Coil Gun Pistol — Application for HV ceramic capacitor — https://hv-caps.biz
Completely self contained where 8 AA alkaline cells will provide 100s of full power shots before requiring replacement. Other models soon to be available with more power and more professionally designed.
Danger: will cause injury or break objects at close range.
Point in a safe direction and treat as a firearm!
Caution — Adult Supervision Required!
Fascinating project propels aluminum rings to a considerable velocity. Demonstrates the LORENTZ force plus important properties of magnetic energy. Rings may be restrained to flyway for safety or classroom demonstration. Adult supervision usually not required for outside use. Operates from 8AA batteries that slide into hand grip. Can be easily modified to propel ball bearings but modification will create a more ballistic and dangerous projectile.
| Plasma Thermal Gun |
| Challenging project but rewards are positive ballistic velocities. This project is recommended for the experienced high voltage tech as operation exposes user to dangerous potentials. |
The PPRO1 Plasma Thermal Gun utilizes the electrothermal energy obtained from vaporizing a metallic material, creating a pressure wave of sufficient magnitude to cause a projectile to accelerate to ballistic velocities.
The system shown on our data is a relatively low velocity device within the building capability of most hobbyists. The project may be scaled up for serious research with an obvious increase in high voltage handling and ballistic hazards. The project requires experience in the handling of high-voltage, high-energy devices.
Operation requires a high-energy pulser such as our HEP50, which is shown using a 5Kv Capacitor Bank. These values may be altered within limits to allow the use of available capacitors that you may have on hand.
An energy-storage capacitor is charged from a programmable, controlled current source to a selected high voltage. This capacitor is switched by a triggered spark gap, dumping all the stored energy into a small-volume explosion chamber and vaporizing a thin, aluminum wire placed inside the chamber. A pressure wave forces a projectile out of the barrel to a high velocity.
This project is suitable for a science class demonstration if properly supervised with qualified personnel.