Coilguns

From Terra Invicta Official Wiki
Coilguns
Military Science
researchResearch Cost: 30000
Summary
Magnetic mass drivers offer better performance than railguns.
Description
A superficially similar, but nevertheless distinct, electromagnetic weapon to railguns, the coilgun (or Gauss Rifle, named for the great German mathematician), once again rewrites what was previously thought possible. Coilguns as a concept have existed for decades, but until now they have struggled to match the kinetic force of even an airgun. Thanks to further refinement of the electromagnetic technologies used in our mass drivers, this limitation has evaporated. While a railgun operates by passing current along one side of its barrel and then back down the other, our newest weapon houses an array of coils along its length, which are turned on and off in rapid and precise sequence, creating powerful electromagnetic attraction that accelerates projectiles to incredible velocities.

Essentially, the coils rapidly pull projectiles through their center, whereas a railgun pushes its slugs along the rails in its barrel with great force. Railguns suffer from extreme wear and tear as a result, which imposes certain limitations on how powerful they can be without tearing themselves apart. A coilgun's coils, by contrast, do not come into physical contact with their projectiles, which in turn enables us to feed them far greater amounts of electrical power, without the same likelihood of reduced efficiency or eventual self-destruction.

In short, a railgun is the brute force approach to electromagnetic warfare, while a coilgun is a costlier but far more refined solution. Used correctly, it is a truly devastating weapon.
Full List of Prerequisites.
Name Type Cost
Advanced Superconductors Material Science 3500
Advanced Carbon Manipulation Material Science 1000
Superconducting Magnets Material Science 10000
Supercapacitors Material Science 10000
Carbon Nanotubes Material Science 3500
Magnetic Force Manipulation Energy 2500
Advanced Electromagnetism Energy 1000
Kinetics Warfare Doctrine Military Science 2500
Orbital Shipbuilding Material Science 1000
Mission To Space Space Science 250
Mass Drivers Energy 1000
Principles of Space Warfare Military Science 1000
Railguns Military Science 5000
Total researchResearch Cost (including itself)
Energy 4500 Information Science 0
Life Science 0 Material Science 29000
Military Science 38500 Social Science 0
Space Science 250 Total 72250
Direct Prerequisite For
Techs Projects
(100%)Coilgun Batteries • (100%)Coil Cannon • (100%)Advanced Plasma Batteries • (100%)Advanced Plasma Cannon
Effects
Increases the maximum military tech level for all human nations by 0.5
Quote
"The reason that conflict stains human history is because something in our nature causes us to hate our neighbor. Yet we have learned to overcome that urge, that fear. We must remain conscious, however, that a galactic neighbor may initially behave as thoughtlessly we once did."
Chancellor Li Qingzhao, The Academy
From her TEDGlobal talk, "Preparing for First Contact and Beyond"
Notes
Data Sources
TITechTemplate_CSV • TIProjectTemplate_CSV • TIOrgTemplate_CSV • TITechTemplate_EN • TIProjectTemplate_EN • TIOrgTemplate_EN
Related Pages
Tech List • Project List • Technology