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Word: homopolar (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
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...years ago, when Physicist-Engineer Richard Marshall and his colleagues at the Australian National University in Canberra updated the old concept with some notable innovations, including the plasma-creating fuse. They also increased the gun's muzzle velocity by resorting to an unusual power source: a huge homopolar electric generator which uses two rapidly spinning flywheels to build up and store electricity. In bare ly a second the Canberra homopolar de livered as many as 500 megajoules of direct current - enough to light up a small city. Such a quick surge is essential for rapid buildup of the propelling...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Science: Swoosh! It's a Railgun | 12/1/1980 | See Source »

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