Railgun Physics

The underlying physics involved in the railgun are rather simple. Current flowing
through an inductor creates a magnetic field. The current flowing through the
field creates a Lorentz force on the inductor tending to push the coil apart. If one
portion of the coil is free to move, this portion will slide away from the power
source.
Qualitatively, its a relatively straightforward process. Difficulty arrises in trying to
quantitatively determine the time dynamics of the electric and magnetic fields
present, and an analytical description of the motion of the slug. To do so, we
must examine the relationship between the current in the loop, the induced
magnetic field, the motion of the slug, and the geometry of the loop - all as
functions of time.

We will break down the complex problem of determining the analytical equations
of motion for the slug in the following way:

Determine the instantaneous induced magnetic field at any point as a function of

loop geometry and current in the loop at a given time.
Take Faraday's Law and derive the equation for the induced EMF in the loop.
Calculate this based on the magnetic field, determined above.
Solve Ohm's Law for an analytical formulation of current as a function of loop
resistance, initial charge in the capacitor(s), capacitance of the power cap(s), and
induced EMF. Take the derivative of this equation to get an equation for I'(t) with
no integrals in it.
Now we need to replace I(t) and I'(t) in the above equation with something we
know how to calculate. To do this, we'll first manipulate the Lorentz Force law like
this:
Determine the instantaneous magnetic field at any point on the slug as a
function of loop geometry and current in the loop at a given time.
Integrate the magnetic field over the length of the slug and multiply by the
instantaneous current to reveal the magnitude of the Lorentz Force at a given
time.
Set the Lorentz Force magnitude equal to mL" (F=ma). Solve this equation for
I(t) and take its time derivative.
Now we have have two equations for I'(t) which we can set equal to each other,
leaving a differential equation for L(t). Solve this differential equation to reveal
the time evolution of L(t) [position of slug on rails], L'(t) [velocity of slug], L''(t)
[acceleration of slug], etc.
1) Magnetic field in the current loop

Assuming we know the shape of our current loop and the magnitude of the
current at a given instant, the instantaneous magnetic field caused by the
current in the loop is given by the Biot-Savart law (Griffiths 5.28):

Where r is the vector from the source (dl) to the point at which we are evaluating
the field. We can expect the displacement current term of Ampere's law,

to affect our magnetic field, because we expect to see an electric field that
changes with time. However, its contribution is scaled by the permittivity of free
space, a factor ~10-11. This means that in order for the displacement current to
noticably affect the magnetic field, the change in electric field would have to be
on the order of 1011 V/m s.

This would entail a change in voltage in the circuit of Px1011 V/s where P is the
perimeter of the current loop. In the highly unrealistic case of a 10kV power
source (much higher than we're likely to use), a loop perimeter of 0.1m (tiny) and
a firing relay that switches in 1 milliseconds (unreasonably fast!!), the
displacement current is then on the order of 1 Amp, but we are expecting power
supply currents possibly as high as ~10000 Amps initially, making the
displacement current contribution to B inconsequential.

Therefore, to get a value for B(t), we break the Biot-Savart integral up into four
parts - the two rails, the slug, and the connection opposite the slug which we will
approximate as a fixed armature across the rails. In reality, this connection will
consist of the power source, the firing relay, and the connecting wires. Our
assumption is that the field contribution of this portion of the circuit can, in fact,
be manipulated to be very similar to a direct connection across the rails.

The direction of the magnetic field vector depends on which direction the current
flows through the loop. For convenience, we'll assume that the current moves
counter-clockwise. By the right-hand rule, the magnetic field is in the positive z
direction, "up".

The magnetic field at some point, P, induced by current flowing through a

straight wire can be derived analytically. A succinct example of this derivation is
given in Griffiths, chapter 5, example 5. The following figure is taken from this
example.

The end result is that

B = (mu0I/4z*pi) * [sin(theta2) - sin(theta1)]

where z is the shortest distance from P to the wire, theta1 and theta2 are the
initial and final angles between z and r. We will approximate the railgun as four
straight wire field contributions summed together.

