Magnetic field shocklessly shoots pellets 20 times faster than rifle bullet
15 August 2001
News
A magnetic field that accelerates pellets faster than anything except a nuclear explosion has been developed experimentally at the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories. Jokingly dubbed 'the fastest gun in the West,' the machine that generates the field is actually 'the fastest gun in the world,' according to Sandia physicist Marcus Knudson.
Marcus Knudson holds two flyer plates in his right hand and chambers of his high-tech gun in his left. In the background is the innermost sanctum of Sandia's Z accelerator, where a rapidly expanding magnetic field drives pellets faster than any mechanism on earth
The propulsion speed is 20 km/s - almost three times that necessary to escape the earth's gravity (about 7 km/s). A rifle bullet is typically propelled at 1 km/s.
Sandia's Z accelerator propels coin-sized pellets (flyer plates) only a few hundred millimeters to gain information on the effect of high-velocity impacts. The data is being used to simulate the effect of flying space junk impacting the metal skin of an orbiting observatory and is expected to aid materials scientists trying to balance lightness against strength for satellite and observatory shells. The technique also has potential as a hypervelocity 'kinetic kill' weapon that, emanating from a lighter, more mobile source than the Z machine, still could strike disabling blows through an adversary's heavy armour.
The Z machine uses 20 million amps to produce an evolving magnetic field that expands in approximately 200 ns to reach several million atmospheres of pressure. The relatively gentle acceleration means the plates are neither distorted, melted, nor vapourised, as they would be if shot from a gun.
www.sandia.org
Further reading:
Hitachi reinvents asset management solution
News
Hitachi Energy, in collaboration with Microsoft, is accelerating the digital transformation of essential infrastructure - from electricity networks and transportation corridors to heavy industrial operations - by reinventing how critical assets are managed and maintained.
Read more...
Mycronic releases mixed Q4 results
News
Mycronic reported mixed Q4 results for the year ended January to December 2025, while delivering record full year order intake and net sales.
Read more...
AGOA: Businesses should diversify or face significant exposure
News
Cross-border payments platform Verto has called on South African and African businesses to accelerate their transition toward a “post-AGOA” trade strategy following President Donald Trump’s signing of a one-year extension to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Read more...
European components distribution growing
News
European electronic components distribution returned to growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to newly released figures from DMASS Europe.
Read more...
Silicon Labs reports strong growth
News
Silicon Labs has reported robust financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, with significant YoY revenue gains and shifting market dynamics.
Read more...
Siemens acquires Canopus AI
ASIC Design Services
News
The acquisition extends Siemens’ comprehensive EDA software portfolio with computational metrology and inspection to help chipmakers solve critical technical challenges in semiconductor manufacturing.
Read more...
Micron breaks ground on new wafer fabs
News
Micron Technology has advanced two major semiconductor manufacturing initiatives that together reflect the company’s strategic response to sustained global demand for memory solutions.
Read more...
Texas Instruments announces planned acquisition of Silicon Labs
News
Texas Instruments Incorporated and Silicon Laboratories recently announced a definitive agreement under which Texas Instruments will acquire Silicon Labs, combining two leaders in semiconductor technology.
Read more...
AI-fueled supercycle doubles memory market revenue
News
The ongoing surge in artificial intelligence is set to propel both the memory and wafer foundry sectors to unprecedented revenue levels by 2026, according to TrendForce.
Read more...
Research agreement for EUV tech
News
Gelest, Inc., a Mitsubishi Chemical Group company, recently announced a research agreement with IBM to test Gelest precursor materials for dry resist EUV lithography.
Read more...
printer friendly version