Message no. 1

From:	"SEAN K. DAVIS" <DAVISS@*******.CAE.WISC.EDU>
Subject:	Railguns and the navy...
Date:	Wed, 13 Apr 1994 13:26:51 CST6CDT

I am in the navy and have heard for a while about them testing
railguns for point defense on ships. Supposably it has been tested
successfully. They use them to shoot down missiles and planes that
wander to close. The benefits of the rail gun is that you don't have
to lead the target because of the extremely _fast_ speeds of the
projectile. Much better then seawizzes (phalanx). Course, they were
testing it on a cruiser, which was nuke powered, so power usage was
not a real problem.
BTW, I also saw a demostration of a railgun on tv. (discovery
channel?) a while back. Shoot though a whole bunch of phonebooks and
DID have recoil. Course, I would not want to be standing at the
buisiness end on that gun. heh heh. Could smart a bit.
I think I have also heard of smaller manportable versions, but
cannot remember for sure. (Army I think...???)
**********************************************************************
Sean K. Davis (USN) daviss@*******.cae.wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering
aka Dr. Khaos aka Chromer
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ENGINEERING- It's not just a major, It's a NIGHTMARE.
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You and the Navy, full speed ahead. It's Not Just a Job, It's an
Adventure. Hook, line and sinker.
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