Magnetic cannon: The physics of the Gauss rifle

Abstract

The magnetic cannon is a simple device that converts magnetic energy into kinetic energy. When a steel ball with low initial velocity impacts a chain consisting of a followed by addition steel balls, the last ball in the chain gets ejected at a much larger velocity. The analysis of this spectacular device involves an understanding of advanced magnetostatics, energy conversion, and the collision of solids. In this article, the phenomena at each step of the process are modeled to predict the final kinetic energy of the ejected ball as a function of a few parameters that can be experimentally