How much does a mass driver cost?
How much does a mass driver cost?
It is now believed that a lunar mass driver several kilometers long, designed conservatively with present technology, should be able to deliver 600,000 tons a year to L-5, or more easily to L-2, at a cost of about $1 per pound, assuming only ten years of operation.
Could a mass driver work on Earth?
On Earth, a mass-driver design could possibly use well-tested maglev components. To launch a space vehicle with humans on board, a mass driver’s track would need to be almost 1000 kilometres long if providing almost all the velocity to Low Earth Orbit, though a lesser length could provide major launch assist.
Is a mass driver feasible?
Unfortunately, the mass driver is feasible to operate only on the Moon, because it needs vacuum. A mass driver operating on Earth would cause meteoric friction heat to such hypervelocity payloads and great physical stresses, at the dense bottom of Earth’s atmosphere (ocean of air) as they left the catapult tunnel.
Can we build a mass driver?
Few actual experiments have been carried out on the possibility of building any sort of mass driver, but if we are to one day colonise the Moon building such a structure could be imperative for the transportation of useful material to Earth.
Does a mass driver have recoil?
Part of the reason the compensator is called the Mass Driver, is because it actually drives the compensator forward under firing. As the bullet exits through the compensator, it “drives” the compensator forward. Then the recoil causes the slide to move backwards.
Is a mass driver a railgun?
All mass driver proposals use coilguns rather than railguns. The sequential and timed nature of the electromagnets allows velocity and acceleration to be more finely determined. This control allows passengers and cargo to be exposed to minimal g-forces.
Are mass drivers Railguns?
Do railguns make noise?
“A lot of people think a railgun is not going to make a lot of noise,” Garnett says. “It’s electrically fired, and they expect a whoosh and no sound.” In reality, when the bullet emerges, it lets out a crack as electricity arcs through the air like lightning.
Do railguns have recoil?
Recoil forces in EM railguns appear wherever the breech of the railgun i s closed electromagnetically. This means recoil forces may appear on power supply leads, switches, or power supply components them- selves.
Are plasma weapons possible?
So, how do plasma weapons work? Strictly speaking they don’t, since no plasma weapons exist today. The closest thing we have is the plasma cutter. Plasma is generated by vaporizing some sort of feedstock matter (usually already gaseous) with properties conducive to this use.