For the first rail:

z=y
sin(theta1) = -(L - x) / sqrt((L - x)2 + y2)
sin(theta2) = x / sqrt(x2 + y2)
For the second rail:
z = (W - y)
sin(theta1) = x / sqrt(x2 + (W - y)2)
sin(theta2) = -(L - x) / sqrt((L - x)2 + (W - y)2)
For the slug:
z = (L - x)
sin(theta1) = (W - y) / sqrt((W - y)2 + (L - x)2)
sin(theta2) = y / sqrt(y2 + (L - x)2)
For the "back" connection:
z=x
sin(theta1) = -y / sqrt(x2 + y2)
sin(theta2) = (W - y) / sqrt(x2 + (W - y)2)
where L is the length of the rail to the slug, W is the rail separation, while x and y
are the coordinates of the point inside the loop for which we are calculating the
field. Plugging these four sets of values into the equation above and summing
the results leads to the following analytical solution for the magnetic field at
some point inside the loop:

Oops, screwed that equation graphic up bad. It's all wrong, but the general form
is right. it's B(I,x,y,L,W)|slug = (mu_oI/4pi)[f(L,W,x,y)]

2) Inductive EMF in Current Loop

Faraday's law tells us that when we have a changing magnetic field, we have an
induced electric field.

We take Faraday's law and act upon it with the curl theorem of vector calculus,

to achieve the following relation for the induced EMF, epsilon:

Again, this has been done analytically with Mathematica. [NOTE: Our initial
railgun derivation used a slightly different form for epsilon, Griffiths 7.13. This is
basically the same equation except the time derivative is pulled outside the
integral because the magnetic field is assumed to be constant in time. This is
obviously not the case for the railgun, and therefore the original derivation was
incorrect.]

3) Ohm's Law

The induced EMF, calculated in section 3 above, opposes the power source
voltage and therefore decreases the circuit current via Ohm's Law:

V(t) = I(t)R = V(t)power supply - epsilon(t)

Where R is the circuit resistance. We'll assume that the resistance is constant
with time, and we'll hope that it is very small. For this derevation, we will also
assume that the power supply is a capacitor. This leads to the canonical form for
I(t):

I(t) = (1/R)[Vcap - epsilon(t)]

The capacitance of a capacitor is given by

C = q(t)/V(t)
where q is the amount of charge on the capacitor and V is the voltage across the
capacitor. The charge at any time is given by

q(t) = q(0) - integral[I(t)dt]

Now we can write the current like this:

I(t) = (1/R)[(q0 - integral[I(t)dt])/C - epsilon(t)]

Now we can take the derivative of this equation with respect to t to get a
differential equation of I.

I'(t) = (1/R)(de/dI) - I(t)/RC

Some thought needs to be given to bounday conditions here, since the factor of
q0/RC has disappeared.

4) The Lorentz Force

The current in the loop flowing through magnetic field calculated in part 1
generates a Lorentz force outwards on the loop. The Lorentz force on the slug
can be calculated analytically (Griffiths 5.17):

Fmag(I,L,W) = I(t) * integral[dy x Bslug(I,y,L,W)]

The magnetic field in this equation is given the subscript 'slug' because we are
only interested in the field at the slug. This is the only part of the field that
contributes to the Lorentz force on the projectile itself.

To calculate this magnetic field, we'll use the same technique and assumptions
used in part 1. However, we can simplify the analysis here a bit since we'll
always be at x=L. Also, the contribution to the field from the slug itself can be
ignored.

Intuitively, if the slug were just a piece of straight wire, no amount of current
through that wire would cause it to move anywhere in the absence of external
fields. In the actual system, where the slug is under the influence of large
magnetic fields, it can still be shown that the slug current won't move the slug.
It's a simple matter of momentum conservation. If the slug moves itself, then
momentum has been created from nothing.

Since the magnetic field is uniformly vertical and the slug lies horizontally on the
rails, it is clear that the direction of the force will be horizontal and perpendicular
to the slug, i.e. in the x direction. The cross product coveniently drops out, and
all vectors becomes scalars with the exception of an x-hat at the end.

Fmag(I,L,W) = (mu0L(t)I(t)2/pi) * (W2+L(t)2-L(t)*sqrt(W2+L(t)2)) /

sqrt(W2+L(t)2)
This is also equal to the mass of the slug times the acceleration of the slug
(Newton's 2nd law of motion, F=ma). The acceleration of the slug can be written
as the second time derivative of L, leading to this equation:

m * L''(t) = (mu0L(t)I(t)2/pi) * (W2+L(t)2-L(t)*sqrt(W2+L(t)2)) / sqrt(W2+L(t)2)

This equation can be solved for the current:

I(t) = sqrt[pi * m * L''(t) * sqrt(W2+L(t)2) / (mu0 * L(t) * (W2+L(t)2-L(t) *

sqrt(W2+L(t)2)))]
5) Differential Equation of Motion

The results from parts 4 and 5 can be combined to replace all instances of I(t)
and I'(t) and leave a differential equation in terms of L(t), L'(t), L''(t), etc. (slug
position, velocity, acceleration, etc)

It is hoped that Mathematica will be able to solve this differential equation to

give an analytical form of the equations of motion for the slug in terms of
physical variables like the mass of the slug, rail separation, and capacitance.

