Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Normal
"Nuclear reactors [are energy dense, but not very power dense]. Turbines have great power densities. This is 27000 hp (20 MW), almost enough to power an early LA class submarine. A reactor's shielding alone is much larger and heavier.""Using flywheels, SAIC estimated 46,000 peak g's (64 MJ, Mach 7+).Capacitors might output a smoother power pulse, yielding a flatter acceleration profile and lower peak g's (lower stress). This relaxes the material requirements somewhat for both the barrel and round... thus cheaper/easier/sooner to mature. Maybe that's why the navy went with caps. (I've seen literally NO ONE advocate for caps over flywheels in ANY publication ANYWHERE---flywheels were a foregone conclusion---so I'm still bewildered why the Navy chose capacitors.)"Naval Railgun FAQ & Primer (v1.0.3)/u/HephaestusAetnaean 2015-18
"Nuclear reactors [are energy dense, but not very power dense]. Turbines have great power densities. This is 27000 hp (20 MW), almost enough to power an early LA class submarine. A reactor's shielding alone is much larger and heavier."
"Using flywheels, SAIC estimated 46,000 peak g's (64 MJ, Mach 7+).
Capacitors might output a smoother power pulse, yielding a flatter acceleration profile and lower peak g's (lower stress). This relaxes the material requirements somewhat for both the barrel and round... thus cheaper/easier/sooner to mature. Maybe that's why the navy went with caps. (I've seen literally NO ONE advocate for caps over flywheels in ANY publication ANYWHERE---flywheels were a foregone conclusion---so I'm still bewildered why the Navy chose capacitors.)"
Naval Railgun FAQ & Primer (v1.0.3)
/u/HephaestusAetnaean 2015-18
