SCI-FI WEAPONS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM: Following robots of “deadly force” proposed in San Francisco last week, an ambitious US startup is opening pre-orders for what it calls “the world’s first and only Gauss rifle”. For a modest sum of about 3,300 euros, buyers will experience the thrill of firing a large variety of metal bullets with a magnetic rifle.
Then we’ll talk later about how well this magnetic rifle works and how secure the system is, but in the meantime, he told the founders (two aeronautical engineers) that the military and law enforcement agencies are already very interested in the weapon.
In what sense is a gun “magnetic”?
The GR-1 Anvil Gauss rifle is manufactured by Arcflash Labs, LLC, whose co-founders, David Werth and Jason Murray, are “aeronautical engineers, former US Air Force officers and pulse power supply development experts with 20 years of experience.” Official Website.
The company claims that this weapon can “accelerate any ferromagnetic projectile to more than 200 feet per second” (60 meters per second) and can produce up to 100 joules of force – similar to some .22 caliber rifles. This makes it “the most powerful coil-gun”. Magnets made and sold to the public.”
Gauss rifles, or coil guns, use electrified coils to generate a magnetic field that accelerates magnetic projectiles to high speeds. This magnetic rifle will be the first to achieve useful performance in military or security environments.
How to make a magnetic gun
The Arcflash gun measures 38 inches long with a 26-inch barrel, weighs 20 pounds, and is powered by a 25.2-volt Lithium Polymer (LiPoly) battery. The rifle stock is 3D printed with some sections of acrylic plastic bolted on.
The advanced capacitive charging system allows the mag gun to fire up to 20 rounds per minute at full power or up to 100 rounds per minute at half power.
Because the GR-1 accelerates projectiles using magnetic fields, any iron-rich metallic projectile between 11 mm and 12.6 mm in diameter and between 30 and 52 mm in length can be fired from this portable weapon.
Why are soldiers and police interested in this weapon?
Most requests so far, says David Wirth, co-founder of Arcflash, have been to use coil technology to launch non-lethal slugs: even if those slugs need to be modified to become magnetic (hence the addition of metals. Let’s say “less ‘non-lethal’).”
“The reason they are interested in the mag gun is because with that gun you can change the power instantly, so (for example) you can reduce it if you’re close to the target and don’t seriously wound anyone.”
Goodbye gunpowder, in short. “It’s a thousand-year-old technology,” Wirth says. “It works well, but we think we have something better. There is huge potential here, the technology is still in its infancy.”