The Reality of Gauss Rifles and Coil Guns w/ David Wirth of Arcflash Labs

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David Wirth is one of the founders of Arcflash Labs, a small company developing "ultra-high energy pulsed power supplies", which have applications in a variety of fields - but today we are talking about electromagnetic weaponry. Arcflash is currently shipping out their first batch of commercial GR-1 "Anvil" shoulder-fired gauss rifles. They brought one down for me to try out, and I figured it would be best to start with some background discussion. So today, David and I are talking about how coil guns and rail guns work (and what the difference between the two is), how Arcflash came about developing the GR-1, where they expect the technology to go, and the applications for this and future mass accelerators.
(For the record, I love being able to write a description like this and legitimately use terms like "rail gun" and "gauss rifle"...)
So, check it out! And stick around for a detailed look at the GR-1 Anvil on Friday, and the lunacy of me taking it to a Backup Gun Match on Saturday...
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle 36270
Tucson, AZ 85740

[@volvok7749]

Props for being honest and stating it is a proof of concept rather than deceivingly hyping it up.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

unlike that funny-looking conman that is selling a "murcan made" RPG tube with piccattini rails for 100X the price

[@TheAnoniemo]

It looks like a DIY project with desktop 3D printed parts and laser cut acrylic , if this was a "production" model I'd be seriously worried.

[@robert8984]

@@TheAnoniemo Well does not only look like it. It IS a DIY project with desktop 3D printed parts and laser cut acrylic.

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

I don't think it needs to be said lol

[@TheAnoniemo]

@@robert8984 Funny how you can see the diagonal line artifacts from cheap stepper motor drivers on the side of the battery case, like my Ender 3 had before upgrades.

[@kelyncrandall7452]

Ian: "Next you'll tell me it makes a *bwoop* sound when it charges, lol" David: "Yes"

[@CptJistuce]

Just like a camera flash, I mean the future!

[@KeeganYF12]

Boo-womp.

[@collinmclaren6608]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!

[@kylejohnson423]

now only if we could develop our little box that goes ping technology.

[@ericvandenavond8748]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipKVdH5qd956qdk

[@SquintyGears]

"this is going to take the cake" at the backup gun match, is the understatement of the century.

[@Lonewolfmike]

Pretty sure Ian won't care as much about his hits as he will be just shooting it. All hits will be an added bonus the way I look at it.

[@robertpaulson6811]

I bet everyone who sees it will want to take a turn. I sure would.

[@thomasrouse3826]

Trying to carry this in the next desert brutality match is going to give Ian a hernia.

[@dualsportrider3221]

We brought a 91 w a 22 kit in it to a match one time.

[@BigSwede7403]

"Uh boss... you might want to have a look at this." "*sigh* What did Ian bring this time? And why do i smell ozone?"

[@hollywoodBen23]

I just love that he’s already more transparent about their ideas for future development than any single firearm manufacturer ever

[@livingcorpse5664]

Cause they are a science company first and a gun company second. I checked their website out, they want to use pulse technology for medicine and space exploration not just guns.

[@GhostHacker55]

@@livingcorpse5664 Imagine a massive coilgun used for launching satellites into space. Could make the cost negligible.

[@livingcorpse5664]

@@GhostHacker55 The idea has been around for decades, these guys might help make it a reality.

[@ColburnFreml]

HMG and Hudson were very open about their developments. How well has that worked for them?

[@samhughes1747]

Meh. Keltec is really good about transparency on engineering constraints and practical limitations, but I think that's born out of the same mindset as these guys have: "We want to see what people do with it."

[@diemos322jones9]

I'm a big fan of this guys honesty. He's not hyping it up as something it's not. Great questions and video, as always, Ian.

[@Badchi]

Probably because he's an engineer, not a salesman. He's probably like Wozniak to apple.

[@dantreadwell7421]

Was going to say the same

[@selfcontrol316]

You can see the depths of Ian's experience with guns when he understands only the top level broad strokes of the technology and is still able to ask insightful and meaningful questions. Very well done.

[@Badchi]

And not even so much as a note in his hand with hints to next question or anything

[@jakefoley9539]

The trick is he's smart enough to know what he doesn't know.

[@GreenCanoeb]

Ian's original background is engineering so the base understanding of the technology is present.

[@Hoot]

40 years from now, old Ian in front of a camera: _"Thanks for tuning in. I am Ian McCollum, and today we are taking a look at an 18 Kilojoule ChemCoil rifle produced by Archflash"_

[@RedlineLucario]

Or the Gauss Rifle from S.T.A.L.K.E.R

[@thegreenberretwearingbrony9678]

Hoot. Out of all the places I find you here.

[@CheeseSteakJim]

"Today we'll be looking at a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range"

[@firstconsul7286]

"Today we will be taking a look at the Mk VIII Super MAC gun that the UNSC is looking to adopt for use on their Orbital Defence Platforms"

[@lightinthedark8401]

i think you already have scope for that rifle

[@unarmored9973]

Well considering that 10 years ago the only Gauss guns around were bolted to workshop tables connected to 100 lbs of capacitors the GR1 seems like a decent step forward. Big chonky slow rounds can still be effective at defeating armor (allegedly), 9x39mm and 12.7x55mm STs-130 come to mind.

[@Awootistic]

Tbf, you don't need to penetrate armor if your bullet can collapse rib cages.

[@livingcorpse5664]

He's right. A body armor that can stop a .50 BMG wouldn't do me good because all that kinetic energy would still turn my organs into mush even if the bullet fails to get through that armor. All that energy has to go somewhere when it hits something and stops. Its why I laugh when Russia claims to have made a body armor that can stop a .50 BMG round, its like congrats Russia, you made sure the soldier can have an open coffin at his funeral instead of a closed one since he'll be in one piece instead of having a big hole and look like he got hit by a car instead of a bullet.

[@feryth]

1 ounce projectile at 70m/s is practically the same as a medieval crossbow

[@Awootistic]

@@feryth heeeeeeeyyyyyyyy..... That's pretty good...

[@livingcorpse5664]

@@feryth So deadly. Got it. Past railgun/coil guns I'd see people make on KZbin would just give you a bruise.

[@Vel0cir]

I've talked to David before, asking questions from a layman's level of understanding and a sci-fi enthusiast's level of wishful thinking. Great, well-developed responses (as well as their products themselves) have me following Arcflash Labs very closely.

[@rudukai13]

“Unsafe to be downrange” is a pretty good benchmark for current portable coilguns

[@iamzid]

you know you said something good when the sex bots start posting replies on your comment.

[@andersjjensen]

The two ounce projectiles, assuming they reach 75m/s, should hit you with 157N at point blank which is not a whole hecking lot... but it is the equivalent of lying down and having a 346lbs rod standing on your chest... that is only .5" thick... Those projectiles don't need to be particularly pointy to be absolutely lethal....

