Ace had this yesterday but I hadn’t recovered from the awesomeness shock upon viewing it until just a few minutes ago. Hence the delay in posting. Anyway: 32 megajoules. What does that mean?
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The Navy’s eventual goal is a ship-mounted railgun that can fire a projectile more than 200 miles at speeds of more than 8,000 feet per second. Context: The Navy’s current MK 45 five-inch gun has a range of just 20 miles.
“But wait, AP,” you say, “I thought a railgun worked purely through electricity. What’s all that combustible stuff coming off the back end?” Answer: It’s pieces of the slug, disintegrating with such tremendous energy that the air around them bursts into flame. I … have to go lie down again.
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