Editing Gauss (section)

== Real-Life ==
[[Image:Railgun.jpg|thumb|right|Who needs fiction when weapons this badass exist?]]
[[File:Navy railcannon.jpeg|thumb|right|Now capable of automatically loading rounds for letting out salvos.]]
[[File:Du8_uuovqaau-5p.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Ahhhh....looks like we are at the beginning stage of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium of]] [[China|Han.]]]]
{{topquote|Velocitas Eradico" - "I, Speed, eradicate.|Motto of the United States naval railgun development program}}

The US Navy has successfully tested 32-megajoule railguns. The friction from the ammunition moving at these velocities turns the air inside the barrel into plasma instantly. They were planning to build a 64-megajoule gun to test fire, but they lost funding. This might have to do with how they had to build an entirely new railgun after every third shot; the rails wear out quickly due to the <strike>heat the projectile produces, and no known material is heat-resistant enough to withstand being worn out in this manner and also capable of conducting electricity to allow the mechanism to work in the first place</strike> ohmic heating combined with the mechanical effects of the projectile continually welding itself to the rails while the electromagnetic forces apply enough force to accelerate it anyway. You also need a really <strike>strong generator</strike> fast discharge power storage system to provide enough power to operate the weapon. In any event, nobody foresees <strike>those problems</strike> the rail destruction issue being solved anytime soon. Then again, the first flight occurred in 1903 and Sputnik was launched in 1957 (giving a difference of 54 years, well within a modern human's lifetime) so make of that what you will. '''Update:''' Recent reports have indicated that the rail destruction problems are getting better. They can now fire them about 400 times before having to replace them. Granted, the navy really wants a minimum of 1000 shots so they're still not at a level they want yet. But that's still an amazing efficiency upgrade, and in a pinch 400 time's is probably still combat viable since an Alaska cruisers main gun's lasted about 344 shots.

On early February 2018, pictures showed that [[China]] became the first nation to mount a railgun on a naval warship. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy claims to have solved the power supply problem after extensive testing, and current intelligence reports suggest that Chinese warships could be equipped with railguns as early as 2025. The reports also note that the railgun is said to have a maximum range of 125 miles and fire shots that travel seven times faster than the speed of sound. Further sightings of Chinese warships equipped with railguns in 2019 have brought up the possibility that large scale field testing may begin within a year.

If you see a carpenter using an "electric nailgun," it's likely not actually a coilgun they're using, unless they have a "Solenoid-powered nailgun", which are single-stage coilguns.

Some consideration has been given to using gauss accelerators for space launches. Instead of building a bunch of rockets that you need to fuel, repair, maintain and discard you use as sequence of electromagnets to speed up a payload bit by bit until it reaches orbital velocity. Especially if you are on the moon or some other body without an atmosphere, this could be a good dependable option.