US Scientists Take Aim with Fastest Gun in West Source: Electronic Telegraph A GUN that fires coin-size pellets 10 times faster than
a bullet has been developed in America.
The Z accelerator could fire a pellet from London to Edinburgh in 26
seconds, or from London to New York in four and a half minutes. It is
outpaced only by a nuclear explosion.
It has been nicknamed the "fastest gun in the West".
Marcus Knudson, who led the project to develop the Z accelerator at
Sandia, an American nuclear laboratory, said that description was an
understatement. "It's the fastest gun in the world."
The aluminium plates it fires move so fast that the air
resistance turns them to liquid, heating them to 2,700C, and forcing
Dr Knudson to look at other materials, such as titanium and copper.
It has been used only to examine the effect of
high-velocity projectile impacts over a distance of a few feet, but
the technology is being considered as an alternative to launching
spacecraft. A more mobile version could be a "hyper velocity" weapon,
piercing thicker armour than any used in battle, Dr Knudson added.
The accelerator's vacuum chamber is the most powerful
producer of electrical discharge on Earth. It uses 20,000 amps to
develop a magnetic field that accelerates pellets up to 45,000 mph in
200 billionths of a second, three times faster than the speed needed
to escape Earth's gravitational pull.
Dr Knudson is using data from the accelerator to
simulate the effect of space junk colliding with a satellite or space
station travelling in the opposite direction. This will help
scientists to balance lightness with strength in satellite and
observatory shells. It is also being used to find out how materials
react to high pressures and temperatures.
by Robert Uhlig
Technology Correspondent
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=fsqw3M3s&atmo=99
999999&pg=/et/01/2/27/wgun27.html