[@ratheonhudson3311]

"Wait, nah, I'm sure it's sa-" said the first and only person who tested the theory Haha

[@egoalter1276]

Yes, 22 short is not quiet relyably deadly, but can definitely kill someone. Perhaps more relyably with a big chonkin bullet. What this is, is a 9kg varmint rifle, which means, even if not exactly practical, it IS usable for a porpouse, that is significantly more than any hand held magnetic artillery in memory could be called. I am not certain it will entirely replace chemical energy operated weaponry, but it is certainly a field worth exploring, and this is one of the first serious steps into it.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@egoalter1276 How would a porpoise use a 9kg varmint rilfe? They don't have opposable thumbs.

[@tomkavulic7178]

Ian McCollum, the first man in history to shoot a match with a gauss rifle.

[@barttorbert5031]

Expect Ian to finish dead last as the thing has zero accuracy at distance. But the day will be talked about forever. But Ian needs to give his place in the match to that skanky 80's dude doppelganger.

[@Malefactor]

@@barttorbert5031 Ian managed to beat a couple people in a BUG match with a derringer, him shooting with a gauss rifle that takes 30 seconds to charge the capacitors between each shot and has sights comparable to a Chinese bootleg chances are he'll beat at least one guy.

[@andersjjensen]

@@barttorbert5031 People who manages to fail even more spectacularly than anyone has ever succeeded tend to go down in history forever, whereas those who succeed are only remembered until someone supersedes them. Moral of the story: Lose with style in the most hilarious way possible to become immortal... Such are the teachings of Gun Jesus! :P

[@CZProtton]

@@Malefactor I think he said it takes 3 seconds to charge, not 30. That is still bad, but at least its viable to use. Accuracy will be a problem but as you have said, there are always some people who are so bad you wonder how they did not shoot themselves yet. And he can beat them even with something like this.

[@Chebva]

That seriously needs to happen.

[@TinMan0555]

Ian knows how to tell the story…..comparing this device to The Wright Flyer is a stroke of brilliance.

[@Jimtheneals]

Very true, that is the perfect analogy as this is just the beginning.

[@isaaclux2128]

To David Wirth of ArcFlash, if you read this, I have a few recommendations after watching the episode uploaded yesterday where the gun was tested at the range. I noticed at the range in the high speed the barrel is shaking SO much, it's obvious some of the energy is being wasted on the slug shaking the barrel. This probably also is the reason a lot of the rounds tumbled for Ian and the crew at the range. Maybe you might get better results with an acrylic barrel? It seems you want to make at least the prototype see through, so it might be a better idea than aluminum, possibly lighter and cheaper too. Just a thought, possibly could help conserve energy. Also, I would recommend an active cooling system, you could add a vent on the top of the gun and a few fans along the side to just pump air through every time it hits the yellow range. You could possibly even use them as LED indicators, to show when the gun is ready to fire or the battery is low or something. Hope to see this become something awesome in the future!

[@RoChaiBo]

I didn’t know the difference between gaus rifles and rail guns and that was really cool to learn!

[@4rtoria]

@@lostalone9320 k

[@greycatturtle7132]

Ye

[@CanalTremocos]

The way I always thought of it is in a Gauss you can shoot any ferromagnetic projectile because the meat and potatoes are in the coils. In a Railgun, you need a projectile that can survive being zapped by a strong current and be part of the 'engine' instead of going up in a flash of plasma. So, like the man said, both have pros and cons and they probably will evolve into different weapons.

[@PhycoKrusk]

@@lostalone9320 That may not be, but I didn't know that a coilgun has different applications than a railgun, specifically in that one can move almost any mass of projectile but has a velocity limit, while the other can reach almost any velocity but has a practical mass limit. Coilguns are the obvious choice for something that is man-portable; you can compensate for the velocity limit by simply using a more massive projectile. Railguns seem the more obvious choice for tanks or other vehicles; high velocity is ultimately what defeats armor, and you need a longer rail to get really high velocities. Like Mr Wirth said, this is the groundwork for where things go forward (although no how much the technology progresses, I don't see firearms being completely displaced; black powder is obsolescent, after all, but hardly obsolete).

[@reklessbravo2129]

One difference that wasn't mentioned is that every time you fire a railgun it tries to tear itself apart

[@mikethurman3147]

The only thing that would have made Ian's more excited would have been if the company was French. Can't wait to see the backup match.

[@SenorGato237]

Scale the "bore" size to 25mm and... grenade launcher. Facntastic work, excited to see where the company goes.

[@adamnouiguer3430]

But grenades would be less efficient to fire because they aren't entirely magnetic

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

You're not too far off, the us army plans to have gauz mortars in service in the next 10 years. They out preform traditional mortars for similar weight/etc. Just need to set up the infrastructure. They are supposed to replace traditional mortars in jltv units

[@vladcrow4225]

Grenade launcher... with an inherent risk to set off the fuse by induction.

[@skylerthompson8046]

@@vladcrow4225 ignoring the fact that there should be little to no induction heat in something like this, you can just design a fuze immune to that problem.

[@benjenkinson1470]

Nah scale up to 105 shells and feed the MASSIVE capacitor bank from a small nuclear reactor

[@obscillesk]

Y'know, given that description of gauss gun, you could argue gauss gun is a catchall term for any magnetically propelled rifle, coil guns and rail guns being subdivisions of gauss gun as a class

[@FumbleSquid]

I remember when I was young taking disposable camera capacitors and creating coil guns with em, never thought you could get 75m/s out of that kinda thing

[@twosquids]

Ian is the only gun KZbinr I would trust to handle this interview

[@andersjjensen]

Henry and Josh from 9 Hole Reviews would have done a good job too.

[@twosquids]

@@andersjjensen I'll have to check them out never heard

[@SoybeanAK]

Dunno, oddly I think Paul Harrell would give it a fair shake. Or maybe Chris from Lucky Gunner...

[@matthewbrasel2737]

Demo Ranch would immediately see how many phone books it could go through

[@Blind_Kamikaze]

Yes. Thank you haha

[@datpolakmike]

8:50 in simpler terms, the problem with railguns is that they're constantly trying to weld themselves together with every shot, and so they're very self destructive as the projectile scrapes down the barrel overcoming that "attempted" self-welding

[@LJCyrus1]

Wondering how practical a quick-change barrel system would be, maybe going to the extreme of integrating a magazine with a barrel and swapping them together?

[@datpolakmike]

@@LJCyrus1 honestly it doesn't sound particularly practical

[@donaldhysa4836]

Is there a theoretical way to make the system work with no contact between projectile and rails?

[@datpolakmike]

@@donaldhysa4836 emphasis on the theoretical, but you could make the projectile out of something that's not actually conductive, and then use a pulse of conductive gas behind it to push it out using the same physics as a "normal" railgun pushing a "normal" projectile. But there are problems with this concept too.

