Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
electromagnetic gun that uses a largeelectrical current passing through, and propelling a bridge down a track of two conductiverails . - noun A
railway gun .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word railgun.
Examples
-
Admiral Carr, who calls the railgun a "disruptive technology," said that not only would a railgun-equipped ship have to carry few if any large explosive warheads, but it could use its enemies own warheads against them.
FOXNews.com foxnewsonline@foxnews.com 2010
-
For a generation raised on shoot-'em-up video games, the word "railgun" invokes sci-fi images of an impossibly destructive weapon annihilating monsters and aliens.
FOXNews.com foxnewsonline@foxnews.com 2010
-
The series ended abruptly in October after an installment that began to delve into whether other local Indian tribes may have been involved in dealings with Wackenhut and mentioned "an experimental electromagnetic weapon called a" railgun "as being one of the projects.
-
Navy Tests Big Gun (video of a railgun) cboldt (Quote)
The Volokh Conspiracy » Changes in the Gun Culture over the last 25 years 2010
-
A railgun, OTOH, can accelerate bullets right up to lightspeed -- or, at least, any difficulties in doing so are a mere * engineering* problem, see above re: physicist opinions on non-physics fields.
mrissa: Minicon report, with digressions mrissa 2010
-
I fired, shifted target, fired another burst, and moved to the next target as 20-millimetre rounds from my railgun tore Them apart.
Archive 2010-07-01 Adam Roberts 2010
-
The left one also had a plasma cannon and the right a 20-millimetre railgun.
Archive 2010-07-01 Adam Roberts 2010
-
Rounds from Balor's 30-millimetre railgun flew over my head as he provided longer bursts.
Gavin Smith, Veteran (2010) Adam Roberts 2010
-
Shunt fires a homing projectile at the car immediately in front; Barge sends out a wave of energy that hits all the cars around you; Shock drops three domes of disruptive power right in front of the leading driver; and Bolt fires three projectiles along your line of sight, like a car-mounted railgun.
-
Navy Tests Big Gun (video of a railgun)cboldt(Quote)
The Volokh Conspiracy » Changes in the Gun Culture over the last 25 years 2010
nachtwulf commented on the word railgun
A railgun is a purely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor. Railguns use two sliding or rolling contacts1 that permit a large electric current to pass through the projectile. This current interacts with the strong magnetic fields generated by the rails and this accelerates the projectile.
Railguns should not be confused with "coilguns" or "railway guns"
June 8, 2009