March 25, 2015 at 03:42 pm

Electromagnetic Gauss gun on a microcontroller

• Robotics development

Hi all. In this article we will look at how to make a portable electromagnetic Gauss gun assembled using a microcontroller. Well, about the Gauss gun, of course, I got excited, but there is no doubt that it is an electromagnetic gun. This microcontroller device was designed to teach beginners how to program microcontrollers using a design example electromagnetic gun with our own hands. Let's look at some design points both in the electromagnetic Gauss gun itself and in the program for the microcontroller.

From the very beginning, you need to decide on the diameter and length of the barrel of the gun itself and the material from which it will be made. I used a plastic case with a diameter of 10 mm from under mercury thermometer, because I had it lying around idle. You can use any available material that has non-ferromagnetic properties. These are glass, plastic, copper tube, etc. The length of the barrel may depend on the number of electromagnetic coils used. In my case, four electromagnetic coils are used, the barrel length was twenty centimeters.

As for the diameter of the tube used, during operation the electromagnetic gun showed that it is necessary to take into account the diameter of the barrel relative to the projectile used. Simply put, the diameter of the barrel should not be much larger than the diameter of the projectile used. Ideally, the barrel of the electromagnetic gun should fit the projectile itself.

The material for creating the projectiles was an axle from a printer with a diameter of five millimeters. Five blanks 2.5 centimeters long were made from this material. Although you can also use steel blanks, say, wire or electrode - whatever you can find.

You need to pay attention to the weight of the projectile itself. Weight should be as low as possible. My shells turned out to be a little heavy.

Before creating this gun, experiments were carried out. An empty paste from a pen was used as a barrel, and a needle as a projectile. The needle easily pierced the cover of a magazine installed near the electromagnetic gun.

Since the original Gauss electromagnetic gun is built on the principle of charging a capacitor with a high voltage, about three hundred volts, for safety reasons, novice radio amateurs should power it low voltage, about twenty volts. Low voltage means that the projectile's flight range is not very long. But again, it all depends on the number of electromagnetic coils used. The more electromagnetic coils are used, the greater the acceleration of the projectile in the electromagnetic gun. The diameter of the barrel also matters (the smaller the diameter of the barrel, the further the projectile flies) and the quality of winding of the electromagnetic coils themselves. Perhaps, electromagnetic coils are the most basic thing in the design of an electromagnetic gun; serious attention must be paid to this in order to achieve maximum projectile flight.

I will give the parameters of my electromagnetic coils; yours may be different. The coil is wound with wire with a diameter of 0.2 mm. The winding length of the electromagnetic coil layer is two centimeters and contains six such rows. Every new layer I did not insulate, but started winding a new layer on the previous one. Due to the fact that the electromagnetic coils are powered by low voltage, you need to get the maximum quality factor of the coil. Therefore, we wind all the turns tightly to each other, turn to turn.

As for the feeding device, no special explanation is needed. Everything was soldered from waste foil PCB left over from the production of printed circuit boards. Everything is shown in detail in the pictures. The heart of the feeder is the SG90 servo drive, controlled by a microcontroller.

The feed rod is made of a steel rod with a diameter of 1.5 mm; an M3 nut is sealed at the end of the rod for coupling with the servo drive. To increase the arm, a copper wire with a diameter of 1.5 mm bent at both ends is installed on the servo drive rocker.

This simple device, assembled from scrap materials, is quite enough to fire a projectile into the barrel of an electromagnetic gun. The feed rod must extend completely out of the loading magazine. A cracked brass stand with an internal diameter of 3 mm and a length of 7 mm served as a guide for the feed rod. It was a pity to throw it away, so it came in handy, just like the pieces of foil PCB.

The program for the atmega16 microcontroller was created in AtmelStudio, and is a completely open project for you. Let's look at some settings in the microcontroller program that will have to be made. For maximum efficient work electromagnetic gun, you will need to configure the operating time of each electromagnetic coil in the program. The settings are made in order. First, solder the first coil into the circuit, do not connect all the others. Set the operating time in the program (in milliseconds).

