Firing cannon shells has been carried out for hundreds of years by converting chemical energy in the barrel of the cannon into kinetic energy of the shell. This is done by burning an explosive material with high chemical energy, which produces energetic gases that give the projectile the kinetic energy required to fly in a ballistic motion toward the target. The current artillery shells are limited in terms of range (up to approximately 40 km) and speed, therefore limiting their destructive power.
The modern battlefield is saturated with signals originating from electromagnetic energy and are mainly used for communication, guiding attack means, and marking and navigating smart munitions. These electromagnetic signals are weak and naturally constitute “auxiliary tools” on the battlefield. But in addition to the above, powerful electromagnetic energy can be used as a means of launching and accelerating cannon shells at supersonic speeds (over Mach 7), at a high rate of fire and at distances up to 4 times greater than the distance of the current cannonballs driven by chemical energy. This is done using a device called a rail gun.
The rail gun uses electromagnetic energy created by the passing of high-powered electric currents through two rails in the presence of a shell made of electrically conductive metal. As a result of the transfer of the electric current in the presence of a conductor, strong magnetic fields are created that exert a powerful electromagnetic force (“Lorentz force”) on the metallic shell in the direction of the shot. The idea of converting electromagnetic energy into kinetic energy is not new, but the application of this means has not been realized until now mainly for engineering reasons.
The development of a rail gun began in the United States with the aim of equipping navy ships with various means of attack and even protecting against missiles, and it’s still in field trials. The Chinese have also recently reported that they have developed a rail gun that fires many shells continuously—about 120 shells in field tests—without damage or wear to the system, at a speed of Mach 6 and a range of up to 200 km.
This weapon has several advantages, due to its long firing range, its high destruction capacity due to the hypersonic speed and kinetic energy of the shell, its safety—given the absence of explosives, and the flexibility required to upgrade its performance, which depends solely on the power supply. The rail gun also has an advantage for the navy due to its impressive offensive capability and low cost compared to missiles, since the price of a rail gun shell is significantly cheaper—20 to 60 times—than missiles with similar performance.
The main disadvantage of a rail gun is its extremely large power consumption, on the order of a small power plant. But nonetheless, it seems that the rail gun is a game-changing weapon, and one should consider the possibilities inherent in this type of weapon.
Firing cannon shells has been carried out for hundreds of years by converting chemical energy in the barrel of the cannon into kinetic energy of the shell. This is done by burning an explosive material with high chemical energy, which produces energetic gases that give the projectile the kinetic energy required to fly in a ballistic motion toward the target. The current artillery shells are limited in terms of range (up to approximately 40 km) and speed, therefore limiting their destructive power.
The modern battlefield is saturated with signals originating from electromagnetic energy and are mainly used for communication, guiding attack means, and marking and navigating smart munitions. These electromagnetic signals are weak and naturally constitute “auxiliary tools” on the battlefield. But in addition to the above, powerful electromagnetic energy can be used as a means of launching and accelerating cannon shells at supersonic speeds (over Mach 7), at a high rate of fire and at distances up to 4 times greater than the distance of the current cannonballs driven by chemical energy. This is done using a device called a rail gun.
The rail gun uses electromagnetic energy created by the passing of high-powered electric currents through two rails in the presence of a shell made of electrically conductive metal. As a result of the transfer of the electric current in the presence of a conductor, strong magnetic fields are created that exert a powerful electromagnetic force (“Lorentz force”) on the metallic shell in the direction of the shot. The idea of converting electromagnetic energy into kinetic energy is not new, but the application of this means has not been realized until now mainly for engineering reasons.
The development of a rail gun began in the United States with the aim of equipping navy ships with various means of attack and even protecting against missiles, and it’s still in field trials. The Chinese have also recently reported that they have developed a rail gun that fires many shells continuously—about 120 shells in field tests—without damage or wear to the system, at a speed of Mach 6 and a range of up to 200 km.
This weapon has several advantages, due to its long firing range, its high destruction capacity due to the hypersonic speed and kinetic energy of the shell, its safety—given the absence of explosives, and the flexibility required to upgrade its performance, which depends solely on the power supply. The rail gun also has an advantage for the navy due to its impressive offensive capability and low cost compared to missiles, since the price of a rail gun shell is significantly cheaper—20 to 60 times—than missiles with similar performance.
The main disadvantage of a rail gun is its extremely large power consumption, on the order of a small power plant. But nonetheless, it seems that the rail gun is a game-changing weapon, and one should consider the possibilities inherent in this type of weapon.