The idea of using electricity to fire a projectile (i.e. an electric gun) has been around since, uh, electricity. Back around Christmas ’07, IEEE Spectrum writer Paul Wallich had a look at an article on the challenge and had a go at building one out of bits. The project didn’t end badly, but it didn’t end well either. “A real weapon would be discharging hundreds or even thousands of amperes at hundreds of volts (albeit for only milliseconds at a time) with corresponding stress on capacitors, coils, and switches,” Wallich opined with characteristic directness. “That’s fine for a small electric power substation but not much fun to carry over your shoulder.” And now, from Mother Russia, we hear news that Ufa schoolboy is cracking nut. Pravda?
