NationStates Jolt Archive

I am aiming to build a railgun that can be carried and fired by infantrymen.
This railgun must be light enough to be carried at least in parts that can be assembled quickly in battle, or a lighter version of the already made railgun. i have a prototype but it literally melts after two shots. I hope other nations will consider helping me in this endeavor.

Derion will help in the endeavor.
We pledge any equpment we can, as well as 2 million dollars to begin funding.

We happily accept your help. we need scientists, metal deposits, engineers, and a model of the current railgun to base our designs. our prototype looks like THIS: click me! (http://www.alieninsect.com/alinimages/tyruben_railone.jpg) we are hoping just to install a liquid coolant tube and have an infantryman carry the coolant on his back but we have our doubts.

Kyoto will assist, provided we recieve at least one of the finished product in return. Should that be feasible, Kyoto will give 1.5 million USD. Government scientists and some private researchers shall assist on the project.

I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't see any possible way for a modern tech nation to have a rail gun anywhere near as small as you are talking about. For modern tech, you are not going to be able to get a rail gun much smaller, than one that would fill up a tank, and that is pushing it. Making the parts is more than possible, but making a portable power device capable of powering the rail gun just can't be done. Just letting you know and trying to save you some of your time, because if you would ever try to use something like that in a war, I'd imagine it would be considered a godmod....at least I would

OOC: Just think of it as modern-tech PROGRESSING to future tech.

I was just assuming you were all modern tech because as you get closer to future tech, a rail gun gets more and more useless

He's right you know.. The immense amount of power needed... You would need to connect that to a powerstation. I advis that no funding be given as it is I M P O S S I B L E.

OOC: are you guys talking bout the railgun that shoots superheated slugs at immense speeds? or the real one that shot 2-ton hunks of metal.

as you advance to the future, who knows what will happen? Power sources may become smaller and we might as well have some fun. As you move to the future, who is to say railguns won't advance?

Anyway I'll stick to my lasers, we only have railguns for knocking holes in things, lasers are so much more useful in space and plasma is good for ground targets. Especially infantry... Your armour didnt melt? How hot is it now?

mwahahahaha!

I hope you're not suggesting that you use laser weapons with your infantry. Lasers, especially small, man-portable ones, make terrible anti-personnel weapons, because they are so hot that they instantly cauterize the wound. This means that there is very little bleeding, so you literally have to chew the target apart with a dozen shots or more before he dies.

Unless you can hit him in the heart or the head everytime, lasers are rather useless against infantry.

The heat from the lasers would cause immense pain.

The heat from the lasers would cause immense pain.
Yah but an Ak-47 could kill you for like a thousanth the price.

Yah but an Ak-47 could kill you for like a thousanth the price.

Just a thousandth :D ?

I hope you're not suggesting that you use laser weapons with your infantry. Lasers, especially small, man-portable ones, make terrible anti-personnel weapons, because they are so hot that they instantly cauterize the wound. This means that there is very little bleeding, so you literally have to chew the target apart with a dozen shots or more before he dies.

It would depend on how wide the beam was, and/or how good the refire rate was, wouldn't it?

I think what he's getting at is that they are more expensive, harder to produce and less effective. Just use an M16 or an OICW.

I think what he's getting at is that they are more expensive, harder to produce and less effective. Just use an M16 or an OICW.

Indeed. Though I actually think the guy who mentioned them was talking more about space than on the ground. But that would be off-topic, so I dunno. I think the only reason laser guns like blasters in Star Wars have actually been depicted as hand-held weapons in sci-fi shows is because they look pretty and futuristic. I think Aliens had the right idea. Not the Alien parts, the pulse rifle. Although using Aliens as a weapon would be very cool.
He could use those things. Or a nuclear hand grenade. Those things are hillarious. Have you ever seen a soldier try to run 20 miles in five seconds? It's amusing, in a sick sort of way.

I'm future tech and I still use good old fashioned bullets, albeit of the blended metal variety that will take off an arm in a shot...
As for nuclear hand grenades, their yield would be about 0.1, 0.01 kilotonnes, so you'd only have to run about a mile or five in five seconds. Still funny as hell though...

OOC: okay if everyone is thru critiquing my idea...
IC: kyoto, we accept your offer. this project will take years to complete, if that is an inconveinience (a week in real time).

It will take so long you will have to be future tech before you use it.

*bump*

I hope you're not suggesting that you use laser weapons with your infantry. Lasers, especially small, man-portable ones, make terrible anti-personnel weapons, because they are so hot that they instantly cauterize the wound. This means that there is very little bleeding, so you literally have to chew the target apart with a dozen shots or more before he dies.

