railgun
2
8.9
- noun
- /ˈreɪlˌɡʌn/
- Specialized
:
railgun
- The new railgun tested in the Navy fires projectiles faster than conventional weapons, demonstrating its effectiveness in modern combat.
- an electromagnetic railgun
Examples
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The military is developing a railgun capable of launching projectiles at incredible speeds using electromagnetic force.
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The EM Railgun provides the Navy with greater steel-on-target accuracy and firepower, as well as affording the warfighters and vessels improved protections and multi-mission capabilities.
Blog text (20) -
The railguns have a very fast rate of fire, more
Blog text (29) -
The railgun belowdecks thumped and made the deck shudder.
Fiction book (1999) -
The EM Railgun, based at NSWC-Dahlgren, is a long-range weapons system that fires projectiles using electricity instead of chemical propellants.
Blog text (20) -
Five members of the Office of Naval Research's Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun technology team received the 2011 Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award, citing the team's work to significantly advance the EM Railgun launcher technology.
Blog text (20) -
Scientists are excited about the potential of a railgun to revolutionize weapon technology with its use of kinetic energy instead of traditional explosives.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A weapon that fires bullets or shells at high speed
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word railgun is made of rail and gun, where rail means a 'metal track' like train rails and gun means a 'weapon that fires'. It uses electricity and strong magnets to send a metal object along the rails at very high speed, so the name helps you remember it is a 'gun' that shoots things along 'rails' rather than with gunpowder.