Last week the Navy took its best shot--and it was a doozy. The shot, fired on December 10th, broke the world record for the most powerful shot, as the 23-pound aluminum projectile rocketed out of the Navy's electromagnetic railgun at a reported speed of Mach 7, or seven times the speed of sound.
Today's 33-megajoule shot--powerful enough to launch 33 Smart cars at 100 mph--means the Navy can fire projectiles at least 125 miles, keeping military personnel at a safe distance from their targets, according to the Office of Naval Research. [Popular Science]
Normal guns use explosions to propel bullets, but railguns
use electromagnetic currents to accelerate conductive bullets along two parallel rails. The Navy has been working on this project since 2005. The new test of the gun broke the Navy's previous 10-megajoule record
for railgun firing set in 2008.
“The 33-megajoule shot means the Navy can fire projectiles ...
