1.25 Kilojoule coilgun, I'm in love.

[Vizth Hal]

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Original article: http://gizmodo.com/5643971/watch-this-125-kilojoule-diy-coilgun-smash-household-items?skyline=true&s=i

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LjnhhtHojM&feature=player_embedded#!

The battery-powered projectile-blaster took 2 years to complete, according to its creator, YouTube user Larsplatoon, and it packs four capacitor housings, a 12-volt high drain battery, and an old cell phone regulator board to keep it from overcharging.

Larsplatoon dubs it a "1.25kJ Coilgun"—that's some 78 times the amount of energy lethal to human beings—though Make points out that that's likely the capacitor's theoretical maximum output. By their calculations, 1.25kJ of muzzle energy would give the coilgun more oomph than a .45, and while it certainly has no problem tearing through those glasses, it's not exactly shattering them into a million pieces.

[BarEdul]

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okay why didn't they test it on some meat and secondly I DON"T want shot by that projectile!

[Twitchin Kitten]

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I don't see this has having more 'oomph' than a .45 bullet. It certainly looks more complicated than a gun too. That projectile bounces off the cardboard backstop after going through the items where a bullet would keep going and lodge behind whatever that cardboard is up against.

Now, I too wouldn't want to be hit with that thing but I'm with Barb, hit a chunk of meat with the bone still in it and see what happens.

[Vizth Hal]

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The conversion from electricity to kinetic force is 1-3% if I'm thinking right. So most of the power is lost.

[twisteroo]

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Kind of neat in a "hey look what I built" kind of way. But really I have a 12 gauge shotgun that can kill anything on the planet. I don't think I'll retire it yet.

[Vizth Hal]

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The thing abut coilguns is once they get powerful enough to start killing things you'll still probably not be able to hear them fire, and if you do it wont be very loud or sound like a gun. They have an advantage over railguns in that the coil doesn't erode with every shot. Also railgun shots are obvious, they have a big trail of sparks and plasma coming off the end of the shot.

A railgun passes voltage through the shot, and the discharge blasts pits out of the rails each time. Kind of like how a capacitor can blow a small pit out of a steel screwdriver, or your arm if your not careful.

I made a coilgun powerful enough to punch through cardstock with some disposable cameras, a straw, and $5 worth of magnet wire.

[LKTraz]

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Looks to have power equivalent to a C02 pellet gun but with a larger projectile. It's probably lethal to small animals like squirrels and birds at its present level.