: 1

      The sound guy says he's going to make you two pay for those broken mics.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    4. Re:There are already handheld units over 5 joules by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Over 5 joules? Mine only has two and your mom is quite satisfied with it.

    5. Re:There are already handheld units over 5 joules by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      misspoke... i mean 5k joules... look them up.

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    6. Re:There are already handheld units over 5 joules by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      5k joules... mistyped it.

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  15. "railgun with a 3D printer" by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2

    The next version will support e-mail too.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  16. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whoosh

  17. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Uh, no. You're probably thinking feet-per-second, not meters-per-second. This is about three times faster than a pellet gun.

  18. Casual headlines by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

    Guy Creates Handheld Railgun With a 3D-Printer

    His name's David, not Guy.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Casual headlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guy Creates Handheld Railgun With a 3D-Printer

      His name's David, not Guy.

      I'm not your Guy, Pal

    2. Re:Casual headlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not your David, friend!

    3. Re:Casual headlines by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      That's Mr. Pal to you. Now get back on that time machine and act!

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  19. Guy's club only? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So the real question is, how can we get more women into railgun development?

    I suggest raising money for a female-only railgun school.

  20. Good guess, but no for four reasons by raymorris · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's not a bad guess, but not really true, for four reasons.

    First, there is no "moment of detonation", powder doesn't detonate*, it burns quickly, producing gas. It's a lot of gas in a small space, so it's under pressure and that pressure pushes the bullet out. The powder continues to burn as the bullet moves down the barrel and even -after- the bullet leaves the barrel, producing muzzle flash. In pictures you may have seen the "fire" coming out of the muzzle. That fire is burning powder, meaning it's still burning after the bullet is gone.

    To look at it from another perspective, imagine a firecracker on a stick. When the cracker blows, the stick doesn't get shot "backward" toward whoever lit it. The recoil exists because (and while) the bullet and gas is being propelled down the barrel. So the duration of recoil force to the slide is the same as the duration of pushing the bullet down the barrel, equal and opposite at any given instant.

    Third, slide -momentum-. The mass of the slide means that the recoil force increases the momentum of the slide, and the hand feels the force as you resist the slide's recoil - meaning the hand or other mount feels the recoil until the slide stops, after the bullet has hit the target.

    Lastly, the slide -move- relative to the frame (and hand or other mounts) against a spring. Since the slide is pushing on the spring, and the spring pushing on the frame, it's actually the pressure of the -spring- that pushes on the frame. Therefore the mount experiences only as much recoil as the resitance of the spring at that portion of its travel.

    * Some powders contain ingredients that -could- detonate if they were pure, but they are mixed with much slower burning components in order to slow them to a conflagration.

    1. Re:Good guess, but no for four reasons by fnj · · Score: 1

      Actually, as I'm sure you are aware, recoil has nothing to do with any slide or spring. A revolver has no slide or spring. A mortar has no slide or spring. A gun on an old sailing ship has no slide or spring. Recoil is simply momentum imparted to the gun, which exactly equals the momentum imparted to the projectile plus other gaseous and particulate ejecta.

      If there is a slide and spring, it has nothing whatever to do with the momentum imparted by the recoil to the weapon. It for a time makes the weapon a compound articulated object, and it modifies the time profile of the impartation of the momentum to the mount or the person holding the weapon.

    2. Re: Good guess, but no for four reasons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What you describe is known as direct blow back operation, and applies only to weaker pistols or very heavy sub machine guns. A combo of some mass and spring pressure (in the form of a slide or bolt) resists backwards pressure (bolt thrust is the term) long enough for the bullet to leave the barrel, and pressures in the barrel cartridge interface to drop to safe levels.

      Most firearms use a variety of locking system i.e. Browning's drop link in pistols, rotating bolt in rifles being the most common. Those designs work no different than a muzzle loader, as far as recoil is concerned.

    3. Re:Good guess, but no for four reasons by Agripa · · Score: 1

      First, there is no "moment of detonation", powder doesn't detonate*, it burns quickly, producing gas. It's a lot of gas in a small space, so it's under pressure and that pressure pushes the bullet out. The powder continues to burn as the bullet moves down the barrel and even -after- the bullet leaves the barrel, producing muzzle flash. In pictures you may have seen the "fire" coming out of the muzzle. That fire is burning powder, meaning it's still burning after the bullet is gone.

      The smokeless powder has usually finished burning by the time the gasses are exposed to the atmosphere. Their products however are oxygen poor and if hot enough, will combine with atmospheric oxygen to produce a flash rather than just a glow.

