RE: Low Tech Scenarios

Er to be a little more accurate; as the powder burns it produces an
expanding gas. This forces the projectile out the barrel. The
action/reaction is the projectile going in one direction against the
mass of the rifle in the other. In your rail gun you may or may not need
a fully enclosed barrel. Therefore, expanding gas is not an issue?

Owen G
-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan White [mailto:jw4@bolton.ac.uk]
Subject: RE: Low Tech Scenarios
>Newton's laws state that any sort of projectile weapon would have
recoil of 
>some sort. With a standard propellant round it's a huge pulse of energy
dieing off as 
>the shell exits, which is why you get a 'kick'. With a railgun shot the
round is 
>accelerated smoothly along the barrel, so you wouldn't get the same
effect.