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In the simplest terms, a rail gun is a solid weapon which utilizes electromagnetic technology to propel its projectiles up to several times the speed of sound. The "shell" itself is relatively small, but the kinetic energy imparted by the magnetic mechanism is so high such that the force of impact alone is completely devastating. Other advantages include minimal moving parts, no explosive material necessary in the gun itself, and no recoil.

For more: http://horehound.infostry.com/rail2.html
 
Originally posted by OriginalPhoenix
The "shell" itself is relatively small, but the kinetic energy imparted by the magnetic mechanism is so high such that the force of impact alone is completely devastating. Other advantages include minimal moving parts, no explosive material necessary in the gun itself, and no recoil.
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Umm... there is too a recoil. A recoil-less gun that relies on projectiles is pretty much impossible. When the projectile has force applied to it, a force equal to that is applied in the opposite direction to the gun itself. I really can't see any way that can be avoided.

TC
 
TC is right. There is always a recoil.

Wedge, a rail gun is basically a mass criver gun. Not exactly the mass drivers that Wing COmmnder has, but that's a good desciption of what a rail gun is.
 
Originally posted by Meson
Wedge, a rail gun is basically a mass criver gun. Not exactly the mass drivers that Wing COmmnder has, but that's a good desciption of what a rail gun is.
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So... the "good description" of a railgun is that it's a mass driver that's not a mass driver?
 
Originally posted by TC
Umm... there is too a recoil.
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Not in the sense that we recognize recoil. The inverse forces are created by, and absorbed into, the electromagnetic field, as they PULL th eprojectile through the barrel (as opposed to an explosive charge PUSHING it though). The barrel doesn't recoil as we are used to seeing when cannon fire -- unless the specific gun is designed such that the EM field imparts some of the inverse force onto the barrel, which is possible.

Regardless, there is significantly less strain on the turret and ship itself.
 
Originally posted by Excalibur
I think that a Tachyon Gun is more like a Rail Gun. Its faster, more powerful, and more of a kick ass gun!
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I take it that you never really looked at the Victory Streak Manual that came with WC3? "It slows down tachyon particles, which naturally travel faster than the speed of light."
 
Originally posted by OriginalPhoenix
In the simplest terms, a rail gun is a solid weapon which utilizes electromagnetic technology to propel its projectiles up to several times the speed of sound. The "shell" itself is relatively small, but the kinetic energy imparted by the magnetic mechanism is so high such that the force of impact alone is completely devastating. Other advantages include minimal moving parts, no explosive material necessary in the gun itself, and no recoil.
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Reminds me of the BattleTech Gauss cannon (or other Gauss weapons) but in BT, the shell is pretty large IIRC. :)
 
My theory is that the amounts of matter used are so minute that for all intents and purposes, you have unlimited ammo. You just don't use up enough during a mission for it to be a problem.

Best, Raptor
 
Mass Drivers do appear to shoot fairly large chunks... except in WC3, perhaps. :)

I also find the SO fiction explanation of the Dust Cannons' "scraping mechanism" a bit thin, but it's certainly more plausible than infinite mass driver ammo.

Do rail guns and Mass Drivers have similar rates of fire? On first read, I imagined rail guns as having a rapid a rate of fire as Dust Cannons.
 
Originally posted by Frosty
They recover exhaust particles and pack them together to make bullets I think.
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The Dust cannon works by culling particles from the engine exhauts, but I don't think we ever get told how mass drivers work other than that they fire metallic particles
 
Bob McDob said:
Why the hell do mass drivers have unlimited ammo anyway? :confused:
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So players don't have to worry about running out of ammo. The novels state that the Mass Driver have a limited ammo supply though as far as I know the amount of Mass Driver ammo the fighters carry is never stated.
 
haha, holy thread revival Batman!

The real question is, how many people are still hanging around from the original discussion?
 
All of them.

Just because some may not post here anymore, doesn't mean that they've forgotten about the game. Wing Commander fans are a great, rare breed and their faith is built as sturdy as a brick shithouse.
 
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