      If the burn rate of the smokeless powder is low which is do to low pressure, then you can get flaming bits of powder but they usually go out leaving bits of unburnt powder.

  21. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's all relative. The US murder rate is quite low compared to the freedom loving Somalia, Congo, or other similar regions of Africa.

  22. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And a hell of a lot more mass than a pellet too.

  23. Re:Obligatory by jdharm · · Score: 1

    Awwww, so close.

  24. Only some components were 3D printed by celest · · Score: 2

    Only some components were 3D printed. But, you know, #3DPrinting is trending so...

    1. Re:Only some components were 3D printed by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Well, hopefully he'll make up for that by selling the railguns using a Kickstarter funded by Bitcoins...

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  25. um by dlt074 · · Score: 1

    have you ever used a fully automatic weapon? hint, they are worthless for hitting anything after the first round, we'd be better off having them easier to get, as anyone not in the know would gravitate to them and use up their ammo faster.

    currently they are not worth the paper work(tax stamp) to obtain.

    1. Re:um by Khyber · · Score: 1

      "have you ever used a fully automatic weapon? hint, they are worthless for hitting anything after the first round,"

      Yea, maybe 50 fucking years ago.

      Even today's fully-automatic AA-12 can be accurate ONE HANDED because it's got very little recoil. A 5-year old can maintain control over the gun whilst unloading 12-gauge slugs with near-reckless abandon.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    2. Re:um by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      Full auto weapons or selective fire ones in full auto mode are often used specifically for suppressive fire. Keep the enemy down with volume of fire while your guys with more accurate weapons maneuver. Then someone with a more accurate weapon can take people out. Of course, if you're firing at a hostile crowd sometimes volume of fire is better than hitting one target precisely for that.

    3. Re:um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even today's fully-automatic AA-12 can be accurate ONE HANDED because it's got very little recoil. A 5-year old can maintain control over the gun whilst unloading 12-gauge slugs with near-reckless abandon.

      It's a twelve pound empty gun, fully loaded its upwards of 15 pounds. It seems to have very little recoil because it has a ton of mass eating up that recoil.

    4. Re:um by operagost · · Score: 1

      I used a fully automatic AR-15 built by a gunsmith friend of mine. It was pretty easy to control when fired in short bursts, as opposed to going John Rambo.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    5. Re:um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, no. I've shot a semi AA-12, it's got plenty of recoil.

    6. Re: um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rambo had one in each hand. Movies don't lie. He was the best they had. Don't underestimate him. His survival skills were top notch. Two ar-15s, two hands, because recoil is for sissies.

    7. Re:um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean this AA-12, that has absolutely no recoil?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOoUVeyaY_8

    8. Re:um by Khyber · · Score: 2

      No, the spring/gas system in the stock eats up the recoil. Learn how yours guns are constructed.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    9. Re:um by SpinyManiac · · Score: 1

      they are worthless for hitting anything after the first round

      That was the point! They say you should never explain a joke, but just for you...

      The first few shots hit the victim, recoil pushes the gun off target and the rest of the bullets cause collateral damage. Therefore semi-auto has less cost to the taxpayer as the bullets all hit the target, which explains governments don't like civvies getting automatic weapons - they want us to do our murders cleanly.

      There, feel better now?

      --
      It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
    10. Re:um by Megol · · Score: 1

      That would indicate the laws of nature be broken. What recoil systems do is spread the impulse over a longer time range+some conversion of recoil energy to heat. For some automatic weapons such systems aren't worth it as there aren't enough time between shots to be effective.

    11. Re:um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have no idea what you're talking about.

  26. It's got a Maliwan Stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Higher elemental effect chance. Sweet!

  27. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by avandesande · · Score: 2

    1,000 fps + pellet guns are quite common

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  28. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by operagost · · Score: 1

    The censorship laws you people have tell me that your government isn't exactly concerned about your opinions. I'm a bit concerned about a government that has the power to ban alcohol and pornography whenever and wherever they feel is necessary.

    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  29. "Guy"? Why not "Man"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    American idiots.

  30. Every time? by JohnStock · · Score: 1

    Do we need to have a news article every time something new is printed with a 3d printer? Did we do that with dot matrix printers?

  31. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's meters per second, it's still subsonic.

  32. "except" is precisely the question by raymorris · · Score: 1

    >it modifies the time profile of the impartation of the momentum to the mount or the person holding the weapon.

    and the topic of this thread is precisely the time profile. Quoting:
    >> detonation time, whereas in a railgun the energy is spent continuously during the time the projectile travels the length of the barrel. ... (although the recoil is felt longer)

    So whether or not the recoil is spread over time is precisely what I was responding to.

