Railgun

A railgun is an advanced projectile weapon which fires an armor-piercing projectile at hypersonic speed.

Overview
A standard railgun has three main components: a power generator, two rails comprised of electrically-conductive metal, and an armature which bridges the gap between the two rails. When electricity flows through the rails and armature, it creates a circuit, and a magnetic field forms at each rail. The magnetic fields propel the projectile out of the weapon at speeds far exceeding that of traditional ballistic firearms. Heat sinks are built into the weapon to vent out excess heat, as like energy weapons, railguns can potentially overheat, which can damage the rails. The power of a railgun is governed both by the length of its rails and how much power is used when it is fired. Railguns are also highly accurate, and can reliably hit a target up to several miles away, making them excellent long-range weapons.

Ammunition
Railgun ammunition is formally referred to as a sabot, but they also have other informal nicknames, such as stakes and spikes, which are both derived from the projectile's shape. The projectile needs to be conductive in order for the railgun to function properly.


 * Sabot

The standard sabot round is a dense conductive projectile with a pointed tip. The projectile has built-in fins for stabilization. In a few infantry railguns, the projectile may not have enough force to push itself all the way through a heavily armored target and may instead lodge itself into them with enough force to fling them backwards and potentially pin them to obstacles such as walls. Regardless of whether or not this occurs, the result is almost always fatal.


 * Depleted Uranium Sabot

Used almost exclusively in vehicle-mounted railguns, DU sabots are exactly the same as regular sabots save for the tipped end being comprised of depleted uranium; the rest of the projectile is still made up of a conductive material, as depleted uranium is poor electrical conductor, and a wholly DU sabot would not properly function.