[@donaldhysa4836]

@@datpolakmike so it would be the the gas pushing it as opposed to the rails and the round would end up being accelerated as a common firearm projectile today?

[@revolverDOOMGUY]

Now this might be a "range toy", bit it's literally the coolest, most exiting, most interesting, most engaging range toy on the market. And let's all remember, this is pretty devoid of any practical application... TODAY... In 10 years who knows.

[@Stoic_grimace]

Yeah, future applications will be key considering the monetary and environmental cost of producing ammo today. Brass or steel casings, chemical propellants/primers etc will become harder/more costly to mass produce whereas a steel projectile and electricity will be fairly easy to produce

[@luviskol]

You can imagine the whole range suddenly stopping when they see the lights dim, and they hear something like the big drunk angry brother of a flash gun screaming into life

[@56bturn]

Sure, someone else's range toy might make a big bang and use some big esoteric dino hunter round with a massive muzzle brake to contain the flash... but can they claim to have a gauss rifle?

[@ednotari1345]

This just makes me wonder how feasible a helical railgun might be. Also how cool it is to see something commonly thought of as sci-fi begin to get ever more practical... especially when special sounds or lights might happen. Overall, very neat.

[@tHiNk413]

Now build a 11m tall, 35ton BattleMech and mount a canon-sized version of that! I want my Hollander!

[@nematic529]

Now you've got some pretty good taste!

[@Kyzrath]

Foolish Spheroid barbarian! The Urbanmech-IIC is a far superior machine!

[@F4Wildcat]

For those who do not get the reference...The hollander 35 ton battlemech. Is basically a small unit with a gaint gauss rifle. Like a Marder I tank destroyer but with the cannon of a jagdtiger. A m110 Howitzer used as direct fire tank. An M50 Ontos

[@paganhorde4463]

Good tastes sir!, 50 tons of hunchback for a gauss would be my choice, More stompyness

[@VonGrav]

needs somekind of Voidshield to make conventional rounds useless.

[@mustafaabdelwahab1478]

"I am going to take this thing to a backup gun match." I really hope Ian wears some sort of Sci-Fi gear and I really want to watch that!

[@tarmaque]

Stormtrooper helmet? Mandalorian helmet? I would freak out if he did it in full Stormtrooper armor.

[@TheGM-20XX]

Full Mobile Infantry garb from Starship Troopers.

[@BleedingUranium]

Given it's a coilgun/railgun type of weapon, I vote for Commander Shepard.

[@nipplecream3099]

halo: CE marine armor

[@turbografx16]

Starship trooper costume?

[@oompalumpus699]

Love how Ian understands this thing is still in its infancy. But, he knows what the future will be and these guns will be a part of it.

[@michaelmaniachanical7918]

We live in the dawning era of powerarms. They exist, & while currently very primitive, will undoubtedly improve immensely over time. What a time to be alive!

[@georgekostaras]

Power arms, I’m going to steal just term whenever I talk about electromagnetic weapons moving forward

[@Kaosaur]

I own one of their EMG-01A models, which I purchased for historical preservation reasons. Cool to see David on the channel!

[@therogers4432]

Can't wait to see an old, grey, wizard-ey looking Ian making a video about that in 30 years...

[@Vanastar]

@@therogers4432 I think you mean a *more* wizard-y looking Ian.

[@therogers4432]

@@Vanastar Durrr, of course... I feel pretty darn stupid now...

[@gus.smedstad]

This is the first functioning weapon that looks like a Fallout weapon. It’s the hanging cylinders, they give it a very retro-futurism aesthetic.

[@feryth]

How are you going to hold that, though?

[@rigrmortis3393]

@@feryth Put a lightweight "casing" around those capacitors with a grip of some kind. The options are really only limited by imagination.

[@matthewbrasel2737]

The Ludy looks like a fallout weapon to me as well. Perhaps the AK50 mk2 would fit the bill as well

[@coolsenjoyer]

idk, i would argue that all the real world weapons that have appeared in Fallout games look more like Fallout weapons than this :P

[@fort809]

Fallout 4 also literally has Gauss rifles in it that look extremely similar to this, that might be why it “looks like fallout” it’s literally in the games

[@EthosAtheos]

To the people who say a 20lb gun isn't useful. The Barrett M82 weighs in at 30 or so lbs. If they can get this to .50 bmg ballistics and keep it at the 20lbs then it would be a very light weight anti material/personnel long range gun. They are a very long way off from that but you can see a future where this replaces the M82.

[@jipasd]

Building a basic CG is simple as, if you have any idea of how they work. I built one that shot through soda cans back when I was 14(?). It's a fun trial, but you also have to be very brave and/or have plenty of cash behind you to make it into a profession. Kudos to both of you!

[@harperwillis5447]

Re: battery weight: A 21700 Samsung 40T weighs 70 grams, holds 52 kJ, and can fully discharge in 7 minutes. At 100% efficiency it could shoot 28 M855A1 bullets (112 grams), but it'd take 7 minutes to charge the capacitors. If you had 16 of them (960g, 2.1 lbs), you could shoot a full mag every 25 seconds. 450 rounds between recharges, 45 minute charge time. Or swap batteries.

[@MaxvonHippel]

Thanks for explaining this!

[@pull-pot7120]

Yes thank you! I didn't quite get that the first time

[@Ammoniummetavanadate]

Lipos make more sense than cylindrical cells for this applications. I can easily pull 100A out of my 1.3 Ah drone battery for a few seconds before the kinetics of charge transport catch up.

[@Skrenja]

OR you could put batteries in the mags.

[@rodrigodepierola]

I love the concept and his absolute honesty. No hype, no "buy now!!!!". I can't wait for the backup gun match

[@lawrencehudson9939]

I see it much like the Volcanic Arms pistol that eventually became the Henry then Winchester 1866, 1873. Looking forward to range videos.

[@marcbloom7462]

I was think of the Medieval "Hand Gonne" myself. Actually, getting Ian to fire a Hand Gonne would be a fun video.

[@SabinStargem]

When it comes to electromagnetic rifling, maybe that aspect could be controlled by the rangefinder? That hypothetically would allow the gun to self-adjust for the intended destination.

[@pablowentscobar]

I don't think I've seen Ian this excited/giddy in a long time. It's nice, wholesome. Thanks for being you Ian.

[@Eddythebandkid]

“Will future guns shoot lasers, plasma or miniature warheads?” “No they still use metal bullets but now with magnets.”

[@crazypath573]

Directed Energy Weapons... DEWs. I believe they are already operational. Of course, our military will not divulge any information on them.

[@fort809]

@@crazypath573 the military absolutely divulges information on DEW’s, the navy currently uses high powered lasers as a form of anti-missile system

[@gavinlee27]

@@fort809 I love how people think the military doesn’t divulge some of these projects, when they literally publish material on what they’re doing 😂

[@PassiveDestroyer]

@@gavinlee27 Didn't the Air Force make a 747-mounted laser for also shooting down missiles? They were really excited to show it off.