    1. Re:"except" is precisely the question by fnj · · Score: 1

      Excellent.

  33. Name by tobiasly · · Score: 1

    I dunno who this "David Wirth" is, but he should definitely rearrange his name to be "Darth Wivid". (Which is kinda what my brain saw anyway when I scanned the description...)

  34. I had something more svelte in mind by supertall · · Score: 1

    When I read handheld it makes me think more along the lines of the Noisy Cricket ...

  35. Performance is irrelevant by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 2

    What I find funny on this is that I see everybody criticizing the performance of the gun (and some in a very arrogant way) but no one noticed that he did this project for the sheer fun of doing it.

    --
    Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
  36. 3D Printing Hype by jrbrtsn · · Score: 1

    I'm getting weary with all the 3D printing hype that goes on in this community. You do realize that humans have been making 3D objects without 3D printers for the vast majority of recorded history, right? While 3D printers come in handy for making some objects, they are not the sole enabler for making *any* object. Just another tool. Big deal.

  37. Co2 canister on the back. by sims+2 · · Score: 1

    So its co2 boosted?

    --
    Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    1. Re:Co2 canister on the back. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, it appears to be. That might also be a HPA (High pressure air) tank for paintball. Those can be pressurized up to 2 to 3.5 KPsi if they are just steel. Or up to 5KPsi for fiberglass reinforced.

      I've seen a few of these railguns like this. They true letdown is when they fire almost just as fast with only the initial boost as they do with the rail energized. At least they are cool in principle, though.

    2. Re:Co2 canister on the back. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I had to guess, I would say he's using the CO2 to overcome static friction, which is (of course) much higher than dynamic friction. I think is analogous to using a run/start capacitor on a motor.

  38. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You do know that Australians have more guns now than when the 1996 firearms buy backs occurred, right? It was a $500 million wasted to destroy objects that John Howard thought were "evil". That money would have been better spent on the mental health care.

  39. The NRA says more 3d printers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    in schools means less school shootings!

  40. Centrifugal force by wasteoid · · Score: 1

    Centrifugal pushes apart from the center, while centripetal pulls together toward the center, so the destruction would be from centrifugal force.

  41. Hollywood kills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The rest of the developed world with its massively lower murder rates disagrees as well as Sweden.

    The societies with lower murder rates don't have Hollywood. American entertainment bombards us with ever greater levels of violence. The increase in mass shootings isn't a result of more guns, it is a result of more violence being spread like a disease through our media. If you want to ban something, ban portrayals of violence on television, cable and in the movies.

  42. Fake Fake Fake! by sexconker · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is 100% fake.

    http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storag...
    1: That's not handheld.
    2: That's a CO2 tank.

    He's built a paintball gun and put a bunch of shit on it, then added sparks at the end of it.
    1800 Joules is way over a fucking 44 magnum (1300-1500). Yet if you look at the videos posted, you can see that when he fires at some particle boards nothing fucking happens. The "article" original claimed it was 3,000,000 Joules. LOL!

    If you read the video descriptions on Youtube, he claims:

    WXPR Test 3 - 1" long 0.25" aluminum sabot (1.1g total mass). 1.6kJ caps, 500 psi injector. 36" distance to target: angled 3/4" plywood board with 1/4" mild steel backplate. Made a 1/2" deep indent in target and bounced off. Speed was above 250m/s.

    Successful proof of concept for repeatable shots on the same set of rails.

    So, 1600 J, not 1800. And that tank at 500 PSI is an "injector"? LOL! It's an air gun with some capacitors for no reason!!
    His latest video involves shooting a cantaloupe, because everyone laughed when he couldn't penetrate plywood. He claimed they were "steel backed" plywood boards, but he still barely put a dent in them.

    Here's the cantaloupe: https://youtu.be/t0vCiafjUy8 He allegedly fires at around 1300 J according to his own LCD display. There's an odd cut at 1:51 in the video as well, so I have no idea what he's actually doing. (Watch from 1:49 to 1:52 at 0.25 speed to see the cut). You can watch the shot in slow mo too.

    Here's a 44 magnum shooting a watermelon: https://youtu.be/dYtfq8KdlnE A 44 magnums runs at 1300 J to 1500 J. Do they seem at all comparable?

    1. Re:Fake Fake Fake! by retrosurf · · Score: 1

      I'm here to say the same thing.

      A 45 ACP round in a Colt 45 Automatic pistol is 600 foot-lbs, or 450 joules, and it'll do more to steel-backed plywood than just dent it.

