Do Railguns Recoil? Understanding the Forces Responsible for Railgun Recoil

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SUMMARY

Railguns do experience recoil, similar to traditional firearms, due to the interaction of magnetic fields. The magnetic field generated by the rails accelerates the projectile forward, while the magnetic field from the projectile exerts an outward force on the rails, resulting in recoil. Theoretical and experimental analyses confirm that this recoil force acts on the breech closure, contradicting claims that it can be redirected or eliminated. Understanding these forces is crucial for the design and operation of railgun systems.

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Danyon
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Do railguns recoil? and if they do, what force is responsible? When I looked at a basic railgun schematic I noticed that the magnetic field from the rails causes the projectile to accelerate forward and I also noticed that the magnetic field from the projectile should push on the rails outward, perpendicular to the direction of motion of the projectile. This doesn't seem to account for the recoil that would be expected
 
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Danyon said:
Do railguns recoil? and if they do, what force is responsible?
Did you check the wiki on rail guns?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

It has some references on this:
Some erroneous work has suggested that the recoil force in railguns can be redirected or eliminated; careful theoretical and experimental analysis reveals that the recoil force acts on the breech closure just as in a chemical firearm.[20][21][22][23]
 

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