What you are about to see is quite extraordinary – a functional electric railgun in action.
The DIY weapon is made by YouTube user “ZiggyZee”. It uses current to generate extreme magnetic fields that propel a conductive projectile to high speeds.
According to the creator’s own words:
This was a fairly successful test- the clamps blew off 15 milliseconds AFTER the projectile had left the device. Further advances in the projectile design will allow more energy to be transmitted to the projectile. The kinetic energy is solely derived from electromagnetism-the CO2 is not great enough to overcome the friction of the rails! It is meant as a means of preventing intense heat and spot welding/rail erosion. There are 56 x 480 joule capacitors making up the power supply for a total weight of 200 lbs and 27,000 joules at 400 volts (20,500 at 350v). The railgun itself weights 50lbs.
Via TechEBlog