Shell Casings?

[Pandonetho]

Ahem...
I am rather disappointed in y'all.
So, really, is it more practical to have coils on a one-meter barrel accelerate a projectile to mach 5? Or is it easier to accelerate A CONVENTIONAL BULLET through a combination of Gauss and chemical reaction, with the propellant in the casing providing the initial kick?

Ahem...

It's the future, just because we use meter long barrels in today's age doesn't mean they use meter long barrels in the future where they have floating fortresses.

[Visions of Khas]

To be honest... I haven't seen shell casings used in the game or in any official art work.

[Shadow Archon]

To be honest... I haven't seen shell casings used in the game or in any official art work.

I think I saw some on the "Sons of Storm" site.

[Norfindel]

Ahem...
I am rather disappointed in y'all.
So, really, is it more practical to have coils on a one-meter barrel accelerate a projectile to mach 5? Or is it easier to accelerate A CONVENTIONAL BULLET through a combination of Gauss and chemical reaction, with the propellant in the casing providing the initial kick?

That would kill the advantage of using caseless ammunition, which is more secure, and weights a lot less, and the design would be much more complex.

A 7.62mm proyectile on a M14 rifle can reach a speed of 850 m/s (mach 2.5).

If it's practical or not, depends on if they absolutely need a speed they cannot reach by coils alone to defeat armor.

[Quirel]

That would kill the advantage of using caseless ammunition, which is more secure, and weights a lot less, and the design would be much more complex.

At which point the rule of cool kicks in.

If it's practical or not, depends on if they absolutely need a speed they cannot reach by coils alone to defeat armor.

Well, cost comes into the equation too.
If a hybrid weapon will be cheaper than a pure coil gun, guess which one is going to be bought by the hundreds of thousands?

[Norfindel]

Well, cost comes into the equation too.
If a hybrid weapon will be cheaper than a pure coil gun, guess which one is going to be bought by the hundreds of thousands?

A hybrid design would be like two weapons fused into one, which would be more expensive.

[Quirel]

Again, what cost is added because of the conventional firing mechanism is probably negated because the gauss assembly is less powerful and less complicated.

[Norfindel]

Again, what cost is added because of the conventional firing mechanism is probably negated because the gauss assembly is less powerful and less complicated.

Sorry, that's not how engineering works. The gauss assembly would be just less powerful, not less complicated. Conventional + gauss will be more expensive than conventional alone, or gauss alone. Cost wouldn't be the reason why someone would like to do that.

[Quirel]

Sorry, that's not how engineering works. The gauss assembly would be just less powerful, not less complicated. Conventional + gauss will be more expensive than conventional alone, or gauss alone. Cost wouldn't be the reason why someone would like to do that.

I disagree: a less powerful gauss assembly should be cheaper.
And the extent of the weapon being a hybrid is that it would use standard firing mechanisms that have been perfected for 500+ years, and then use magnetic add-ons to accelerate the bullet further before it leaves the barrel.
Yes, the firing mechanism, gauss assembly, and casing would all have to be modified to accommodate each other, but I stand by my earlier opinion that it would be cheaper than a pure gauss cannon.

[Norfindel]

I disagree: a less powerful gauss assembly should be cheaper.
And the extent of the weapon being a hybrid is that it would use standard firing mechanisms that have been perfected for 500+ years, and then use magnetic add-ons to accelerate the bullet further before it leaves the barrel.
Yes, the firing mechanism, gauss assembly, and casing would all have to be modified to accommodate each other, but I stand by my earlier opinion that it would be cheaper than a pure gauss cannon.

I think that using bigger coils and/or more of them, and a stronger power supply, would be cheaper than adding an entire conventional weapon system, including powder-propelled bullets, loader and gas-reload mechanism, but using weaker gauss components.

Ok, let's do some calculations:

The M14 can fire a bullet (of 9.5g) at 850 m/s (mach 2.5), the kinetic energy needed for that is: Ek = 1/2 m * v^2 = 1/2 * 0.0095 * 722500 = 3432 Joules.

To accelerate the same bullet to 1700 m/s (mach 5), the kinetic energy would be: 1/2 * 0.0095 * 2890000 =13727 Joules.

As you see, the gauss part would be doing 75% of the job, anyways. You could as well do everything with gauss tech, and save the cost of the extra components.