The Navy did something yesterday right out of a science fiction movie! The Navy test-fired a real-life electromagnetic railgun! That's right, using massive amounts of electricity and magnets, a metal projectile was fired at hypersonic speeds with no gunpowder or explosives involved.
A seven pound slug reached speeds of Mach 7 (over 5000 mph) in the record breaking 10.86 megajoule shot. The slugs contain no explosives, making them so much safer to transport and use, but after being shot into space would re-enter that atmosphere and hit a target 200 miles away like a Mach 5 meteorite.
The Navy would like to see these weapons on ships in the next 20 years.
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