Re: Trying to build something big

Jerry W. Decker ( (no email) )
Tue, 15 Feb 2000 20:48:06 -0600

Hi Steve et al!

Good choice! But what's a 'neon sign transISTOR'...don't you mean transformer
to produce the roughly 12kvac at 30ma or so???

A railgun will require a lot more power than that.. It is the buildup of charge
in the photoflash capacitor banks that are very rapidly discharged into the
railgun that gives it the driving force as on the following two of many sites;

http://iml.umkc.edu/physics/sps/railgun/railgun.html
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/amateur/capexpt.html

On a slightly different tack, there was a company selling plans for a portable
electric gun for $30...I sent in my money to their post office box, they cashed
my check and I never received anything, nor did they respond to the two letters
I sent asking for my order to be sent or money refunded.

The idea of an electric hand held gun that might use railgun type technology to
accelerate BBs or some other conductive material and that could be constructed
with off the shelf electronics and metal would I think, have a lot of appeal,
especially to people who detest the idea of gun control.

And an even more out of thread comment is I'd rather not puncture anyones skin
or organs no matter the circumstances, so my favorite weapon would be something
that would function like a phaser to temporarily disconnect their medulla from
their cerebellum so that only autonomic systems would function, no conscious
movement of muscles would be possible.

The so-called 'non-letal' weapons that temporarily blind, paralyze or otherwise
incapacitate are much more humane.

Good luck with your railgun and don't stand in front of it. >>> Jerry

S2000W@aol.com wrote:

> Well after finding as much information on all the suggestions I've received
> so far, I think a railgun would be the best choice. I found some plans on
> the internet and they seemed fairly simple (specifically at
> http://www.me.udel.edu/~morrison/rail.html). I was just wondering what
> everyone here thought of those plans, and how powerful of a battery should I
> use (or am I going to have to use one of those Neon Sign Transistors I've
> been hearing so much about?).
>
> -Steve
>
> P.S. By the way I'm a senior in high school
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> To leave this list, email <listserver@keelynet.com>
> with the body text: leave Interact
> list archives and on line subscription forms are at
> http://keelynet.com/interact/
> -------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------
To leave this list, email <listserver@keelynet.com>
with the body text: leave Interact
list archives and on line subscription forms are at
http://keelynet.com/interact/
-------------------------------------------------------------