‘Doom’‘Fallout‘,’Halo‘ either ‘Crysis‘They are some of the video games they have played with the idea of the so -called Gauss riflesweapons that make use of magnetic fields to make the impossible possible: launch metal projectiles at a speed that escapes reason without a flash or backward, even absent from any sound. In universes like ‘Ghost in the Shell‘or movies like’Minority Report‘We have seen similar ideas, but sow within science fiction.
Therefore, what China has announced is extraordinary.
The weapon of the future. In an advance that could radically transform the concept of modern armament, scientists from the Popular Liberation Army of China have presented the development of the first Coilgun of the world Without condenseran electromagnetic cannon capable of reaching a fire cadence of 3,000 shots per minute.
This figure, unattainable for traditional firearms and well above US commercial models such as The GR-1 “Anvil” (limited to 100 shots per minute), it has been possible thanks to a radical redesign of the feeding system: instead of using the traditional capacitors to store and release energy, the new weapon is directly fed by Lithium batteries matrices high performance. The approach eliminates recharge times between shots, considered so far the Achilles heel of electromagnetic weapons, and opens a path to achieve continuous fire at speeds so far exclusive to science fiction.
MILIMETRIC PRECISION. The experimental prototype (revealed in a study reviewed by pairs published in the Journal of Gun Launch & Control) has a compact design Bullpup typeinspired by the Belgian subfusil P90and use 20 25 mm copper coils each. Its operation is based on sensors that activate accurately semiconductor nanoseconds of power (IGBT), feeding each fair 2 millimeters before the projectile enters it and Cutting The energy 35 millimeters after its exit.
This sequential activation allows maximizing acceleration without generating inverse resistance, thus increasing the energy efficiency of the system. The weapon can shoot metal projectiles to 86 m/s speedswhich makes it appropriate for riot control, although its design is scalable for lethal applications. In addition, it includes algorithms of temporary position mappingsimulations of finite elements to optimize the shot and thermal dissipation systems that prevent the overheating of the batteries, even with current peaks of 750 amps.
Invisible tactical advantages. The researchers highlight a series of key advantages over the first prototypes of years ago (video on top) that could make technology a reference in future military operations: There is no flash In the mouth of the cannon, the shot is silent and the level of lethality can be adjusted according to the situation. These characteristics make the Chinese coilgun an ideal candidate for, for example, covert missionssuppression operations and urban environments.
Plus: the fire rate (five times higher than that of a AK-47 rifle) allows to create a kind of Continuous projectile wall which can saturate any attempt at enemy response in situations of disturbances or short -distance fighting. Of course, the study authors themselves recognize that there are still important limitations: precision is still low compared to traditional ballistic weapons and the battery recharge time Round an hourwhich conditions its continuous use in prolonged operations.
New era? It is the question that floats with an announcement that will now have to show in public. On paper, China has achieved with this coilgun not only a technical milestone, but also a possible redefinition of portable weapons New generation. The conjunction between power electronics, millimeter control algorithms and advances in lithium batteries and semiconductor chips allows us to think about the near future where electromagnetic weapons are not science fiction, but more common in military arsenals.
Researchers have stressed that the current prototype has a Non -lethal orientationbut its technical foundations already allow much more powerful, versatile and difficult to track variants. In a global context where technological supremacy is increasingly a decisive factor in geopolitical conflicts, Chinese development marks a new turning point that could alter the balance of power in advanced personal weapons.
Image | CCTV
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