PORTA |=(1<<1); // катушка 1
_delay_ms(350); / / working hours

Flash the microcontroller and run the program on the microcontroller. The force of the coil should be enough to retract the projectile and give initial acceleration. Having achieved the maximum projectile reach, adjusting the coil operating time in the microcontroller program, connect the second coil and also adjust the time, achieving an even greater projectile flight range. Accordingly, the first coil remains switched on.

PORTA |=(1<<1); // катушка 1
_delay_ms(350);
PORTA &=~(1<<1);
PORTA |=(1<<2); // катушка 2
_delay_ms(150);

In this way, you configure the operation of each electromagnetic coil, connecting them in order. As the number of electromagnetic coils in the device of an electromagnetic Gauss gun increases, the speed and, accordingly, the range of the projectile should also increase.

This painstaking procedure of setting each coil can be avoided. But to do this, you will have to modernize the device of the electromagnetic gun itself, installing sensors between the electromagnetic coils to track the movement of the projectile from one coil to another. Sensors in combination with a microcontroller will not only simplify the setup process, but will also increase the projectile’s flight range. I did not add these bells and whistles and did not complicate the microcontroller program. The goal was to implement an interesting and simple project using a microcontroller. How interesting it is, of course, is up to you to judge. To be honest, I was happy like a child, “grinding” from this device, and the idea of ​​a more serious device on a microcontroller matured. But this is a topic for another article.

Program and scheme -

Gauss cannon (Gauss rifle)

Other names: Gauss gun, Gauss gun, Gauss rifle, Gauss gun, accelerating rifle.

The Gauss rifle (or its larger variant, the Gauss gun), like the railgun, is an electromagnetic weapon. At the moment, there are no military industrial samples, although a number of laboratories (mostly amateur and university) continue to persistently work on the creation of these weapons. The system is named after the German scientist Carl Gauss (1777-1855). I personally cannot understand why the mathematician was so frightened (I still can’t, or rather, I don’t have the relevant information). Gauss had much less to do with the theory of electromagnetism than, for example, Oersted, Ampere, Faraday or Maxwell, but, nevertheless, the gun was named in his honor. The name stuck, and therefore we will use it too.

Operating principle:
A Gauss rifle consists of coils (powerful electromagnets) mounted on a barrel made of dielectric. When current is applied, the electromagnets are turned on one after another for a short moment in the direction from the receiver to the barrel. They take turns attracting a steel bullet (a needle, a dart or a projectile, if we talk about a cannon) and thereby accelerate it to significant speeds.

Advantages of the weapon:
1. Lack of cartridge. This allows you to significantly increase the magazine capacity. For example, a magazine that holds 30 rounds can load 100-150 bullets.
2. High rate of fire. Theoretically, the system allows you to begin accelerating the next bullet even before the previous one has left the barrel.
3. Silent shooting. The design of the weapon itself allows you to get rid of most of the acoustic components of the shot (see reviews), so shooting from a gauss rifle looks like a series of barely audible pops.
4. No unmasking flash. This property is especially useful at night.
5. Low recoil. For this reason, when firing, the barrel of the weapon practically does not lift up, and therefore the accuracy of the fire increases.
6. Reliability. The Gauss rifle does not use cartridges, and therefore the question of low-quality ammunition immediately disappears. If, in addition to this, we remember the absence of a firing mechanism, then the very concept of “misfire” can be forgotten like a bad dream.
7. Increased wear resistance. This property is due to the small number of moving parts, low loads on components and parts during shooting, and the absence of gunpowder combustion products.
8. Possibility of use both in outer space and in atmospheres that suppress the combustion of gunpowder.
9. Adjustable bullet speed. This function allows, if necessary, to reduce the speed of the bullet below sound. As a result, the characteristic pops disappear, and the Gauss rifle becomes completely silent, and therefore suitable for secret special operations.

Weapon disadvantages:
Among the disadvantages of Gauss rifles, the following are often cited: low efficiency, high energy consumption, large weight and dimensions, long recharging time for capacitors, etc. I want to say that all these problems are due only to the level of modern technology development. In the future, with the creation of compact and powerful power sources, using new structural materials and superconductors, the Gauss gun can truly become a powerful and effective weapon.

