Ah, They're Aluminum Powered Death Rays

[Tuckerfan]

Okay, so it’s not a death ray, but a cannon.

A method of propelling a projectile from a device by applying a high power pulse of electrical current to a thin metal conductor wire causing the wire to explode and disperse hot spots of molten metal throughout an aluminum fuel powder/water mixture which reacts to generate hydrogen gas at high pressure in a chamber. The hydrogen gas is used to push the projectile from the device.

Most interesting, however, is to whom the patent is assigned.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy (Washington, DC)

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Squink]

But why would they want to do this:

This invention relates to methods of generating gases and more particularly to methods of generating hydrogen gas.

Acceleration of projectiles launched from gun, rocket, and missile systems is limited by the sonic velocity of gas products from propellants. Conventional gun propellants (nitrocellulose) generate heavy gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and water vapor whose sonic velocity seldom exceeds 500 m/sec at ambient temperature. The maximum speed of projectiles launched from gun barrel by such gases barely reaches 1 km/sec.

Hydrogen gas which outspeeds any other gases (under same pressure and temperature), owing to its low molecular weight, is an ideal fluid to impart its kinetic energy efficiently to a projectile. For this reason hydrogen gas is used in a two-stage gas gun (1) that launches a projectile to hypervelocity (over 6 km/sec).

Six km/sec is over 13,400 mph, just a little shy of what’s needed to achieve low earth orbit. Still, you could probably use the gun to shell Tokyo from the middle of Kansas.

[Tuckerfan]

Don’t forget that since it’s hydrogen, it’s environmentally friendly!

Actually, they might be wanting to improve on Gerald Bull’s “supergun” idea.

ETA: That or they figure is has better armor piercing ability.

[Rick]

@Squink

But why would they want to do this: Six km/sec is over 13,400 mph, just a little shy of what’s needed to achieve low earth orbit. Still, you could probably use the gun to shell Tokyo from the middle of Kansas.

So they could have parked the battleship Missouri in Missouri and saved a bunch of fuel.