10 Top Secret Weapons You've Never Heard Of
2. Maybe One Day Well Have A Railgun
A really old idea, the first electric cannon was patented in 1918. Nearly a century later, we're still waiting for a working model to finally reach mass production.
The development of the railgun has been plagued with problems for decades. Working on basic principles of physics, the railgun is intended to act as a hypersonic projectile weapon that acts without the need for explosive propellants or expensive ammunition. Two conducting rails are connected by a power source, and a third conductive bridge - the projectile itself - is laid between them. The ensuing magnetic force pushes the projectile out at phenomenal speeds, anything from Mach 7 to Mach 10.
To get a clear indication of comparative speeds, a high end modern rifle like the .220 Swift with a high performance cartridge can expect to reach a muzzle velocity of around 1200 metres per second, around Mach 3.5; a basic railgun model would be expected to reach double that with a huge projectile. A rail gun has other advantages aside from ridiculous speed and power, not least the fact that the ammunition is so much cheaper and safer to manufacture, transport, and store. It's also supposed to be highly accurate, over an estimated 50-mile range.
Aside from the artillery pieces, handheld versions have also been touted for some time: the Gauss gun is a near relative, and hobbyists have been making badly inefficient homemade versions of them for decades. Today, it's estimated that a fully operational artillery model will be ready for final sign off and proper production by next year: the weapon is such a big part of the US Navy's long term plans that the current generation of destroyers are all electric, in preparation for the fitting of the finished railgun product.
It makes sense: the railgun is essentially a 21st century ship's cannon. However, they've been saying next year, next year, for a long, long time. Well take it with a pinch of salt.