In literature, of course, fantastic literature, William Keith armed the legionnaires with a gauss rifle in his “Fifth Foreign Legion” series. (One of my favorite books!) It was also in service with the militarists from the planet Klisand, to which Jim di Gris landed in Harrison’s novel “Revenge of the Stainless Steel Rat.” They say that Gausovka is also found in books from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, but I have only read five of them. I didn’t find anything like that there, and I won’t speak for others.

As for my personal work, in my new novel “Marauders” I gave a Tula-made Metel-16 gauss carbine to my main character Sergei Korn. True, he owned it only at the beginning of the book. After all, he is the main character, which means he is entitled to a more impressive gun.

Oleg Shovkunenko

Reviews and comments:

Alexander 12/29/13
According to point 3, a shot with supersonic bullet speed will be loud in any case. For this reason, special subsonic cartridges are used for silent weapons.
According to point 5, recoil will be inherent in any weapon that shoots “material objects” and depends on the ratio of the masses of the bullet and the weapon, and the impulse of the force accelerating the bullet.
According to paragraph 8, no atmosphere can affect the combustion of gunpowder in a sealed cartridge. In outer space, firearms will also fire.
The problem can only be in the mechanical stability of weapon parts and lubricant properties at ultra-low temperatures. But this issue can be resolved, and back in 1972, test firing was carried out in outer space from an orbital cannon from the military orbital station OPS-2 (Salyut-3).

Oleg Shovkunenko
Alexander, it’s good that you wrote it. To be honest, I made a description of the weapon based on my own understanding of the topic. But maybe I was wrong about something. Let's figure it out together point by point.

Point No. 3. "Silent shooting."
As far as I know, the sound of a shot from any firearm consists of several components:
1) The sound, or better yet, the sounds of the weapon mechanism operating. This includes the impact of the firing pin on the capsule, the clanging of the bolt, etc.
2) The sound created by the air filling the barrel before the shot. It is displaced by both the bullet and the powder gases seeping through the rifle channels.
3) The sound that the powder gases themselves create during sudden expansion and cooling.
4) Sound created by an acoustic shock wave.
The first three points do not apply to Gaussian at all. I foresee a question about air in the barrel, but in a Gauss-vintage barrel it is not at all necessary to be solid and tubular, which means the problem disappears by itself. So that leaves point number 4, which is exactly what you, Alexander, are talking about. I want to say that the acoustic shock wave is far from the loudest part of the shot. Silencers of modern weapons practically do not fight it at all. And yet, a firearm with a silencer is still called silent. Consequently, the Gaussian can also be called noiseless. By the way, thank you so much for reminding me. I forgot to mention among the advantages of the Gauss gun the ability to adjust the speed of the bullet. After all, it is possible to set a subsonic mode (which will make the weapon completely silent and intended for covert actions in close combat) and supersonic (this is for real war).

Point No. 5. “Almost no return.”
Of course, the gas gun also has recoil. Where would we be without her?! The law of conservation of momentum has not yet been canceled. Only the operating principle of a gauss rifle will make it not explosive, as in a firearm, but rather stretched out and smooth, and therefore much less noticeable to the shooter. Although, to be honest, these are just my suspicions. I've never fired a gun like this before :))

Point No. 8. “Possibility of use as in outer space...”.
Well, I didn’t say anything at all about the impossibility of using firearms in outer space. Only it will need to be remade in such a way, so many technical problems will need to be solved that it will be easier to create a gauss gun :)) As for planets with specific atmospheres, the use of firearms on them can indeed be not only difficult, but also unsafe. But this is already from the fantasy section, in fact, which is what your humble servant is doing.

Vyacheslav 04/05/14
Thanks for the interesting story about weapons. Everything is very accessible and laid out on the shelves. I would also like a diagram for greater clarity.

Oleg Shovkunenko
Vyacheslav, I inserted the schematic, as you asked).

interested 02.22.15
“Why a Gaus rifle?” - Wikipedia says that because he laid the foundations of the theory of electromagnetism.

Oleg Shovkunenko
Firstly, based on this logic, the air bomb should have been called the “Newton Bomb”, because it falls to the ground, obeying the Law of Universal Gravitation. Secondly, in the same Wikipedia, Gauss is not mentioned at all in the article “Electromagnetic interaction”. It’s good that we are all educated people and remember that Gauss derived the theorem of the same name. True, this theorem is included in Maxwell’s more general equations, so Gauss seems to be back on track here with “laying the foundations of the theory of electromagnetism.”

