The reconnection gun

An electromagnetic launcher called the reconnection gun is introduced. Its potential performance is shown to be superior to that of a modern railgun for projectiles with mass greater than a few hundred grams. It has a "characteristic velocity" which is an order of magnitude lower for much lower energy loss to ohmic heating. Also, it has several advantages for producing higher acceleration including; no barrel, no drop in acceleration with increase in projectile mass, higher peak pressure on the projectile and smaller differences between average and peak pressure. Experimental results and plans for high-performance, multi-stage designs are briefly discussed.