Re: Weapon Naming Madness!!

Coilgun, Railgun, Mass Driver AHHHHHH. When will the weapon naming
madness
stop!

A real science <eewww> perspective on this thing. The proposed "Coilgun"
has
a real life name, actually two of them: The Mass  Driver, and the Gauss
Gun
(Rifle, Cannon whatever) from the word Gauss for the measurement for
magnetism, named after the man who figured out how to measure magnetism.

The designation Railgun is rarely used correctly.  There is such a thing
as
a Railgun, but it is not a slugthrower, it is actually more of a
scientific
curiousity than an effective weapon.
    The Railgun consists of a large capacitor attached to two conductive
rails, mounted paralell to each other. The amunition for this weapon is
a
collection of wire clippings, just long enough to touch both rails.
    The Railgun fires by having the capacitor fully charged when a wire
is
dropped onto the rails. In an instant the wire is superheated to a
conductive plasma, and the magnetic fields generated by the rails, now
both
highly charged, propell the plasma forward from the weapon (If the wire
is
dropped too far forward the plasma will be propelled backwards). The
plasma
is contained within the magnetic fields created by the rails up untill
the
point where the rails, and thus the magnetic field, end. After that the
plasma rapidly dispurses.
    The reason Railguns aren't in common use is twofold, One charging
the
capacitor takes a long time or a major power source. Two the weapon is
intensely inefficient. a one foot weapon has the range of six inches,
and
punches very tiny holes through paper. Any effective research on the
subject
is probably classified, but I wouldn't doubt that someone is trying to
make
it effective. For our purpouses we can assume that someone will make it
effective, and then we have a valid name for a weapon system.

So with this Not-Pseudo-Scientific-Bullshit there are two weapon systems
that I can think of that are similar if not actually like real Railguns.
The
FT Pulse Torpedo and DS2's Direct Fire Fusion Gun. Both of these weapons
share the chararisticly short range, as well as the same type of
destructive
energies (plasma not slug) as an actuall Railgun.
    The Kra'Vak "Railgun" is actually a Gauss Cannon, Although the
Kra'Vak
would call it a Gau'Ss, Cannon, or whatever the name of the scientist
behind
it.

The confusion is understandable as the term Railgun was first used in
fiction in the "Pulp" Sci-Fi novels and perpetuated through the 50's and
60's Sci-Fi movies which used any PSB they could get to explain
anything.
Another point is the fact that both weapons are magnetic accelerators.
Just
the Gauss weapons are typicaly nickel/iron slugthrowers, and Railguns
are
plasma weapons.
    In this day and age most (not all) Sci-Fi shows and movies have been
trying to give plausable PSB. In order to further this worthy effort I
give
this information to you.

"Uhh.... Professor, wouldn't it work better if you plug it in?"