[@StrikeNoir105E]

@@crazypath573 They do actually, hence why we know about DEW projects in the first place, like the anti-missile defense systems, or stuff like microwave weapons.

[@carlrecine]

It would be interesting to see a modular barrel for this. It looks like there is one coil over each capacitor, which likely means they are driven one-to-one. Since the coils are actuated with an optical sensor, it could be possible to manufacture barrel segments that can lock together to extend the length (and muzzle velocity) for the desired application. Also, probably not intentional, but an interesting byproduct of the design vs a conventional firearm is the process for clearing a misfire. If a round doesn't fire completely, you can just point the barrel down, give it a quick shake, and then bring it back up for the next shot.

[@PenumbranWolf]

Ian is so pure. He gets so giddy about this its adorable.

[@h.a.9880]

When you want to impart spin on the projectile, wouldn't it be easier to have sort of a chamber that spins it up before shooting? During the time the capacitors charge, you'd get enough time to speed up the chamber before the projectile is launched.

[@pedroconcha1715]

Probably they dont want that because friction creates heat and the “barrel” has to be non magnetic wich means you are limited to materials that do not handle heat aswell as metals. Also the current in the coils already generate tons of heat when you fire the rifle.

[@Vibration_Crew]

Would the coils stop the rotation/spin of the projectile as it entered the barrel? If the coils are fixed in place would that stop spin? Maybe arranging the coils in a helical fashion along the length of the barrel would provide spin to the projectile??

[@BartJBols]

you would be adding more electronics and motors and risk of a fast spinning projectile being ready to be fired and complexity for keeping that projectile tight and things that drain power and can break, while the magnetic components to magnetically spin it are already in the gun, all you need is the software to play around with the magnetic fields.

[@h.a.9880]

@@pedroconcha1715 That's true, I guess the projectile would not stay spinning once it goes through the barrel. If the performance of capacitors allows them 3 or 4 times their current muzzle velocity, they might just add a choke like on a smoothbore shotgun lol.

[@fnors2]

@@BartJBols There's also the part where if you start spinning the projectile, it gains rotational momentum, and will begin resisting movement. That can make moving the projectile (say by aiming the gun) safely a lot harder. It would probably increase the risks of the bullet (which would be spinning pretty fast) touching the barrel.

[@mattsgrungy]

Ian manages to be wonderfully enthusiastic and excited about this while also being realistic about where the technology is right now and what the challenges and limitations are. Love to see it.

[@exstock]

I'm really excited to see you play with--er, I mean, REVIEW--the EMG-01B.

[@laurenceperkins7468]

There's actually a pretty good amount of space for hybrid designs as well. As he said, rail-guns push and coil guns pull. A properly-calibrated rail setup would let you use non-magnetic projectiles, and then pair that with coils to get the velocity up without undue rail erosion.

[@wilomica]

There is also changing the shape of a slug to improve accuracy. Fins are not the only way. Shotgun slugs come in a variety of shapes. Some improve accuracy significantly.

[@RockIslandAuctionCompany]

Came to say this.

[@MrGrimsmith]

Lots of options from a simple diablo style slug to attached wads, using a thick walled piece of pipe as the projectile and putting fins to induce rotation in the centre could be a possibility. Checking out some of the bizarre projectiles used by Taofleidermaus might give an idea about how they are likely to perform, I swear he's put everything that can be thought of through a shotgun at some point!

[@hieug.rection1920]

Sounds like a job for Taofladermaus! To the farm/range!

[@Enfield2A]

The "Bullet" will become the Armature of a Shaded Pole Motor - Dial up your range, run it South paw if you want. Next will be a "Curve Ball" projectile.

[@turbografx16]

The trouble here is shotgun slugs are usually cast which is cheaper to mass produce. These are steel and would probably be machined, increasing cost per projectile. With enough money you could mold them, but the outlay would require sufficient demand.

[@danielsurvivor1372]

Fallout Moment. Also recently Mr. House should've been born... *Ah yeah, it's all coming together!*

[@bennymountain1]

Shit. Better book a bunk in a shelter asap

[@Pattamatt1998]

Been following these guys for years and it's been so awesome seeing their ideas evolve and get to where they are today. Loved the interview, hope to see you two collaborate more in the future!

[@thatxmas]

Ian, just be careful with those capacitors. That's probably the most dangerous part of that weapon.

[@criggie]

Excellent point - I wonder what the energy release could be like if a supercap was hit by an old-fashioned grandad bullet or splinter.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@criggie As someone who's reasonably familiar with reg'lar ol' caps going bang, I'm going to take a guess and say "quite a large explosion". I'm sure the designers are well aware of the need for the cap bank to be well protected in any weapon that makes it as far as large scale production. :)

[@Chris-pb3se]

Love the tech, love the bravery of smart young guys jumping into a company like this. Very impressive

[@coyote2792]

Due to the limited velocity and capability for heavy projectiles, I would consider this to be closer to an electric crossbow than an electric gun. I'd expect it to be a lot more effective propelling some sort of arrow or quarrel than a simple slug. This would solve two issues at once, since a crossbow quarrel can still do damage at low velocity (the benefits of high momentum and amazing sectional density), and it'll be naturally fin-stabilized. We could even use fletchings that roll up to fit down the barrel and then spring out on launch, a bit like a tube-launched missile.

[@27Merkaba]

I think its because the slugs are being directly fired from the clip, which is why they cylinder shapes. Its an early prototype I think they will make adjustments to improving the magazine tech to be fired straight from magazine to accommodate different shapes of mass that can be fired

[@radoslavtotev6307]

I was thinking of a long bolt composed of alternating sections of conductive metal and plastic, essentially allowing multiple coils to accelerate the bolt at multiple points. He already said that the system is good at launching big, heavy projectiles and this would be exactly that. The projectile would be situated in a way that would allow all coils to provide pulling force all at once at different points of the bolt, possibly increasing the muzzle energy of the shot by a large factor, simply by allowing all coils to participate in the acceleration process all at once. The coil at end of the barrel would even pull it almost constantly from the start all the way to the end of the acceleration process. In fact, I would make it have just one really powerful coil at the front and directing all the power to it turning it on and off as the magnetic sections of the bolt pass through one by one, if I were to launch a long projectile. I've been thinking of funnel shaped coils as well. We need to experiment more with coil shapes and how that affects the magnetic field around/in the coils. Certainly a project I'll be looking into once I gain more knowledge and money, stuff like that drove me to take on engineering, I'm a first year student at the moment

[@coyote2792]

@@radoslavtotev6307 Oh that's an interesting idea!

[@sumorayabizness3929]

Last time I was this early Ian was discussing the newfangled pin fire technology.

