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topazpaintball
03-30-2006, 09:32 AM
For a physics project, I'm bulilding a microrail gun\
http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000577071755/

I'm a little concerned about the spark gap, and I wanted to use a switch instead. I waswondering if this switch
http://www.xoxide.com/militaryswitch.html
would be able to take the load.
neppo1345
03-30-2006, 10:30 AM
It'll work, but you might not get the performace you need. The reason they call for a spark gap is so that there can be a large ransfer of energy QUICKLY. Using that switch would probably like using a 1/8 inch ball valve to fire a potato gun.

Also, considering that theres a considerable amount of power here, a spark might bridge one of the contaces prematurely...

This Guy (http://www.powerlabs.org/railgunprogress.htm) Who i followed a few years ago seems to have a decent idea of whats going on... Read up.

I think its a great idea for a project...Keep up posted
RapidTransit
03-30-2006, 11:28 AM
Wow a rail gun for a project!! :clap: There are alot of resources on the web, I don't remember much about them but I'm pretty sure always remember to use graphite as the ammo. I heard that other materials can weld to the rail from the arc. :cheers:
Altimas
03-30-2006, 11:30 AM
Can we put in Pre-Orders for these?
ThePixelGuru
03-30-2006, 03:23 PM
Wow a rail gun for a project!! :clap: There are alot of resources on the web, I don't remember much about them but I'm pretty sure always remember to use graphite as the ammo. I heard that other materials can weld to the rail from the arc. :cheers:
I've heard about that... Apparently some people use either a bolt system or a small pneumatic launcher to give the projectile some initial velocity. That way it's moving when the electricity starts flowing through it, and that usually prevents it from fusing to the rails.
topazpaintball
03-30-2006, 04:54 PM
drafting graphite works really well as a projectile if you cut it into little pieces

the schematics provided are rather crude, and I was thinking of modifying this

http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/science/017/trashycoilgun.gif

with rails instead of coils.
I'm don't really get what U1 is though...

Would this scematic work if I replaced U1 with just wiring? Is the wiring GND necessary?