Plasma cannon
Encyclopedia
Plasma cannon may refer to:
- Shiva StarShiva StarShiva Star, originally just SHIVA, is a high-powered pulsed-power research device located at the Air Force Research Laboratory on the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
, a research project - Plasma-powered cannonPlasma-powered cannonA plasma cannon is an experimental projectile weapon, which accelerates a projectile by means of a plasma discharge between electrodes at the rear of the barrel, generating a rapid increase in pressure. It functions similarly to other type of firearm, except that it uses a plasma discharge instead...
, an experimental weapon which uses plasma to fire a solid projectile - A weapon that magnetizes a ball of plasmaPlasma (physics)In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
and uses electromagnets to drag and "fire" it, the same mechanism used in coilgunCoilgunA coilgun is a type of projectile accelerator that consists of one or more coils used as electromagnets in the configuration of a synchronous linear motor which accelerate a magnetic projectile to high velocity...
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