[@SolidSioux1987]

I see this being really useful for vehicles that generate their own power and the relatively high mass of projectiles would be great for differing types of ammo.

[@KraziEyevin]

Sounds like great tech for grenade delivery

[@Stoic_grimace]

I thought this. Some sort of less than lethal riot control application up to explosive rounds

[@Irondrone4]

That's why only the Navy is working on implementing railguns on warships. Right now you need an absolutely massive powerplant to handle a practical magnetic acceleration weapon, and only warships meet such requirements.

[@SolidSioux1987]

@@Irondrone4 Sadly the Navy dumped their rail gun program in July of last year.

[@frenchonion4595]

@@SolidSioux1987 Did they really ? Sad to hear would of been cool

[@knightofastora1324]

Nice, after seeing Demo Ranch's rail gun video i've been wanting more of this kind of content. Excited to see it perform in the backup gun match, it's really cool that the inventors are willing to let you do a live test of it under the clock.

[@theoven7143]

This needs to be implemented into a suit consisting of the gauss,vest,and ocular. Only the vest and gauss are need to function since more weighted or delicate components, like the CPU’s and transformers, would fit in a pack with your spare ammunition. The crème would be the ocular showing your normal display on the weapon whilst also showing a retical for the real time placement of rounds via an IR laser. I’d also consider an on board camera to make checking for threats would be as easy as turning on the feed via hand controls on the grip. A soldier with the ability of a controlled emp emission against local frequencies or power sources like cameras or detonators and even other optics by just getting in combat range!

[@thepersonwhocomentz]

One thing I wanted to hear discussed here was the estimated timetable on when ultra high-energy capacitors might miniaturize enough to the point that the "standard rifle form factor" can be achieved while having a fully, reliably lethal product. There was a fair emphasis on the known trajectory of capacitor energy storage capability over time, but no discussion on when that would allow for an actual, commercially-successful weapon to be achieved (ignoring all the inevitable red tape, politics, and irrelevant concerns of any group adopting an electromagnetic service weapon, of course) that gets purchased by more than just enthusiasts with great taste.

[@JiSe6669]

Probably because estimating it from slow linear progression would likely give a timeframe of ~30-50 years. Ie. "Commercial Fusion Power range". But with focused research effort (like got done into batteries with mobile devices etc.) it could be much faster, so estimations would be at best a wishful guess, and at worse could be accused of hype marketing, neither of which sounds like their jam.

[@jamy4697]

Also they wanted to gloss over the fact that if the capacity increases anymore you'll basically have a bunch of grenades strapped infront of your face only a medium malfunction away from blowing it off.

[@thepersonwhocomentz]

@@jamy4697 That's sort of an unfair comparison to make given that a similar statement of "it's dangerous if goes wrong" can be made about any weapon a soldier carries. Any grenade is a small malfunction away from killing a given infantryman, for example.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

In comparison to firearms who literally have a score or more of explosives strapped to your face.

[@bazzathegreat3517]

Currently there is a barrier in electronics. There is a practical limit on how small we can go. The issue will be is what is that limit for capacitors. The capacitors used for these guns are fairly large as capacitors go.

[@wmsymms]

I've wanted a Gauss rifle since I was a kid and read about them in science fiction stories. Gauss was a great mathematician.

[@weaponizedemoticon1131]

I have dozens of questions, but to keep it short for now... What software do you use to model the physics, if you use any at all? Do you expect room temperature super magnets to affect this technology soon? Are you excited about them? Does the induced magnetism in the projectile cause any significant issues at this scale? Edit: Great video! Can't wait to see it at the backup match. :)

[@dragn6970]

I think it's worth mentioning that for railguns, the rail erosion problem is present but perhaps not debilitating. The US's naval railgun program managed to achieve similar barrel life to the 5-inch gun it was intended to replace (which to be fair, is really not that many shots), but presumably you wouldn't need to get the same 6000+ m/s velocities in a handheld weapon. I think railguns are probably more practical for a direct-fire weapon, since they function well with small, high-velocity projectiles. Coilguns are probably better suited to some sort of mortar or launcher application, since they work best with larger projectiles.

[@Alpacayourbags]

This was a video I wasn’t sure I would enjoy. When it ended, I wished it was longer. Great job Ian!

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

Been following the Arcflash guys for years, definitely some cool stuff and proof of concept, can definitely see an enlarged variant becoming the future replacement for the now- cancelled Railgun system Raytheon/ BAE and the Navy were testing apart from the potential for single unit troop armaments.

[@raybarker]

Eh, they were looking for an over-the-horizon kinetic energy delivery system with the naval railgun. Coilguns won't deliver that due to the diminishing speed returns on energy input - you'd end up with an electric carronade that can fire a massive projectile a few hundred yards at best...

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

@@raybarker Gotcha. So what can be done to increase the energy input albeit limitation in current tech and components? It's all very interesting though I'm not well versed in these energy/ electricity based systems and the engineering.

[@raybarker]

@D.J. "The Metalhead Mercenary" honestly, railgun was the correct way to go with that one; the problem there is with the materials science. With coilguns, the power/velocity relationship is similar to the barrel-length/velocity relationship in normal firearms e.g. putting a 30" barrel on an AR15 will increase muzzle velocity by a negligible amount... The efficiencies here will be in improving system efficiencies. Off the top of my head the obvious ones are: streamlining and rotating the projectile (steel core with a castable shaped jacket perhaps?), a self-adjusting realtime coil timing system that measures the projectile progress (laser bore ranging perhaps?) and accurizing the weapon (could be as simple as a choke. Note simple and easy are not the same thing)

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

@@raybarker Fascinating. I knew the big problem with the tested Railgun systems was the rail degradation and the amount of energy needed to fire the thing were big issues (something like 30 shots and the rails would need replaced?) The projectile spin is definitely a necessary aspect for several reasons like you and David mentioned (and just other obvious factors relating to ballistics and stability), the timing system stuff sounds feasible for sure. A choke sounds like it would be a good addition-- in the stead of that, what about a gradual increase of the coil size and power output themselves for greater force/ momentum as the round travels down the "barrel"?