Evgeniy 05.11.15
Gaus rifle is a made up name for the weapon. It first appeared in the legendary post-apocalyptic game Fallout 2.

Roman 11/26/16
1) about what Gauss has to do with the name) read on Wikipedia, but not electromagnetism, but Gauss’ theorem; this theorem is the basis of electromagnetism and is the basis for Maxwell’s equations.
2) the roar of a shot is mainly due to sharply expanding powder gases. because the bullet is supersonic and 500m from the barrel cut, but there is no roar from it! only a whistle from the air being cut by the shock wave from a bullet and that’s all!)
3) about the fact that they say there are samples of small arms and they are silent because they say the bullet is subsonic - this is nonsense! When any arguments are presented, you need to understand the essence of the issue! the shot is silent not because the bullet is subsonic, but because the powder gases do not escape from the barrel! read about the PSS pistol in Wik.

Oleg Shovkunenko
Roman, are you by any chance a relative of Gauss? You are too zealously defending his right to this name. Personally, I don’t give a damn, if people like it, let it be a gauss gun. As for everything else, read the reviews to the article, the issue of noiselessness has already been discussed in detail there. I can’t add anything new to this.

Dasha 03/12/17
I write science fiction. Opinion: ACCELERATION is the weapon of the future. I would not attribute to a foreigner the right to have primacy in this weapon. Russian ACCELERATION WILL SURELY ADVANCE the rotten West. It's better not to give a rotten foreigner the RIGHT TO CALL A WEAPON BY HIS SHITTY NAME! The Russians have plenty of their own smart guys! (undeservedly forgotten). By the way, the Gatling machine gun (gun) appeared LATER than the Russian SOROKA (rotating barrel system). Gatling simply patented an idea stolen from Russia. (We will henceforth call him Goat Gatl for this!). Therefore, Gauss also has nothing to do with accelerating weapons!

Oleg Shovkunenko
Dasha, patriotism is of course good, but only healthy and reasonable. But with the Gauss gun, as they say, the train has left. The term has already caught on, like many others. We will not change the concepts: Internet, carburetor, football, etc. However, it is not so important whose name this or that invention is named, the main thing is who can bring it to perfection or, as in the case of the Gauss rifle, at least to a combat state. Unfortunately, I have not yet heard about the serious development of combat gauss systems, both in Russia and abroad.

Bozhkov Alexander 26.09.17
All clear. But is it possible to add articles about other types of weapons?: About the thermite gun, electrothrower, BFG-9000, Gauss crossbow, ectoplasmic machine gun.

In all famous computer games, the final, most powerful weapon in the game is the famous Gauss gun. It is depicted as a kind of mixture of electronics, electrical and mechanics. It has many coils and shoots small steel balls, bullets or rods. This is how she looks in Fallout or Syndicate, if anyone remembers. What does it look like in real life and does the phrase Gauss gun have even the slightest reason to claim it?

The Gauss Rifle is the intended weapon. It is capable of firing ferromagnetic projectiles (read iron). Instead of powder gas pressure, a magnetic field is used to accelerate the bullet. The principle of operation is quite primitive: there are several electromagnetic coils along the barrel bore. Mechanically, the first bullet enters the barrel from the magazine. The first coil turns on and pulls the projectile. When the bullet reaches the middle of the coil, it turns off and the next one turns on. A cascade of several such coils is capable of accelerating a bullet, theoretically, to arbitrary speeds.

A simple lowdown on fantastic technology.

The scheme is attractive to designers due to several features. First— there is practically no heating, therefore the rate of fire of such weapons can be extremely high. There are no high pressures or temperatures. Second— there are no cartridges, which means the breech of the weapon is significantly simplified. Third— bullet acceleration does not depend on diameter, which makes it possible to shoot narrow, thin bullets with significant penetration ability. Electric current is sufficient to operate this weapon. The circuit itself is simple and contains almost no moving parts.

What are the disadvantages of the Gauss gun? Yes, in essence, not much, just one: it doesn’t work. It has not yet been possible to create a sufficiently compact and sufficiently light model that would fire acceptable projectiles at an acceptable speed. Minor features make it practically unacceptable for use in weapons making and most likely it will remain a toy.