Unless you can hit him in the heart or the head everytime, lasers are rather useless against infantry.

Some lasers, some plasma weapons, we are working on more advanced weapons, but the idea of having laser is that we punch through personnel armour with a high rate of fire can chew targets up. Lasers have developed as a response to our adnvanced personnel armour (we arent going to withstand shots that could level a tank but an AK wouldnt do more than cause one of our soldiers to stagger back a bit and make a mental note to repaint his armour)


As for chewing.... not an issue if you a nice high rate of fire anyway. That said we could do witha weapon that balances armour and personnel destruction....

How would a pulse rifle actually work?

(can be consider both IC and OOC. so that if it impresses then some of our research budget shall be focused on them) please TG me.

How would a pulse rifle actually work?

You mean one from Aliens? I'd have to watch it again to be sure, it's been a while. Something to do with explosive-tipped bullets as I recall. I think they hold 99 of them in a clip. And a built-in pump-action grenade launcher.

I saw this thread, and thought 'Everyone and thier grandmother has a railgun.' but then I saw portible, hand held railgun. I don't really want to have much to do with this, but the coolent, DON'T USE LIQUID NITROGEN, if you want a fast rate of fire, liquid nitrogen is not the way to go. It freezes up the gun, and if you were to fire another, the heat contacting with the extreme cold would shatter the gun. And the warm up cycle would be almost as bad.

Hope this helps a bit. :)

You mean one from Aliens? I'd have to watch it again to be sure, it's been a while. Something to do with explosive-tipped bullets as I recall. I think they hold 99 of them in a clip. And a built-in pump-action grenade launcher.

IIRC the pulse rifle from aliens is your common or garden 10mm HV caseless weapon, the actual bullets coem in a vareity of forms but the armour peircing explosive rounds are the basic USCM loadout. The rifle uses an eletrical pulse to ignite the ammo hence the name. The Smart guns (the big machine gun things that the marines have) use the same ammo (as an intereting side note the harness mounts used in the films are actually the exact same assemblies used by the film crews for thier cameras so techincally speaking the stabilised moutnign system is mod tech...).

If you can find the Colonial Marines Technical Manual it is a fantastic read for setting yourself up with soemthign aproaching realistic space tech (the sapce warfare section is a must).

If you can find the Colonial Marines Technical Manual it is a fantastic read for setting yourself up with soemthign aproaching realistic space tech (the sapce warfare section is a must).

I'll have to find it... sounds interesting.

looms interesting, but im looking for something which will punch through heavy personnel armour as 10mm caseless would probably have to hit an eyeslit or joint to do any damage... meaning laser and plasma weapons are still the main choice (i Guess coolant research is going to be my priority for now then so i can use smaller plasma weapons to burn a hole in targets)


I think man portable cannons should be cheap and reliable, they could use HESH penetration with a penetration of better than 800mm (to go through the thickest armour and still go all the way through the target), this could be a tall order.
*googles*

Modern tech HESH has a 700% penetration to size ratio... so Id need a 115mm shell...


ANd I dont think even my warriors could manage more than 30-35mm, so it would require 2700%. Im thinking precision sharpening, more powerful charges, more precise timing the various stages and increased efficienciy and better materials and small clip sizes then...

Good thing we have a large budget then.

Realistic such a solution may not be, but this a (fairly) distant future tech race. So that doesnt bother me too much. (and even such weapons have their limits)

The best penetration level you can get so far is with an APFSDS (armour piercing fin stabalised discarding sabot) round made from DU. THis is basically a very heavy needle which slices through most things.

[OOC: Praetonia, check TGs.]

*orders Peons to start improving, researching and enahancing it and the propellant to a level of detail modern tech couldnt manage... and remove the radiation poisoning issues*

Give me a few years (RL days) its getting a lot of our budget.

Err.. if you remove the radition then DU isnt really DU. Ok Sarzonia.

well, I mean find an equally (or more) heavy alternative.

Excuse the lack of clarity, I assure you I understand chemistry and physics pretty well. I am just poor at explaining myself. (lazy)

I guess it will be a case of using our future techness to build some sheilding in to our weapons and clips to keep the radiation minimised (and using geneitc midification of our soldiers to increase their radiation resistance is possibly a better way)

what was the ration of penetration to shell diameter? Most mdern shells can alledgedly manage 700% but im hoping for something higher to base the idea on before i go for 2700%!