[@raybarker]

@@DJTheMetalheadMercenary The public barrel degradation figures were actually on their way to being semi-decent. Old large naval gun barrel wear was always a comically rapid process - at 100+ rounds they were shooting smoothbores on the old 14-16" guns, and must active ships had spare barrels stashed in a yard somewhere because of this. (Large caliber gun barrels are surprisingly complex pieces of engineering) That reminds me of a counterintuitive possible energy efficiency gain which would obviously help with accuracy: fitting a true barrel. Every time the round leaves a coil, it's likely to leave at a slight but random angle. This will be kinda-sorta corrected as the next coil catches it, but energy will be lost, and if it exits wildly enough to glance against the tube, a *lot* of energy will be lost. Although there will be friction losses to a close-fitting barrel, rattle/bounce is usually a relatively large source of energy loss, so there's a pretty good chance that it would actually be an improvement. If it was still a plastic barrel, it would probably have to be a consumable item. I suppose a ceramic barrel might be possible if a non-consumably one was wanted? Regarding coil and power increase: this will already be a thing, and it's alluded to in the video when he discusses the maximum power requirements of the final coil. As the round travels through each coil it'll take more power (and more coil) to impart a similar amount of energy because the time window narrows for a surprisingly complex series of events to take place. Very rapidly, you hit a point where the projectile is leaving the coil before the charge dissipates and the magentic field collapses, which means the net effect is nullified or even negative - this is the suck-back that's mentioned. There are assorted workarounds to squeeze work out of the margins but they generally involve yeeting power into the void for a minimal return.

[@KaptajnCongoboy]

Kristian Birkeland built an electromagnetic cannon in 1900. It wasn't developed further as a failure during the demonstration resulted in an induction arc with a distinctive smell. This led the industrialist-engineer Sam Eyde to contact Birkeland and they developed the plasma arc nitrogen fixation process together. The cannon was not developed further. We have the cannon at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology but KZbin hates my links, so I can't show it to you :D Electric cars were also well established by 1900. Our museum has an example from 1905, a Lohner-Porsche, which is a development of the Egger-Lohner from 1898,. The first practical electric cars appear in the 1880s (the first electric locomotive is from 1837). The 1920s-1930s is when electric cars start to fall from favor. People were very excited about electricity and electromagnetism (which is what powers electric cars) in the late 19th century :)

[@ianstobie]

Really good conversation. And, unlike in many interviews, when the person being interviewed says "excellent question" it really is! And he goes on to answer the question.

[@LOVEMUFFIN_official]

I would imagine that, given this is not a firearm, full auto is a realistic possibility for a product like this. The weight factor on this is not too dissimilar from a WWII light machine gun, so perhaps there’s room for that sort of advancement, full auto being so hard to come by in standard firearms and air rifles.

[@MrSinny]

Just wait for the US government to completely squash that

[@ellemnist]

@@MrSinny thats to be expected, idealy rules should evolve as tech evolves. Not just rules for guns.

[@jason86768]

There are some full auto capable air bb guns available. I had a mini uzi co2 powered bb gun that had a functioning full auto selector switch. They're legally not "firearms", so completely legal (in the U.S. anyway)

[@46jerdboy]

@@jason86768 i wonder if they would classify this as a destructive device

[@46jerdboy]

Right now it sounds like 3s charge to fire, so no full auto

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Great interview Ian, cool to see all your enthusiasm balanced by being out of your element and having trouble with what to ask. Looking forward to seeing you finishing the BUG match last with a huge smile on your face.

[@althill7407]

Been following these guys for years, can't wait to see what the future holds

[@nickstanley5064]

@@howtomakeacoilgunoffallout4096 , we get it, you built a coilgun, good for you. Stop spamming links to your own videos on every coilgun video comments.

[@gus.smedstad]

“Obviously, we don’t want to put too much sophistication in this, because it’s gun. We don’t want a Skynet scenario.”

[@guigui78340]

this is so cool. imagine you could have variable twist rate for different projectile weight, once you figure out how to make that thing twist.

[@matthewspencer5086]

One way to stabilise the projectile without rifling would be to have a screwed-on "wad" like a Brenneke slug, or more accurately the 1930s "Yankee Hill" slugs recently tested by Taofledamaus. Basically a semi-wadcutter-nosed bit of 0.5" dia steel rod with something like a plastic 28-bore wad screwed on the back. Or you could just drill a (well-centred) 0.3" hole in the back half of the 0.5" steel slug, because there's no gas pressure to blow-up the bored-out bit of slug.

[@josephlorenz6703]

What about a Hollow or semi-hollow projectile with fins or ruffling on the inside? Taofladermaus(sp?) had slug prototypes with that design. If I remember, they worked well as long as they were subsonic

[@matthewspencer5086]

@@josephlorenz6703 I think it might work, but it would be harder to make when the material is steel. Cast iron might not have the right properties: you can't easily cast iron as accurately as lead and you might end up with different magnetic properties with each batch of castings unless your operation was really sophisticated.

[@matthewspencer5086]

@@josephlorenz6703 Also, because it's accelerated by magnetic attraction, there is no pressure problem with a longer thinner "slug" as there is in a shotgun. I think the essential thing is to get the centre of mass in front of the centre of drag and then it should stay that way round until it hits something.

[@povertybarnperformance]

They way you went full fanboy about living in the future, and how cool the sounds it makes is was brilliant to see! Thank you for bringing us the Wright Flyer of coil guns!

[@josephwisniewski3673]

If you're talking legal definitions, that is definitely a "firearm" in most countries. There's no requirement for actual "fire". The Criminal Code of Canada, for example, defines a firearm "as a barrelled weapon that discharges projectiles capable of causing bodily harm or death". Court test cases established this anything greater than 5.7Joules of kinetic energy or anything over 500ft's muzzle velocity, which includes basically any air pellet gun. Even the $60 Crosman Pumpmaster 0.177 pellet gun I use for shattering wineglasses is a firearm under Canadian law.

[@vigunfighter]

I'm.....'interested'....in seeing how these projectiles do on steel targets, if there are any, in the Back Up Gun match...

[@collinboyd6337]

Using that to accelerate Gyrojet ammo might be a fix for the shortcomings of both weapon platforms.

[@Fish-ub3wn]

a much underappreciated comment, bump

[@robertpage3978]

Thats a neat idea

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

A gyrojet is not exaclty simple. One of the goals of em guns is simple ammunition (hence his reluctance to use fins on the ammunition). A gyrojet isn't exaclty a simple munition.

[@collinboyd6337]

@@matthiuskoenig3378 most guns fire more than one type of ammunition… like FMJ and special sauce defensive ammo

[@robertpage3978]

@@matthiuskoenig3378 its not super complex either. Modern manufacturing would make them much simpler to make than it was at their inception

[@bjornstromberg4481]

Question for the knowledgeable: Rather than an inert ferromagnetic projectile, could the projectile itself be an electromagnet (powered by the rifle) as well? If so, could that give the coils of the gun a stronger "grip" on it relative to mass?

[@jean-sebastienturgeon5861]

Thank you for keeping us in the loop of modern technology. Much appreciated.

[@michellewilt4479]

It's fun seeing Ian geek out over this, and I can't say that I blame him. Even though it's got the velocity of an airsoft gun right now, I'd honestly love to own one and help them learn and produce more of them and make them stronger. And possibly see what further aftermarket modifications I can make to improve power and such on my own, because I love to tinker and coil guns have been something I've been dying to play with since I first heard about them.

[@stianlarsson6625]

I've never been this bored and excited at the same time.