That doesn’t stop us from creating prototypes that closely resemble real weapons. Small engineering office Delta V Engineering created a prototype of a fully automatic Gauss rifle, with a fifteen-round magazine. It looks very impressive and even works, regularly crushing cans and bottles at a speed of 7.7 shots per second. The weight of the Gauss rifle, proudly named CG-42 without ammunition, is 4.17 kg. The bullet has a caliber of 6.5x50mm. Here is its demonstration:

Unfortunately, there are no options to overcome the main drawback - the low muzzle velocity of the bullet. This impressive and fantastic rifle has only 43 meters per second. This is quite enough for a war with banks and old computers, but even for a battle with an army of cats it is not enough. For comparison, the initial speed of a bullet fired from a “three-ruler” is twenty+ times greater.

Gauss-Gan is a fairly common device among radio amateurs. The device of the Gauss gun is quite simple. The gun consists of several parts:
1) Power supply
2) Voltage converter
3) Electromagnetic coil

These are the main parts of the device, which is commonly known as the Gaussian electromagnetic mass accelerator. The main parts of the device are not critical, it all depends on the imagination of the authors. The basics of the work are also quite simple. The voltage converter increases the initial voltage of the power source to a level of 300-450 volts, then this voltage is rectified and accumulated in electrolytic capacitors. The power of the gun itself depends on the capacitor capacity. At the moment of start-up, the entire potential of the capacitor (often a block of several capacitors is used) is applied to the coil, after which it turns into a powerful electromagnet and pushes out the iron mass. The principle of operation of a Gauss gun is somewhat similar to the principle of operation of a relay, only here power is supplied to the coil for a short time.

Today we will look at the design of a fairly simple mass accelerator with sufficient power. The device is intended only to demonstrate the principle of operation, please observe all safety precautions, since this type of device is quite dangerous for several reasons.

Firstly, high voltage is generated on the capacitors, and since the capacitance of the capacitors is large, there is a danger to life.
Secondly, the impact force of the mass is quite large, so do not point it at people and maintain some distance from the gun.

A single-cycle circuit based on the popular 555 series timer was chosen as a voltage converter. The timer operates in the mode of a rectangular pulse generator. As you know, the microcircuit does not contain an additional amplifier, so it would be good to use an additional driver at the output of the microcircuit, but as practice has shown, a driver is not needed here, since the output voltage is more than enough to operate the transistor, and the current at the output of the microcircuit is about 200 mA . Thus, even without an additional driver, the chip is not overloaded, everything works fine. Field-effect transistor - the choice is not critical, you can use any transistors with a current of 40 A or more, in my case I used IRFZ44 as a cheap and fairly reliable option. This circuit does not require a reverse current suppression filter - another plus of the circuit.

The power of the circuit directly depends on the power source; from the power supply battery, the circuit develops about 45-60 watts, while consumption is 7.5-8 A.
With such power supply, the transistor gets very hot, but you should not use huge heat sinks, since the device is intended for short-term operation, and overheating will not be very bad.
In my case, the converter is assembled on a compact breadboard, the installation is double-sided. The resistor power can be 0.125 watts.

Transformer

Winding the pulse transformer is the most important part, but there is nothing complicated here, since we are not winding a high-voltage transformer and there is no danger of breakdown in the secondary winding, therefore, the requirements for winding quality are not very severe.
The core was used from electronic ballasts (60 watt LDS ballast). The primary winding was first wound on the frame, which consists of 7 turns of 1 mm wire (it is advisable to wind two strands of 0.5 mm wire at once).

After winding the primary winding, it must be insulated. I almost always use clear tape as insulation.
The secondary winding is wound on top of the primary and consists of 120 turns of wire with a diameter of 0.2-0.3 mm. Every 40-50 turns, it is advisable to install insulation with the same tape.

Such a converter charges a 1000 uF capacitance in just one second!

Once we have a ready-made 12-400 Volt voltage converter, we can move on. As a rectifier, you can use a bridge of pulsed diodes with a current of at least 1 Ampere. FR207 or FR107 diodes are perfect for our purposes.
The capacitors were soldered from old computer power supplies (such capacitors are quite expensive, so it’s easier to find old power supplies). A total of 6 200Volt/470uF capacitors were used.

