Star Wars research: a railgun (Electromagnetic Launcher) fires a 0. 3 pound plastic projectile at 3 kilometers per second (7, 000 miles per hour) to c

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Star Wars research: a railgun (Electromagnetic Launcher) fires a 0. 3 pound plastic projectile at 3 kilometers per second (7, 000 miles per hour) to completely penetrate a 1-inch steel target plate. The railgun is being developed at Maxwell Laboratories Inc. , San Diego, California, as part of the U. S. Government's research programme into space-based weapons capable of intercepting ballistic missiles - the Strategic Defense Initiative. Railguns use electromagnetism to accelerate a projectile towards its target, as opposed to rifles or rockets which use chemical energy as a propellant.

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Size: 3543px × 2534px
Photo credit: © U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: combat, defense, electromagnetic, electromagnetism, gun, launcher, program, programme, rail, research, sdi, space, star, target, war, wars