Railgun update

Anyone know why the projectile was on fire as it left the gun? I had always thought that railguns would have no muzzle flash.
 
I guess you are seeing the heating/burning of the debris expelled from the gun nozzle caused through abrasion and electrical melting between the projectile and rail. If there is ionised air/ plasma behind the projectile this will lead to heating and perhaps arcing as well.

Now if you want a detailed explanation this report will tell you

http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA156607

In this version of the gun it is claimed less scientifically

part of this flash is the 1500 joules and part is due to ignition of the aluminium as there is very little of it left.
Click to expand...

http://tesladownunder.com/Rail_gun.htm

That significant material comes out doesn't surprise me in view of the abrasion

As rail/projectile clearances increase, arcing develops, which causes rapid vaporization and extensive damage to the rail surfaces and the insulator surfaces. This limited some early research railguns to one shot per service interval....

Massive amounts of heat are created by the electricity flowing through the rails, as well as by the friction of the projectile leaving the device. The heat created by this friction itself can cause thermal expansion of the rails and projectile, further increasing the frictional heat. This leads to three main problems: melting of equipment....

In practice the rails are, with most designs of railgun, subject to erosion due to each launch; and projectiles can be subject to some degree of ablation also, and this can limit railgun life, in some cases severely
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

Interesting stuff anyway
 
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