Railgun
From SGCommand
| Railgun | |
|---|---|
 The Daedalus fires railguns
| |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Model |
Ship-to-ship weapon/ Mounted Turret |
| Type |
Projectile/particle weapon |
| Technical specifications | |
| Discharge |
High speed/velocity projectiles |
| Control systems |
|
| Power source | |
| Range |
250 miles |
| Usage | |
| Affiliation | |
- "Fire forward railguns at the lead ship."
- —Paul Emerson
Railguns are weapons built by the Tau'ri, and are used on all Earth-built ships, and are one of the more impressive Tau'ri original inventions.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
- "That is a big gun."
- —Eli Wallace
Railguns are electromagnetic projectile devices which use electromagnetic means to accelerate solid materials. Such weapons are used as artillery weapons by vessels in the Tau'ri fleet. A standard magazine will carry ten thousand rounds, capable of delivering shots at a velocity of mach 5 at a distance of 250 miles. They have become standard on F-302s, the Prometheus, and all Daedalus-class vessels for ship-to-ship combat, and a few shots are able to take out a Wraith dart relatively quickly and deal a large amount of damage to hive-ships, though Ori shields are significantly more difficult, practically impossible, to pierce. During the Battle of Asuras, an opening salvo of railguns proved powerful enough to cause severe damage to an Asuran-built Aurora-class warship, possibly leading to its destruction although the ship likely had its shields down at the time as it wasn't expecting the attack. (SG1: "Ethon", "Camelot") (ATL: "The Siege, Part 3", "Be All My Sins Remember'd")
[edit] Behind the scenes
In reality, the technology exists to build railguns; however, it is difficult to obtain sufficient power for them to be effective and to get the barrel of the gun in question to withstand the extreme temperatures and speeds of the projectile, wearing out the barrel with only a few uses. Presumably, the fictional explanation for the ability to make operational railguns would be the invention of naquadah generators and the discovery of more durable materials, such as trinium. In Stargate, an apparent Gatling gun-style configuration may help to keep the barrel from overheating. In addition, real-life railguns sound very different from those portrayed in Stargate(not to mention that there is no sound in space) -- while the Stargate railguns make a high-pitched firing sound, a real railgun produces a deafening, low-pitched boom when firing (a result of superheated gases expanding violently as the projectile leaves the turret).
[edit] Gallery
 The Daedalus engages two Wraith hive-ships |
 The Daedalus in the Battle of the Void |
 A railgun turret on the Daedalus firing |