This will represent the end of the theory effort for the railgun and we will then
proceed to design considerations and begin construction. (assuming, of course,
that the numbers don't indicate that we require 1000 Farads of capacitance or
one million volts or something.)

Picture this: A massive destroyer receives the location coordinates

of an enemy headquarters more than 200 miles away. Instead of
launching a million-dollar Tomahawk cruise missile, it points a gun
barrel in the direction of the target, diverts electric power from
the ship's engine to the gun turret, and launches a 3-foot-long,
40-pound projectile up a set of superconducting rails. The
projectile leaves the barrel at hypersonic velocity--Mach 7-plus-exits the Earth's atmosphere, re-enters under satellite guidance,
and lands on the building less than six minutes later; its incredible
velocity vaporizes the target with kinetic energy alone.
The U.S. Navy is developing an electromagnetic railgun that will
turn destroyers into super-long-range machine guns--able to fire
up to a dozen relatively inexpensive projectiles every minute. The
Navy is collaborating with the British Ministry of Defence, which
has a similar effort under way. In 2003, its facility in Kirkcudbright,
Scotland, hosted a 1/8-scale test of an electromagnetic railgun
that produced stable flight in a projectile fired out of the barrel at
Mach 6. But Capt. Roger McGinnis, program manager for directed
energy weapons at Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington,
D.C., estimates the U.S. version won't be "deliverable" until 2015
at the earliest.
The technology behind the electromagnetic railgun has been
around for more than 20 years, but early efforts wilted because of
the huge power requirements: No ship could generate or store
enough electricity to fire the gun. The concept was revived a few
years ago when the Navy announced plans for its next-generation
battleship, the all-electric DD(X). "In the past, destroyers had 90
percent of their power tied to propulsion," explains McGinnis. "But
with DD(X), you can divert the power to whatever you need. We
can stop the ship and fire the railgun as many times as we need,
then divert the power back to the screws."
The barrel of the electromagnetic railgun will contain two parallel
conducting rails about 20 feet long, bridged by a sliding armature.
In the current design, electric current travels up one rail, crosses

the armature, and heads down the second rail. The loop induces a
magnetic field that pushes the armature, and the projectile
aboard it, up the rails.
The challenges that remain include ensuring that the gun can
target enemy sites with precision, and creating equipment that
can withstand the gargantuan pressures the gun will create.
"Right now, guns are only as accurate as the targeting of the
bore, and now we're talking about 200-plus-mile ranges, so there
has to be aerodynamic correction," says Fred Beach, the assistant
program manager for the electromagnetic railgun at Naval Sea
Systems Command. The projectile, he says, will receive course
correction information from satellites and will steer itself with
movable control surfaces. And because the projectile will be
subjected to up to 45,000 Gs during firing, the onboard
electronics must be strengthened to withstand the acceleration.
Forces inside the gun itself--particularly getting the armature to
move easily within the system--are also challenging the
designers. "Getting two pieces of metal to slide past each other is
pretty hard--we're getting a lot of damage to the rails," Beach
says.
The electromagnetic railgun's projectiles will cover 290 miles in
six minutes--initially traveling 8,200 feet per second and hitting
their target at 5,000 feet per second. Current Navy guns, which
shoot powder-ignited explosive shells, have a maximum range of
12 miles and, because they are unguided, are difficult to aim.
Though guided missiles, the current long-range alternative for
destroyers, can achieve ranges comparable to that of the
electromagnetic railgun, their cost and storage problems are
what's driving the efforts to find an alternative. Ships can only
carry up to 70 guided missiles and must return to port to restock
because the missiles cannot be loaded at sea, whereas railgun
projectiles can easily be loaded at sea, and by the hundreds. Also
appealing is that the electromagnetic railgun's missiles do not
contain volatile explosives; the weapon does its work with kinetic
energy.

How Do Rail Guns Work?

