Arc Cannon

"The newly discovered ability to induce movement of conductive materials with electricty could be the key to unlocking a new devastating type of weaponry." -from a leaked weapons develoment report

Item type

Weapon, Other

Related Myths

• Dragon Extermination Force

Concept

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An arc cannon is a theoretical weapon that was thought of in the early 1930's. Instead of using traditional powder or realm engines, one could use electricity to induce the movement. There are two basic designs:

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Coil

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The coil design had coils looping around a central barrel. The coils would be electrified creating a magnetic field which would push or pull the projectile. The upside is a nearly frictionless launch but the downside is the coils need to be perfectly timed and require a lot of power to cycle.

Rail

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The aptly named rail design has two rails running along the inside of a barrel with electricty running through them. The projectile would complete the circuit and be forced out of the barrel. The upside is near perfect transfer of energy but the direct contact generates a lot of heat.

Currently Impractical

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Any design of an arc cannon firing projectiles of a larger size would require more electricty than runs a city for a day. This means either the weapon would need its own dedicated power station or a source of nearly infinite electricty. While proposals have been made to develop the weapon as border defense, where power stations could be built to support the stationary weapon, most see no benefit of sacrificing so many resources to a weapon that would likely never be fired.

"Such a weapon is capable of mass subjigation; but only if it can be moved. As such, the only real option is as a defensive weapon, something this country still has no need for." -High Councilor Vera May