What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator?

[flux_29]

What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator? In terms of how they work.

 

[Christopher]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

Off the top of my head, I think the only difference is that one is used to shoot at things and the other is used more benignly. Like, what's the difference between a lumberjack's axe and a battleaxe? What it's used for.

 

[paudemge]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

I would say magnetic accelerator is a more generic term, a rail gun is a specific application, different than say gauss rifle or coilgun.

 

[FordSVT]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

"Magnetic accelerator" is to a rail gun or coilgun as "automobile" is to a Ferrari F430 or Honda Civic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coilgun

The primary difference is that a coilgun is contact-less and a rail gun accelerates a projectile along a rail.

 

[Christopher]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

I wasn't aware Ferraris and Honda Civics were intended as weapons.

 

[SPCTRE]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

Wikipedia also has a list of electromagnetic projectile devices in fiction.

My favorite is the Super MAC used by UNSC forces in the Halo universe. Basically a very, very large coilgun.

 

[ThunderAeroI]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

I wasn't aware Ferraris and Honda Civics were intended as weapons.

He ment Toyota

 

[FordSVT]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

I wasn't aware Ferraris and Honda Civics were intended as weapons.

A front wheel drive, front engined car and a rear wheel drive, mid-engined car are both automobiles. A rail gun and a coil gun are both magnetic accelerators, but they have a different physical arrangement. That's what I'm getting at. I'm very, VERY sorry if my comparative analogy was not up to SAT standards, I'll try harder next time.

When you walk into a room, does the air usually get sucked out of it, Christopher?

 

[Christopher]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

Why the hostility? Did it occur to you that I was making a joke?

 

[sojourner]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

Wikipedia also has a list of electromagnetic projectile devices in fiction.

My favorite is the Super MAC used by UNSC forces in the Halo universe. Basically a very, very large coilgun.

Mine are the "Infinite Repeaters" from the Bolo books.

 

[FordSVT]

Re: What's the difference between a Railgun and a Magnetic Accelerator

Why the hostility? Did it occur to you that I was making a joke?

Not really, and you have a history of calling people out on the most insignificant minutiae, so I just put 1 and 1 together... Sorry if I offended you.