Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
What about inertia? Of course there would be recoil, it's just unlikely to be a big factor. Just remember that "for every action" ie the projectile moving forward, "there is a equal and opposite reaction" ie recoil.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by kato13
Due to conservation of momentum any weapon that fires a projective is going to have some recoil based on the mass of the projectile and how fast it leaves the barrel.
|
I'm really glad someone pointed this out. Of course there would be recoil! Probably not as much as with a chemical propellant weapon, but it will still be there. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. One difference between the two different types of projectile weapon that springs to mind is that the projectile in a conventional firearm is accelerated the most at the moment of propellant ignition, then acceleration drops off sharply as the bullet moves down the barrel. In a railgun the acceleration of the projectile remains roughly constant until it exits the barrel.