      No way the projectile is ending up with 1800 joules in kinetic energy. Perhaps that is what the capacitor bank starts with, but that's not what the projectile ends up with.

      Try to be charitable about the 3 million joule thing. I work on a NASA campus that has a regular old utility transformer outside labelled 23,000 Kilovolts (and it's not).

      Mistakes are made :-)

    2. Re:Fake Fake Fake! by dj245 · · Score: 1

      Great catch. It's really a shame nobody noticed this earlier. The discussion could have been a lot more interesting.

      --
      Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
    3. Re:Fake Fake Fake! by bored_engineer · · Score: 2

      I don't think that it delivers 1,600J, so much as it consumes 1,600J. Quoting the numbers you printed:

      1.1g sabot
      300 m/s (above 250 m/s, so let's be generous).

      E = 0.5*M*V^2, so
      E = 0.5*1.1*300*300 = 49,500mJ = 49.5J. So, the muzzle energy is about 1/30th of the energy it appears to be using.

      Poking around a bit, I found a variety of velocities and masses for paintballs, so I'll posit that the muzzle energy of a paintball pellet varies between 12J-20J. So, assuming the pressure system is imparting similar energy as a paintball gun, this guy's rail is imparting a maximum of about 30J-38J to the slug, or about 1/50th of the energy consumed. No wonder his graphite sabot didn't reach a target.

  43. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

    Comparing the US to far smaller and relatively non-diverse countries like Sweden or Australia on murder rate is a flawed process.
    http://www.westernjournalism.c...

    --

    Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
  44. CO2? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't find an explanation of, what appears to be, a CO2 canister on the back. Is it using CO2 as a propellant (not a rail gun) or a coolant or ..?

  45. Handheld? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Um, that's not what I think of when I hear the word "handheld". That's up in sewing machine weight....

    And no, I have never seen the stat that 40% of all households have guns, and I don't believe it.

    Finally, the reason some countries have less crime: economically, the 99% is better off, and there's no12% or 20% or 35% of the population that, based on all available evidence, they'll never get ahead, and they'll always be living paycheck to paycheck, and worrying that a health issue, even with "insurance", will take everything from them.

    And then there's the living-while-not-white-middle-class-male.

                              mark

  46. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    It also ignores the fact that 30-44% of homicides are committed without a gun.

    Plus Sweden has it's own police state crime and commitment issues.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  47. Wow no law enforcement involvement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This guy is lucky he didn't build a clock!

    I guess he is more lucky he is white!

  48. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Coren22 · · Score: 2

    The US murder rate in certain cities is higher than the entirety of the rest of the nation. When you look at where the murder rate is high, you might be suprised to find out that they are not places with high gun ownership.

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  49. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We have an annoying right wing party that tells people to be afraid of immigrants.

  50. the breech is locked WHILE THE SLIDE MOVES by raymorris · · Score: 1

    In standard pistols, the breech is unlocked after the slide moves a distance relative to the frame, and the slide continues to move after the breech is unlocked. This movement of slide relative to the frame means that the slide has momentum (recoil energy) that it has not yet transferred to the frame.

    Whether that motion unlocks the breech directly, via a tilting barrel, a lever, or a rotary mechanism doesn't effect this fact. So long as the any recoiling part of the weapon is moving faster than the frame, that's recoil energy not yet transferred to the frame. That means it increases the time over which the same energy is transferred and therefore reduces the instantaneous force.

    Where this would not occur would be if you had a weapon in which no massive parts of the weapon has recoil motion relative to the frame - mortars and old-fsshioned cannons.

    1. Re:the breech is locked WHILE THE SLIDE MOVES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Again, you are in part right, and in part wrong.

      In standard pistols, the breech is unlocked after the slide moves a distance relative to the frame, and the slide continues to move after the breech is unlocked.

      Right. This takes place in the span of about an eighth of an inch, depending on the pistol in question. When the barrel stops against the recoil surfaces in the frame, the full recoil force of the still accelerating bullet is transferred to the frame, and no more to the slide.

      This movement of slide relative to the frame means that the slide has momentum (recoil energy) that it has not yet transferred to the frame.

      Yes. True. However, only relatively small amount of momentum is ever transferred to the slide. It would be interesting to figure it out, but as a WAG, I'm saying it's less than 5% of the bullet's momemtum. Clearly, the stopping of the slide slide is not responsible for the recoil feel of the firearm. Check out this high speed video which was intended to demonstrate a potential failure on the Glock pistol, known as "limp wristing"--it actually demonstrates the ideas we're talking about pretty well. It's obvious that the recoil effects are fully propagating, even as the slide is barely past the unlocking stage.