The electromagnetic rail gun is used by the United States Navy and it is very
unique in that it is a gun that does not use gunpowder. Instead, it is powered
by electricity and a magnetic field. It has been a huge technological
advancement because before it was invented, the maximum range a gun
could shoot a projectile was 12 miles. A rail gun can reach a target 250 miles
away in 6 minutes, traveling at a speed of around 16,000 meters per second.

The Basic Parts of a Rail Gun

A rail gun uses large amounts of power, so a power source has to be used
that can generate millions of amps in order for a rail gun to function. The
armature is the most important part of the rail gun because it is the metal
piece (conductive sabot) that holds the projectile. On either side of the
armature, there are two conductive rails which vary in length depending on the
size and power capabilities of the rail gun. The rails are connected to the
power source and the current from the source travels up one rail (the positive
rail) and through the armature and back down to the power source through the
other rail on the other side (the negative rail).
Simulation of How a Rail Gun Works

How it Works
In the parts of the rail gun where an electric current is present, magnetic fields are present
around rails. As shown in the diagram above, the magnetic field rotates in a counterclockwise
direction around the positive rail. In the negative rail, the magnetic field rotates in a clockwise
direction.

The main reason that a rail gun works is because of the third right hand rule.
As illustrated in the diagram below, the magnetic field is always pointing
outwards towards the sky and the current travels from the positive side to the
negative side of the power source, which is to the right. This means that the
force of the rail gun projects straight out of the gun. However, in order for a rail
gun to work effectively and travel long distances at large speeds, there must
be a great amount of force inflicted on the projectile. This is why millions of
amperes are required in the power source for the rail gun to work properly.

Due to the fact that a rail gun requires millions of amperes, the Navy does not
have a solution for providing enough power to use a rail gun on a naval ship
yet. However, they are currently working on building a type of battleship, the
all-electric DD(X), which can temporarily take some power from the engine
when
the rail gun needs to be used. Not only can rail guns be used in the military,
but they can also be used to launch satellites or space shuttles into outer
space potentially because a rail gun can have multiple projectiles, not just a
missile.

Rail Gun Basics

A rail gun is basically a large electric circuit, made up of three parts: a power source, a pair of parallel
rails and a moving armature. Let's look at each of these parts in more detail.

For simulation (animation) http://science.howstuffworks.com/rail-gun1.htm

The power supply is simply a source of electric current. Typically, the current used in medium- to
large-caliber rail guns is in the millions of amps.
The rails are lengths of conductive metal, such as copper. They can range from four to 30 feet (9
meters) long.
The armature bridges the gap between the rails. It can be a solid piece of conductive metal or a
conductive sabot -- a carrier that houses a dart or other projectile. Some rail guns use
a plasma armature. In this set-up a thin metal foil is placed on the back of a non-conducting projectile.
When power flows through this foil it vaporizes and becomes a plasma, which carries the current.
Here's how the pieces work together:
An electric current runs from the positive terminal of the power supply, up the positive rail, across the
armature, and down the negative rail back to the power supply.
Current flowing in any wire creates a magnetic field around it -- a region where a magnetic force is
felt. This force has both a magnitude and a direction. In a rail gun, the two rails act like wires, with a
magnetic field circulating around each rail. The force lines of the magnetic field run in a

counterclockwise circle around the positive rail and in a clockwise circle around the negative rail. The
net magnetic field between the rails is directed vertically.
Like a charged wire in an electric field, the projectile experiences a force known as the Lorentz
force (after the Dutch physicist Hendrik A. Lorentz). The Lorentz force is directed perpendicularly to
the magnetic field and to the direction of the current flowing across the armature. You can see how
this works in the diagram below.

Notice that the Lorentz force is parallel to the rails, acting away from the power supply. The magnitude
of the force is determined by the equation F = (i)(L)(B), where F is the net force, i is the current, L is
the length of the rails and B is the magnetic field. The force can be boosted by increasing either the
length of the rails or the amount of current.
Because long rails pose design challenges, most rail guns use strong currents -- on the order of a
million amps -- to generate tremendous force. The projectile, under the influence of the Lorentz force,
accelerates to the end of the rails opposite the power supply and exits through an aperture. The circuit
is broken, which ends the flow of current.
USURPING POWER

Rail guns require tremendous currents to fire projectiles at speeds of Mach 5 or higher. This presents
problems for a traditional battleship because power cannot be diverted from the ship's propulsion
system. In the Navy's next-generation battleship, the all-electric DD(X), producing this kind of current
will be possible. To launch a rail gun projectile, power would be diverted from the ship's engine to the
gun turret. The gun would be fired, up to six rounds per minute, for as long as required. Then power
would be shifted back to the engine.

INTRODUCTION
Railguns are a means of accelerating an object based on an electromagnetic
force. Such devices have been in use in laboratory settings for several decades, but
the number of potential applications increases with advances in technology.
Although railguns are quite complex, their basic underlying principles are simple
enough for anyone with basic physics training to understand. This design proposal
will outline the principles behind designing a low-velocity railgun for educational
use in a high school classroom.
1.1

Railgun Theory

The components of the most basic railgun design include two parallel rails
and a movable armature, all of which must be electrically conductive. Current is
run down one rail, through the armature, and back up the other rail to complete the
circuit. A magnetic field is induced between the rails by the current loop formed.
A Dutch physicist named Hendrick Antoon Lorentz formulated an equation for
magnetic force, called Lorentz force, by which the force on a current-carrying
object by a magnetic field is given by:

where F is the force on the object, I is the electrical current,

of the current flow in the object, and
setup can be seen in Figure 1.

is the length vector

is the magnetic field. A simplistic railgun

Figure 1 Simple Railgun Schematic [1]

Accurately describing railgun behavior is much more difficult than merely
applying the Lorentz force equation. As the armature travels down the rails, the
size of the current loop increases and thereby changes the magnitude of the
induced magnetic field. The position-time behavior of the armature can therefore
only be accurately described through the use of multiple-order differential
equations.
A large amount of current is required to produce a force large enough to
accelerate even a lightweight projectile. The force is largely dependant on the
electrical current because it is a product of the current running through it and the
magnetic field it experiences, which is a function of that same current. The BiotSavart Law describes the induced magnetic field magnitude of a semi-infinite
length wire by

where 0 is the permeability of free space, I is the current through the wire, and r is
the radius of the wire [2]. It can be seen from this law that, for a wire with a radius
of ten millimeters, it would take a current of 50,000 Amps to produce a magnetic

field of just 1 T at the wire surface! Even with parallel wires of this size each
contributing to a magnetic field four millimeters away from the surface of both
wires, 35,000 Amps would still be needed to induce a magnetic field strength of 1
T. The force on the armature is a function of the square of the current running
through it. Capacitors are often employed to produce the high current needed
because of their large charge storage and short discharge time. Even in materials
with minimal resistivity, a fraction of electrical energy is lost in the form of heat
due to impedance of the conductor. Heat buildup can become significant at the
large electrical currents needed in a railgun.
While a force on a current-carrying object is the inherent mechanism
behind the railgun, it can also cause some problems. The same current that is
passed through the armature also flows through both rails, causing a force on the
rails that tries to push them apart. The rails are subject to the same Lorentz force
equation as the armature, so a strong supporting structure is needed to contain the
lateral pressure on the rails and prevent them from flying apart. The outward force
on the rails, assuming the current in each rail is the same because they are in the
same loop, can be calculated by

where L is the length of the wire.

1.2

Previously Constructed Railguns

Engineers have built railguns for recreation, research, or real-world

applications. Many military applications exist for the high kinetic energy that a
railgun can produce, but many hobbyists have also created railguns out of sheer
enjoyment. Railguns built by others can help predict and prematurely correct some
of the problems that could be encountered in building such a device.1.2.1
Military Designs
The military has been actively researching the applications of railguns in
military situations for several years for a couple of reasons. First of all, railguns
are capable of firing projectiles with a huge amount of kinetic energy. Recent tests
at the University of Canberra in Australia [3] have produced a force of 250,000
times that of gravity on a mass of 16 grams. This translates to going from rest to
13,000 miles per hour in under one-fifth of a second! Projected naval railguns
from Batelle will be able to fire up to six rounds per minute with an impact speed
of Mach 5, producing penetration up to forty feet [4]. Secondly, railguns require
no chemicals to use. Rather than using energy from controlled explosions like
current weapons, railgun ammunition will consist of electrical energy firing inert
slugs. This will almost eliminate the need for the military to store dangerous
explosives on ships and bases, increasing safety and stealth.
While railguns have not become standard issue as of yet, they do hold
promise in many exciting areas. Naval ships and land bases will likely switch to
railguns due to their large projected ranges (up to 200 nautical miles) and lack of
explosives to store and protect [3]. The army is researching the possibility of using
railguns on armored vehicles because of their huge destructive power and low
armament storage needs. Launching supplies rather than projectiles from a railgun
is also being explored, and NASA is even exploring this technique to launch
supplies both from and towards Earth.
1.2.2 Amateur Designs

Numerous amateur railguns have been conceived and built for a variety of
purposes. Some have built these as recreational devices, others for the challenge of
building the railgun, and still others for demonstration purposes. Firing speeds and
armature properties differ for each gun and each application. Some of the simplest
railguns are for demonstration purposes and can be built in a span of minutes.
These simple railguns, such as the one in Figure 2, simply use batteries or a DC
laboratory power supply to cause a small section of wire to roll. These simple
railguns demonstrate the principles of electromagnetic motion, just as the more
powerful ones, but for much less time and money.

Figure 2 Simple Classroom Demonstration Railgun

The majority of amateurs build railguns that are capable of muzzle
velocities between 50 and 500 meters per second. Some have been for various
high school and college classes, while others have been built in basements and
garages as hobbies. One of the most well-known amateur railguns was made by
Sam Barros, a student at Michigan Institute of Technology, and chronicled on
www.powerlabs.org [1]. On his website, he outlines the theory behind railguns in
general and his design in particular, as well as providing insight on some of the
problems experienced in construction. Amazingly, many amateurs are able to fire
railguns at velocities large enough to experience many of the problems of the larger

military devices, such as metal vapor arcing (MVA) and rail damage by electrical
arcing.
1.2.3

Problems with Previous Railguns

One of the most common problems with railguns built in the past has been

rapid rail erosion. Erosion failure often occurs after only one or two uses in some
cases [5]. Rail erosion occurs much more quickly than would be expected from
purely frictional forces between the armature and rails. The mechanism of rail
erosion due to electrical current is not fully understood and is under investigation.
It is known that highly polished surfaces with low coefficients of friction are
needed for maximum railgun efficiency.
Another common problem is the armature fusing itself to the rails upon
firing. When a stationary armature is fired by a railgun, it must overcome the
coefficient of static friction
friction

in order to begin motion. The coefficient of kinetic

, which is much less than

, is the only barrier to motion after the

armature is already moving. If the armature is unable to overcome

, the electric

current energy put through the armature will not be converted to mechanical
energy. This energy will instead transform into thermal energy, heating the
armature significantly. Enough thermal energy can cause the armature to melt
itself to the rails. Large contact surfaces and materials with high electrical and
thermal conductivity can help to alleviate the melting problem.
Some problems are a direct result of higher muzzle velocities that are
beyond the scope of this project. The repulsion forces on the rails can cause the
structural supports to fail at high currents, as dictated by the Biot-Savart Law. At
very high velocities, a plasma can form between the rails by MVA. This plasma
can greatly reduce the lifetime of the rails, but it can also act as an armature itself
because it is highly conductive.

1.3

Detailed Objectives

For this project, a railgun will be designed and built for low velocities for
use in high school classroom demonstrations and physics/mechanics based
experiments. In order to remain safe for the client and all students involved, the
railgun must shoot lightweight projectiles at slow speeds. Firing at low velocities
with railguns poses its own unique problems not often experienced by other rail
gun builders. Too much electrical power input will cause the projectile to
accelerate too much, but too little will cause the gun not to work at all.
1.3.1

Criteria for Success

Because the railgun is to be used in laboratory sessions, the gun will be designed to
be educational and safe in every possible way. Clear plastic will be used as a
casing material to allow visible inspection of the device at work. This device is
also to be durable so that the client may use the railgun year after year in the
laboratory. As such, much of the design will revolve around making a sturdy,
robust device that will erode very little due to repeated use. Safety is the number
one priority, however. All electrical components must be completely insulated
from the outside world to prevent any electrical discharge into anything other than
the railgun components, and all structural components must be sound enough to
sustain even unexpected forces. The maximum budget for the entire project,
including material and component costs, consultation fees, construction, testing,
and implementation, is $700 as set by the client. The project can be considered a
success if these objectives and goals are met in their entirety.
1.3.2

Classroom Uses
The entire purpose of the design and construction of this device is for

demonstration of electromagnetic principles to high school physics students. Most

of the electromagnetic theory behind railguns discussed in the theory section could
easily be discussed and demonstrated with a railgun, including induced magnetic

fields, electric current flow in materials, and more. Most railgun behavior, such as
muzzle velocity, could be predicted through calculations and then verified by
experiments. The actual demonstrations and laboratory sessions performed are to
be decided by the client.