[@safetymikeengland]

Ian always does a great job. The coil gun is fascinating. Ian, Thanks for introducing the "gauss gun" and its inventor.

[@frankdr3bin367]

Would sharpening the end of the projectile make it function similarly to an arrow/bolt? Possibly add some sort of fins to stabilize the projectile?

[@lunaticfae4415]

Kinda. Fins could stabalize it, and a pointy tip would increase the pressure on the point of impact, but the projectile wont flex like an arrow

[@keithbecker3142]

Amazing, thanks ton for this video! I'm an engineer and I built a coil gun pistol for fun (yeh, that's about what engineers do for fun). I want to offer a view insights, particularly why these things will never match up to firearms. First off I got to say do not make a coil gun unless you know exactly what you are doing. It's not the projectile to be worried about. The high voltage and hundreds of amps that the capacitors are capable of discharging will absolutely kill you! The capacitors are usually around 800v with a lot of microfarads capacity. Each one is probably 100-200 dollars. Anyways, I'd be more hesitant to let someone who's never touched either to play with a janky prototype coil gun than a loaded firearm. So let me explain the main reason coil guns (or rail guns) are extremely inefficient. The usual percentage of energy transfer is usually BEST at 5% or so that is transferred from the capacitor energy (1/2CV^2) (measured in joules, like a firearm) to the actual coils (that generate a magnetic field through induction as the capacitor is discharged through it (the magnetic field is what propels a small iron or ferromagnet projectile). The resistance to magnetic fields (called reluctance as David mentioned in the video) being so high is just a physical limitation in the world. It'll never be better. That's why military railguns have basically an entire power station to propel them. Let's do a little math. A 9mm according to wikipedia has a muzzle release energy of around 600 Joules. A capacitor at 800v 10000uf will have an energy of 3200 Joules! That's a lot. A blown one will sound like a 50 cal going off in your lab. But the transfer of energy is only literally 1-5% if you do it well. So 5% times 3200 is only 160. And more like 1%. Even with multiple stages and multiple capacitors, it's not a linear increase in speed and energy. If anyone has any other questions I'll try and answer.

[@TheRockyRacoon92]

And let's not forget that the best current lithium batteries are less energy dense (1MJ/kg) than even black powder (3MJ/kg). So you'll have to carry multiple batteries or have the batteries in the mag for the gun to be usable for more than a few mag.

[@pauldriscoll5010]

I remember building a couple of toy scale coil guns shooting cardboard boxes years ago

[@krinkov39]

The other issue that limits a coilgun is the use of ferromagnetic projectiles. They become saturated which means they have a max force that can be exerted on them by a magnetic field. Once saturation is achieved, the only way to increase velocity is to increase the length and amount of coils. That's why this gun is so long. A better method is using magnetic induction but the downside is the projectiles would be much more expensive to make.

[@MrCarGuy]

Wow, a rare comment from someone who understands. I personally don't even think it's worth doing a mobile gun with a self-contained battery until we have reliable batteries available that are much more energy dense. Won't be limited by that if it can be plugged in to something

[@flutemangreg2581]

You get a like for teaching me the difference between a Rail and Gauss rifle. That was interesting to learn.

[@gafrers]

Love the honesty, no hype, no absurd claims.

[@Zerzayar]

Already wrote it under the other video: They should team up with Taofledermaus, *the* experts for (un)stable smoothbore projectiles.

[@vicroc4]

I like the fact that he recognizes that all that wireless connectivity and fancy computerized crap you see in sci-fi is not only pointless but actively dangerous on a gun. Nowhere can Murphy's Law bite you harder than on a weapon, and adding a computer multiplies the risk exponentially.

[@limeybonesjones7395]

the fact it makes the charge up noise is amazing

[@wiz5050]

Would a dyson fan as a muzzle device, and/or "chamber" increase velocity? Fan could also draw the heat from the capacitors, coils, computers and batteries. I wonder what golfball dimpling would do to a slug. Rifling maybe?

[@blckhorse02]

Cool beginning technology... Can't wait to see where this is in five years. My question is why doesn't the projectile have a more conical shape? Using the comparison of the difference between a Round ball and a Minie ball, an improvement in accuracy was achieved with a simple change in shape.

[@calebsmith6202]

It could be that the larger surface area with a less aerodynamic projectile allows for better magnetic contact. It's bound to change with time.

[@blckhorse02]

@@calebsmith6202 Good point. I wonder if they are looking at a discarding sabot as a possible way to improve accuracy.

[@MandoWookie]

There was no accuracy advantage to the Minie ball over the traditional round ball, it allowed loading speed in a rifled barrel that was as fast as an unrifled musket. A patch and ball loaded rifle would actually retain better accuracy than a Minie loaded rifle due to better fit to the bore. It's only more accurate in comparing it to the smoothbore muskets it replaced in service.

[@livingcorpse5664]

@@blckhorse02 I'm interested in their idea of "magnetic rifling", where they might be able to use the magnetism to make the projectile spin.

[@josharpe5802]

The oldest electromagnetic gun was officially patented in 1904, although its development reportedly started as early as 1845. I would credit Robert Anderson w/ inventing the 1st electric car, @ some point between 1832 & 1839.

[@estudiom142]

Amazing interview Ian. I´ll love to know the ideas and people behind I+D, the future today! Congrats!!

[@CheZfrmdaWestWisc]

I would love to see more of this as advancements happen extremely curious about imparting twist with magnetic field as discussed as well as further discussion about coil spacing and the effect it has on Acceleration if any as well. A realistic goal could be a could be a rifle that can compete with large bore air and helium rifles even if it would need to be much heavier than those technologies a small price to pay for a weapon that would throw such a wide variety of make shift projectiles and charge of a solar system.

[@CheZfrmdaWestWisc]

@@onkelpappkov2666 haveing a weapon that could be recharged off a solar power system and throw basically any magnetic projectile that fits in the barrel would be perfect but I need it to be as powerful as a big bore air rifle at a minimum first that's what I was saying.

[@andresdiaz2578]

although this kind of technology is still in development. I could see this in the somewhat near future being used by police or security forces for riot control measures. I mean the GR-1 gives you the ability to adjust the power output of the gun from being non-lethal to being lethal if the need arises. still this technology still needs to solve the weight and power and charging factor in order for the GR-1 to be a viable product for police and security forces. it's so cool to see the GR-1 to see it exist as a proof of concept and maybe in the near future it could see future uses.

[@monkeychife]

I’m now eagerly awaiting the first home defense shooting with a gauss rifle. The headlines write themselves lol

[@Hawk1966]

I remember when we played Car Wars and one of the most devestating weapons you could equip your car with was the Gauss Gun. To see a real one that mimics the system in the Car Wars instruction book so closely is mindboggling. I love this.