      In fact, if you inspect this video the bullet is quite some distance down range before the slide unlocks. What's responsible for the recoil? The acceleration of the bullet. If it's out of the picture (in the figurative and literal sense), it's not transferring momentum any longer.

  51. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by HiThere · · Score: 1

    The US isn't all that much larger in area, but the population is a bit more than proportionally larger. That's probably what you meant, but it wasn't clear from your post.

    OTOH, gun control in the US dates back to the 1870's (or perhaps earlier). And there are arguments that it's reasonable in dense population centers. Like Dodge City in the 1870's.

    --

    I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  52. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you're saying we have crime because of all the non-white people?

    In what way is that not racist?

    And linking to westernjournalism, that's rich.

  53. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

    So you're saying we have crime because of all the non-white people?

    In what way is that not racist?

    And linking to westernjournalism, that's rich.

    Simple: anytime you have vastly different cultures mixing and colliding - blacks, whites, asians, muslims, christians, atheists, or even among same race but different ethnic groups like Italian, Jewish, WASP, Irish, etc.. -you get the picture- you get more tensions and friction, as the "melting pot" rarely brews smoothly at first. It can take decades (or centuries) for things to homogenize; in the meantime, this friction breeds mistrust, racism, bigotry, or just plain old fashioned differences of opinion; all this can lead to victimization and also feeling victimized, in an ugly cycle. Violence sometimes breaks out. And that most certainly includes whites of all ethnicities in that mix. It's not the only factor in the violence equation, but it is a factor as it means a more complex demographic.

    --

    Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
  54. Re:MP7 fits nicely in a backpack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Clearly, from the picture, the railgun does not fit nicely in a backpack. But it's still cool looking.

  55. Re:Obligatory by smithmc · · Score: 1

    You know, it really isn't.

    --
    Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
  56. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's slashdot, you can safely skip the first thread on anything posted here. It's just off topic attention whores wanting to be near the top of the page.

  57. 240 m/sec^2? by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

    Cap gun

  58. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are a moron. 250 meters per second is only 820 feet per second. That's not even a good pellet gun.

  59. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I guess that's why the video showed the projectile bouncing off of the plywood backstop. A pellet would have gone in or through.

  60. great video. My Glock 19 - 12.3oz versus 6oz by raymorris · · Score: 1

    That's a great video. The extreme limp-wristing allows us to see what the different parts of the gun do without too much interference from the hand.

    Kinetic energy is mass (weight) multiplied by velocity.
    Here are the mass measurements of different parts of my Glock 19:

    Slide 12.3 oz
    Barrel 3 oz
    Frame and the rest 6 oz.

    So we see that if they were moving at the same speed, the slide would have twice as much energy as the frame.

    You can see in the video you linked to (and by the fact that it moves backward relative to the slide) that the velocity of the slide is GREATER than the velocity of the frame. Therefore more than 2/3rds of the energy is in the slide until it stops moving rearward relative to the frame.

    This may surprise you. Still, mass times velocity. It's not just a good idea, it's the law.

  61. Yahoo is so wrong lol by Thisstatementisfalse · · Score: 1

    Yahoo said the gun has 3000 kilojoules (3,000,000) joules of energy per shot! This article actually seems accurate, thanks Slashdot I was curious about the actual energy generated by the gun. 1800 joules seems very reasonable

  62. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Especially when the outcome is not guaranteed.

  63. Slapper by Baldrson · · Score: 1

    Something that has occurred to me is the possible use of a nuclear detonator technology developed by Lawrence Livermore National Labs called a "Slapper". A slapper, used to propel mass at high velocities, overcomes some engineering problems with railguns by not fighting the vaporization of metal in the ammo, but rather using it as the propulsive "gas" behind a dielectric material which can be made refractory.

  64. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    wait, what, Australia is non-diverse? I assume you mean culturally? about the only way you could get the non-diverse label to stick would be that Australians are reasonably united in not wandering around with guns for no really sensible reason.

  65. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While I agree with the pornography, the alcohol side is actually a good thing in 99% of the places where it is implemented.

  66. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

    Australia isn't quite as diverse as the US is, nor nearly as populated. It's also an island, surrounded by ocean, which makes smuggling guns a bit trickier than a country with several times the square area and a collective approximate 6,000 miles of land border.
    Americans don't "wander around" with guns either. Open or concealed carry is not that common, and even where it's legal doesn't mean everyone is doing it.

    --

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  67. Re: So when's "gun control" going to stop guys wit by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

    40% of murders committed without a gun?
    Then England has the same per-capita murders as America.
    Oh, wait, obvious LIE!

  68. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion