No Boom?
What I like about the readers of IMAO is that you are intellectuals who always get to the heart of the manner. When I posted about railguns, many of you were concerned there won’t be a boom when they are fired.
Now, early projectile weaponry — the bow and the crossbow — were relatively quiet. Then came gunpowder and now we’re used to a loud sound announcing death. Many would say this loud sound is tactically problematic, to which others answer, “But it’s awesome.”
And that is true.
A railgun uses no explosives and simply uses magnetism to fire a projectile. You might think this would be quiet, but we’re dealing with the projectile moving so fast that it gets both a boom and fire for just being so awesome.
So embrace the future, my friends.
Also, some of you wondered about putting railguns on a dinosaur. This won’t work. Dinosaurs don’t like magnets. They make them crazy.
(17 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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November 19th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
To those who complain about a boom: You can’t handle the boom!
November 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Gunpowder has done so much for humanity. I am saddened to see us abandon it for the latest hot trend.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
If we’re genetically engineering the dinosaurs anyway, we might as well make them resistant to magnets. The only problem I can forsee is that the magnets might mess up the systems for the cyborg dinosaurs, but they can do close combat while the pterodactyls carry railguns as air support.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I hate to have to point this out to a group of gentlemen normally known for their astute observations on all things awesome – but you’re all missing the elephant in the room.
The distinct lack of oxygen in space coupled with the incredible inefficiencies involved in laser technology makes a railgun our only viable space-based weapon system besides missiles, and lets face it, missiles are SO 20th century. If it doesn’t sling death across open space at near-relativistic speeds then it’s just not cool enough for the USAF’s secret fleet of Dreadnoughts.
Wait… was I not supposed to mention the Dreadnoughts?
November 19th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I read about it on ABC’s website yesterday.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
So when will Dick Cheney test the rail guns on the Death Star?
November 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
You already know what happens when we try and super collide. Won’t birds from the future just steal our railgun projectiles?
November 19th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Maybe not a boom, but lots of screams and fire (from exploding heads) – strap a liberal on each projectile, force/restrain their eyes in the open position, ala A Clockwork Orange, and play Palin speeches and interviews for their inflight entertainment.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I think there may infact be a “Boom”. I am assuming the projectile will travel in excess of the speed of sound, so there should be a loud “Boom” when it accelerates past the speed of sound. Unfortunately there would be no muzzle flash attributable to the acceleration, but maybe there would be one due to the raw awesomeness..
November 19th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Dick Cheney tested it on Bolton’s moustache.
It singed a hair so it’s ready to go. It might even be too powerful, but that’s not something Americans worry about.
If you’re gonna kill something, we might as well overkill it.
Why else do we have enough nukes to destroy the planet like 50 times? There’s only 9 planets (and of course our Moon) near enough to reach, so why the other 41? Because we’re Americans. .
Why else do we have three (3) .50 caliber rounds for handguns? Think of that, the .44 magnum is no higher than 5th or 6th on the power rankings anymore.
Well, technically one of the .50 cals is Israel’s, but they have a lot of America’s attitudes on weaponry.
Proportionate response is for pansies and EUnuchs.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I’m telling you: Tungsten OWPs …but if you insist, sigh, railguns as anti sat-killers defence.
Babies.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
If you are one of the lucky ones to have ever been shot (and lived) as I have; you know that you never hear the shot being fired; only the salience time standing still as you do hear the sound of the “projectile” as it first hits your clothing, passes through as time is still standing still, and you hear the sound of your flesh being ripped apart (like someone shredding a newspaper) then the sound of muscle as it tares away; they that last THUD as the “projectile” hits bone (which sounds like a 4 inch wooded leg of a hardwood table breaking)… and you are thinking to yourself oh… wow… this didn’t even hurt…. till just nOW!!! as time resumes, and you hear the gushing of your blood as it squirts out with every beat of your heart!
November 19th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
@11…. Please define “lived” cause you are brain dead…
November 19th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Robot army or magnetic weapons.. Must choose. Re-watch the Futurama where Bender sings show tunes anytime he gets his head stuck to a magnet.
Stealth and silent weapons can be very awesome. I have an idea for a weapon, merges M240 with a .22 also silenced and scoped. It has 1000 round factory sealed clips. The rounds are pre-treated with some cheap mass produced chemical or poison. Something that kills or causes paralysis and thus wounded have to be dragged from combat but cant fight. Hence 3 soldiers out of the fight. From a silent gunshot and bullet that feels worse then a bee sting to the unsuspecting. Enemy Soldiers could never sleep from being paranoid by every tiny sound. To say nothing that one guy looking down on a group could literally kill hundreds silently.
November 19th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
The original rail gun with a boom.
November 19th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Having been on the butt party at a long range rifle range, I can assure you that the supersonic crack of a bullet is much louder than the retort of the muzzle at 400 yards. SNAP..2..3..muffled boom. So, lose the muffled boom and increase the SNAP. That’s why subsonic ammo is SO much quieter out of a rifle than supersonic ammo is.
November 19th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Don’t know much about rail guns, but they sound like a wave of the future. Let me regress I was wondering the other day what was the first man-made object to break the sound barrier. I came up with something, but I don’t know. I was thinking of the whip. The end is moving very fast when it makes that crack! Anyone else have thoughts on this.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I’m sorry I thought .50 cal WAS proportionate response
November 20th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I’ve never met a dinosaur that didn’t like railguns.
November 20th, 2009 at 2:55 am
What if instead of dinosaurs we put them on galloping crocodiles? (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/nov/19/galloping-dinosaur-eating-crocodiles)
November 20th, 2009 at 6:26 am
well to paraphrase that quote of George Bush’s that comes on every hour and drives me nuts:
“America is ADDICTED to gunpowder”
November 20th, 2009 at 7:25 am
So, no boom? How can we have awesome without the “see that was awesome” factor? A nuclear bomb or a MOAB certainly have the “see that was awesome” factor! I’m afraid that without a Boom, the railgun is not going to be the weapon of choice for either Fred Thompson or Sarah Palin! Perhaps you can peddle it to Barack “The Deep Bower in Chief” Obama!
November 20th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Nope! Nope! Nope! gotta have boom. no boom? why bother. sure rail guns are deadly, but can we put explosives on them so they go BOOM?