A Gauss Pistol is a specific kind of "Coil Gun".
The term "Gauss" is a unit of magnetic field strength (the magnetic field of the earth is
around 1 Gauss), named for the great German mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss. "Pistol" refers to a gun that can be held
and fired with one hand.
Gauss pistols, gauss rifles and gauss cannons feature
prominently in many sci-fi books, video games and role playing games as stock "weapons of the
future".
Then what is a "Coil Gun" ?
From HVWiki: "Coil Gun: A device that accelerates a ferromagnetic
projectile using a coil of wire and a pulsed power source, usually capacitors. A large current
is put through the coil, making it magnetic and attracting the ferromagnetic projectile. When
the projectile passes through the coil, the current switches off and the coil loses its
magnetism, allowing the projectile to keep going".
Many Coil Guns take advantage of a
multistage design, which involves winding a series of individual coils along the barrel, each of
which is fired in sequence adding some (diminishing amount of) velocity to the projectile.
My pistol design has three coil stages.
Isn't that the same as a "rail
gun"?
No. A rail gun operates on a different
principle than a coil gun, check out this great explainer for more details on rail
guns.
Why would anyone want to build one?
This project brings a wide variety of engineering
disciplines together: assembly programming, DCDC converter design, thermal management, mechanical
design, battery charging, high current switching, and electromagnetic fields. The gauss pistol
project has been a great challenge and extremely rewarding!
I could use one of these for home security,
right!?
This product is for educational purposes only. It is NOT a weapon! You would be better off
buying a nice slingshot for home defense.
How is a Gauss Pistol better than a regular
gunpowder type pistol?
It isn't. Firearms are in no danger of being
supplanted by coil guns anytime soon. Coil guns weigh more, cost more, are far more complex
and far less reliable than ordinary firearms. The limitations of modern batteries are one
major obstacle.
So what good are they? There is an inherent speed limit on the muzzle velocity in an
expanding gas powered gun (such as a firearm, cannon). This is due to the high temperatures and pressures created in the explosion, which effectively places a speed limit of around 2km/s for this type of system (earth's escape velocity is >11 km/s, for reference).
It is theoretically possible to achieve much higher velocities than that with a coil gun, (maybe
one day approaching a significant fraction of the speed of light!) since there is no explosion involved. NASA is working on putting payloads into space using big coil guns.
What education do you need to be able to design
something like this?
I have a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BS in
Computer Engineering. Nothing has pleased me more than all the responses from younger
visitors who say this project has sparked an interest in electronics!
Would it improve your gun if you used
supercunducting [sic] transporters and 1000V fuel cells to get more voltage through the ciols
[sic]?
Huh?
Why aren't you using Lithium-ion
batteries?
Now that's a good question. Lithium-ions have
much better energy density than either NiCd (at least double) or NiMH (a bit less than double).
The unfortunate downside is the Peak Load Current is about one-tenth what a NiCd can safely
supply. This is insufficient for the capacitor bank charging rate I
wanted.
Lithium-polymer batteries are available that have high energy density AND high peak load current, but that would put me way over my battery budget for this project.
Is your Gauss Pistol dangerous?
Yes, in fact the GP-219 is potentially dangerous in many ways:
Fully charged,
the capacitor terminals have 450V across them.
If you poke your finger around in there
you could really get a nasty shock.
The pistol weighs
almost 3 1/2 lbs, so it
would be dangerous if hurled it at
someone's head or
face.
The sight is a
Class IIIA laser module, which causes retinal damage
if stared into for too long.
When
disassembled, many of the
plastic parts could pose a choking hazard to children under 4.
The kinetic
energy of the projectile as it leaves the barrel is a little more than a CO2
pellet pistol.
Though the energy is similar, the Gauss Pistol projectile
weighs around 12.5 times more than a lead
pellet and travels
about 30% as fast. It could
definitely cause bodily injury.
Never point any weapon, whether turned off or unloaded, at anyone.
Only you are responsible for your
actions.
Are you dangerous?
Only when cornered. Or spooked.
Don't you think you have ANY ethical
responsibility for selling deadly weapons intended to kill people?
I have a personal interest in getting as many people
as possible interested in learning about electronics and physics, and hopefully influence a few
into making it a rewarding hobby or career.
There are many high-voltage kits
available, tesla coils, "jacobs ladder" etc, which could be used in a violent
manner against innocent people or pets. Since they do not happen to be gun- shaped, no one seems to get worked up about these
items.
Can I buy one?
First I have to make sure I'm covered
liability-wise. If you think you might be interested then feel free to contact me and let me know.
How much will they cost?
The full assembly book w/ CD-ROM disc will be $20 -
$25 USD, full kit of all parts with the book will be < $400 depending on my final costs.