The solenoid is wound on a tube from a ballpoint pen. For winding, a wire with a diameter of 1 mm was used, the number of turns was 45.
Winding is done in layers (it is not advisable to wind in bulk).

Any iron object that will fit freely into the tube will be suitable as a projectile. Tube (frame) length 15 cm (tubes with a length of 10-25 cm can be used)

The gun is almost ready, all that remains is to assemble the trigger mechanism circuit. This time a thyristor of the KU 202M(N) series was used. The circuit is started by a separate AA battery, which supplies power to the control terminal of the thyristor, as a result of which the latter is activated and the capacitor capacitance is supplied to the solenoid.

List of radioelements

Designation	Type	Denomination	Quantity	Note	Shop	My notepad
555	Programmable timer and oscillator	NE555	1			To notepad
T1	MOSFET transistor	IRFZ44	1			To notepad
VD1	Rectifier diode	1N4148	1			To notepad
	Rectifier diode	FR207	4	FR107		To notepad
VS1	Thyristor & Triac	KU202M	1			To notepad
C1	Capacitor	10 nF	1			To notepad
C2	Capacitor	3.9 nF	1			To notepad
C3-C8	Electrolytic capacitor	470uF 200V	6			To notepad
R1, R2	Resistor

Operating principle

The parameters of the accelerating coils, projectile and capacitors must be coordinated in such a way that when a shot is fired, by the time the projectile approaches the solenoid, the magnetic field induction in the solenoid is maximum, but with further approach of the projectile it drops sharply. It is worth noting that different algorithms for the operation of accelerating coils are possible.

Projectile kinetic energy

Projectile mass
- its speed

Energy stored in a capacitor

Capacitor voltage

- capacitor capacity

Capacitor discharge time

This is the time during which the capacitor is completely discharged. It is equal to a quarter of the period:

- inductance
- capacity

Inductor operating time

This is the time during which the EMF of the inductor increases to the maximum value (full discharge of the capacitor) and completely drops to 0. It is equal to the upper half-cycle of the sine wave.

- inductance
- capacity

Application

It is theoretically possible to use Gauss guns to launch light satellites into orbit. The main application is amateur installations, demonstration of the properties of ferromagnets. It is also quite actively used as a children’s toy or as a homemade installation that develops technical creativity (simplicity and relative safety).

Advantages and disadvantages

The Gauss cannon as a weapon has advantages that other types of small arms do not have. This is the absence of cartridges and unlimited choice of initial speed and energy of ammunition, the possibility of a silent shot (if the speed of a sufficiently streamlined projectile does not exceed the speed of sound), including without changing the barrel and ammunition, relatively low recoil (equal to the impulse of the ejected projectile, there is no additional impulse from the powder gases or moving parts), theoretically, greater reliability and theoretically wear resistance, as well as the ability to work in any conditions, including in outer space.

However, despite the apparent simplicity of the Gauss cannon, using it as a weapon is fraught with serious difficulties.

The first and main difficulty is the low efficiency of the installation. Only 1-7% of the capacitor charge is converted into the kinetic energy of the projectile. This disadvantage can be partially compensated for by using a multi-stage projectile acceleration system, but in any case, the efficiency rarely reaches 27%. Basically, in amateur installations, the energy stored in the form of a magnetic field is not used in any way, but is the reason for using powerful switches (often using available IGBT modules) to open the coil (Lenz's rule).

The second difficulty is high energy consumption (due to low efficiency).

The third difficulty (follows from the first two) is the large weight and dimensions of the installation with its low efficiency.

The fourth difficulty is the rather long cumulative recharging time of the capacitors, which makes it necessary to carry a power source (usually a powerful battery) along with the Gauss gun, as well as their high cost. It is theoretically possible to increase efficiency by using superconducting solenoids, but this will require a powerful cooling system, which brings additional problems and seriously affects the field of application of the installation.

The fifth difficulty is that with an increase in the speed of the projectile, the time of action of the magnetic field during the passage of the solenoid by the projectile is significantly reduced, which leads to the need not only to turn on each subsequent coil of the multi-stage system in advance, but also to increase the power of its field in proportion to the reduction of this time. Usually this drawback is immediately overlooked, since most homemade systems have either a small number of coils or insufficient bullet speed.

