Why do magnets in a Gauss gun exhibit backward drift after being hit?

AI Thread Summary
In a Gauss gun, magnets exhibit backward drift after being hit due to the principle of conservation of momentum. When the projectile is accelerated forward, the magnets experience a reaction force that causes them to move in the opposite direction. This backward drift is a result of recoil, which is a fundamental concept in physics. The observed behavior can be explained by the interaction of forces acting on the magnets during the firing process. Understanding this phenomenon highlights the importance of momentum conservation in mechanical systems.
Aleks
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So I was building a Gaussian gun for physics filming it at 300fps. See video:
http://youtu.be/hZcAk3uBp58

While skipping frame by frame, I realized that all the magnets started drifting backwards after being hit. Can someone explain in detail what is going on? Sorry if my physics is not advanced enough here, but it's either something really simple or I just broke physics.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the Gauss Gun, but if not - see one of my (attached) slides showing a dumbed down version of what it is.
 

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That's just recoil. Aka conservation of momentum.
 
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