[@googiegress]

I remember Car Wars differently. It felt like all the vehicular weapons were locked to one die of damage per space required, so you're really trading off special weapon properties: area-damage on soft targets vs. incendiary vs. explosive vs. utility (paint, smoke, ice, etc). If a six-space weapon was really powerful, why not link 6 one-space MGs? I recall the Variable Fire Rocket Pod was a hot item though. Stick a point or two of metal component armor on your engine and your crew cabin!

[@Hawk1966]

@@googiegress I honestly don't recall the rules and details of Car Wars, it's been 30+ years since I last played. I did come up with an adventure for my friends to play. A three truck convoy carrying McGuffins. They were allowed 30 motorcycles or 15 cars combinations thereof to stop the convoy. We never got to play it.

[@g-dcomplex1609]

looks like an electromagnetic cascade effect, or a linear drive motor, pretty cool thanks ian and david.

[@Drefsab]

Very interesting technology that's still very much in its infancy. 75 m/s is obviously slow, but this is more of a proof of concept than anything that's meant to be used as a real weapon. It's just a matter of time until we get higher electrical capacity.

[@protonneutron9046]

Doubt it. It hasn't changed much since since '77. Better batteries and electronic controls but no real change in velocity. So in 45 years it hasn't become viable as a weapon.

[@MasqueradePW]

@@protonneutron9046 As Mr. Wirth explained, there's a cap to the velocities you can realistically achieve due to the suckback so it's very much more a matter of miniaturizing this technology to be a truly practical tool - the projectiles still go plenty fast enough if you consider the weight of them and the fact that you can, as he later explained, adjust the amount of energy that goes into the capacitors means you can adjust the velocity to be less-than-lethal, etc. tldr is that the velocity hasn't increased due to the physics involved but the size has massively decreased, and the size will most likely continue to decrease until these types of rifles are truly portable.

[@protonneutron9046]

@@MasqueradePW No! the projectiles DON'T go plenty fast enough to be an effective weapon. PLEASE get an education.

[@MasqueradePW]

@@protonneutron9046 If you'd like to speak of education, here are the numbers as presented by both Mr. McCollum and Mr. Whitley; The heaviest round was stated as a 2 oz round, going at 75 m/s. This results in (theoretically, I should add) a round carrying roughly 160 Joules of energy, or about 118 foot-pounds. While this isn't exactly revolutionary, or remarkable at all, it's still more than enough to penetrate a soft target - or as is most likely the intended usage, a paper target. I'd say that's plenty fast for anything you would realistically want to do with a 20 pound rifle that can only fire accurately out to about 30 feet, no?

[@tarmaque]

@@MasqueradePW I would suggest that a more practical use of this technology would be as a grenade launcher. It would be easier to scale this up to 40mm than scale it down to 5.56mm. It has a lot of potential features that would make it useful as a grenade launcher. The ability to laser range a target, set the absolute velocity of the round, program the grenade fuse for that range (to for instance, explode _above_ a trench with the enemy in it. Or behind it.) and it could in theory be both quieter and fire heavier 40mm grenades than we currently have. And smarter ones. You could, as another example, range your target, range the top of a wall in front of your target, then have the computer select a parabolic trajectory over the wall to explode on the other side of the wall. All this can be done if you have precise control of the speed of the projectile, the time of the fuse, and a flexible sighting system. Scary field weapon. Another use would be to mark targets for areal smart bomb attack as a "fire and forget" solution. Instead of painting the target with a laser, you could set the grenade to detonate above the target and cover it with a targetable substance. Laser or radar reflecting "glitter" or paint or something. Fire the grenade and skedaddle. Then ten minutes later Alpha Flight comes in and does the TNT two-step on that location. This is the low-tech solution. A high tech solution would be a sticky grenade round with just a transmitter in it for the smart bomb to home in on. Lots of possibilities.

[@mwam1985]

"It fires aluminum rounds at near the speed of light" - Eraser

[@simonholley4110]

A new interpretation of "Forgotten Weapons"! Not looking at prototypes from the past, but getting in ahead of the game, nice. Weapons that will be forgotten in the next few decades.

[@SimonJM]

Apart from all else, the fact that Mr McCollum points out some (all?) of the drawbacks - accuracy, etc., whsilt fanboi-ing out is impressive

[@pablowentscobar]

Everyday for countless years I've started my day the same way. A cup of coffee or caffeinated beverage, with or without a "medicinal boost", a smoke and the days episode of Forgotten Weapons and Ian. I just wanted to thank you for the many, many great days you've started. Thank you and greetings from the White Mountains of NH.

[@hieug.rection1920]

Irishing up the coffee and smoking. If you work some form of labor for a living I bet you love to be 100. Seriously. Oldest people I know are all smokers, drinkers, and bacon eating laborers. But they all still work even though they are over 90.

[@pablowentscobar]

@@hieug.rection1920 From your mouth to God's ears! Cheers, and thank you brother!

[@archonix]

So it uses magneto-reluctance, but can it supply inverse reactive current for use in unilateral phase detractors, whilst also automatically synchronizing cardinal grammeters?

[@h.a.9880]

It all depends on the turbo-encabulation of the Rosenquarz-Schmidt-Field generator and the phlebotinum-induced magneto-flux rectifier.

[@Tunkkis]

@@h.a.9880 Seems to me like you forgot to take into account the Hoffman field's effect on the discombobulator.

[@Drefsab]

Depends on whether or not the tachyon phase-array emitter is quantum-aligned with the inverse ion-dilithium-flux field. Obviously.

[@Robb1977]

Not without a properly calibrated dingle arm. Or was that only in the retro models? In all this excitement I forgot the phase dilation effects.

[@topgoose4818]

I adore this thread

[@PlasmaFreak]

This is a really awesome video! Thanks for going over this Ian!

Yes, with the coil gun / Gauss "rifle" the speed that the projectile can achieve is, from what I understand, limited by the speed of electronics (how fast they can turn coils on and off), the speed of your power source (how fast those capacitors or supercapacitors can discharge), and the speed limit inherent in the coil due to Faradays law / coil self-induction (how fast the magnetic field in the coil can be turned on or off). So there is some maximum speed that you can achieve with coil gun, while to drive larger mass you simply need to up the magnetic field by increasing the voltage or the current. I am very interested how this *magnetic rifling* would work from the physics perspective...

[@jjforcebreaker]

I'm sure GR12 will be a standard-issue rifle on Mars. Looks super promising! It can only get better from here.

[@KeeganYF12]

You have a good point. With magnetism, you don't have to worry about how the atmosphere (or lack of atmosphere) of another planet would affect the combustion of a cartridge.

[@Schwarzvogel1]

@@KeeganYF12 Smokeless propellant has its own oxidiser. It doesn't need atmospheric oxygen to combust.

[@KeeganYF12]

@@Schwarzvogel1 What if the atmosphere of the planet you are on is much, much more flammable than that of Earth?