In an aquatic environment, the use of a gun without a protective casing is also seriously limited - remote current induction is sufficient for the salt solution to dissociate on the casing with the formation of aggressive (solvent) media, which requires additional magnetic shielding.

Thus, today the Gauss gun has no prospects as a weapon, since it is significantly inferior to other types of small arms, and it is unlikely that prospects will appear in the future, since it cannot compete with installations operating on other principles. Theoretically, prospects are only possible in the future if compact and powerful sources of electric current and high-temperature superconductors (200-300K) are created. However, an installation similar to a Gauss gun can be used in outer space, since in conditions of vacuum and weightlessness many of the disadvantages of such installations are leveled out. In particular, the military programs of the USSR and the USA considered the possibility of using installations similar to a Gauss gun on orbiting satellites to destroy other spacecraft (with projectiles with a large number of small damaging parts) or objects on the earth's surface.

In literature

Quite often in science fiction literature the Gauss gun is mentioned. It acts there as a high-precision lethal weapon. An example of such a literary work is the books from the “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” series, written based on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series. , where the Gauss gun was one of the most powerful weapons. But the first in science fiction to bring the Gauss cannon into reality was Harry Garrison in his book “Revenge of the Steel Rat” (not true, long before Garrison, A. Kazantsev, “The Burning Island”, there may have been even earlier mentions). Quote from the book: “Everyone had a Gaussian with them - a multi-purpose and especially deadly weapon. Its powerful batteries stored an impressive amount of charge. When the trigger was pulled, a strong magnetic field was generated in the barrel, accelerating the projectile to a speed comparable to that of any other weapon with rocket-propelled cartridges. But the Gaussian had the advantage that it had a higher rate of fire, was absolutely silent and fired any projectiles, from poisoned needles to explosive bullets.”

In computer games

• Crimsonland features a Gauss cannon that silently pierces enemies, causing heavy damage.
• In Warzone 2100, when developed to 70%, access to the Gauss cannon is granted.
• In BattleTech, in the MechWarrior and MechCommander series.
• In the strategies Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath, there is an improvement to the “Gauss Cannon”, which increases damage for the Predator and Mammoth tanks, Titan robots and Sentinel defensive weapons. Also, the GDI Special Forces in the game are armed with Rapid-Fire Gauss Rifles.
• In the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The gauss cannon has enormous power and is slow to reload. It runs on batteries that use the energy of the Flash artifact. In the game “S.T.A.L.K.E.R Call of Pripyat”, under the “Iron Forest” anomaly there is a room where it was tested, where there is also a huge Gauss cannon.
• In StarCraft, infantrymen are armed with the C-14 Impaler Gauss rifle. The Ghosts also have C-10 rifles, which are called "Buckshot Rifles".
• In Crysis, the Gauss Rifle is a sniper weapon that deals maximum damage.
• In Crysis 2, the Gauss cannon is a modification for the assault rifle, along with an under-barrel grenade launcher. Has high damage and slow reload.
• In Fallout 2, the Gauss rifle is the most powerful weapon with a long firing range, almost as good as sniper rifles.
• In Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, the Gauss Rifle is an energy sniper rifle equipped with an optical sight and is highly effective at medium and long distances. Deals very high damage.
• In "Fallout Tactics" there is a gauss pistol, a gauss rifle and a four-barreled gauss machine gun.
• In the game X-COM: Terror From The Deep, the Gauss gun is one of the first designs for destroying aliens underwater.
• In the games X³: Reunion / X³: Terran Conflict, the Gauss Cannon is a powerful weapon for destroyers, with good range but low projectile speed. It consumes virtually no energy, but requires special ammunition.
• B Ogame Gauss cannon is a powerful defensive structure.
• In Red Faction: Guerrilla, the Gauss Rifle is a high power weapon, but has average destructive power compared to other destructive weapons.
• In the MMOTPS game S4 ​​League, the Gauss cannon is a machine gun whose accuracy gradually decreases when continuously fired.
• In the Warhammer 40,000 series of games, Gauss cannons are actively used by the Necrons. In this case, a Gauss gun refers to an energy weapon that shoots green lightning and destroys intermolecular bonds, in some cases it is claimed that the victim is subjected to annihilation.