They call it DREAD.

The picture kinda reminds me of Star Trek.


Apparently the concept would, among a great field of things, allow for projectiles to be fired from a satellite, since it's recoiless and wouldn't alter a satellite's orbit.

except that the rotating might stuff up the satellite's orbit and the ammunition would burn up on re-entry

Yeah, but it they mention it as possibly "anti-enemy satellites," and I'd assume different ammo.

And why would they be revealing this stuff to the general public? Don't we have enough to worry about already, sheesh!

Is anyone else wondering how it's possible for this thing to be recoil-less? Or did Newton's laws stop working while I wasn't paying attention.

Guass Rifle! (almost)

the rotation mabye causes a gyroscopic effect.

This thing would not be recoil-less. Law of conservation of angular momentum still applies, so if you attempt to spin up the projectile the rest of the system will have to gain equal angular momentum in the opposite direction, then one the projectile was released the angular momentum of the system would change again. I'm trying to remember physics here, but I think once the projectile has been released it would inflict another smaller negative change in the angular momentum of the system.

So basically instead of linear recoil like most weapons, this one would rotate when it attempts to fire, you could counteract most of the rotational momentum with a disk of the same rotational inertia rotating the opposite direction, but there would still be a small change in angular momentum from the release of the projectile that can not easily be accounted for. In a satellite this would be better than linear recoil, but it would still be a pain. For ground usage, there would be reduced recoil, but the extra weight of the weapon is a hard price to pay.

Well I'm glad we have so many expert scientists on these boards. You surely know better then the fools who designed this thing. Thanks for enlightening us.

Was this sarcastic? (as has been said before, sarcasm doesn't translate well on the internet)

I dunno, it sounded pretty sarcastic to me. But he (West Wind) is right. You'd have rotational recoil; I hadn't even thought of that. I was just thinking linear, because there is no way you can impart momentum to a projectile without that momentum being balanced out by something going in the opposite direction. Missile launchers and the like are recoil-less because the forward motion of the rocket is balanced by the backwards motion of the thrust gasses. You can also design guns to have a smaller impulse, but that's just taking the change in momentum and putting it over a longer period of time (so there's less backwards force imparted to the user).

"Oh a sarcasm detector. What a useful invention!" [/comic book guy]

*Detector explodes*

That's why I asked...because West is right, and I seriously doubt that they could fix this problem so easily as they seem to convey that they will/have.

Rail guns (gauss rifles) are looking mighty awesome should we master fusion power generation, or better, antimatter or zero point energy. Them and lasers would likely be the best weapons in space. Of course you have to generate the power...oh that's always the hardest part. Damn.

so now america will have access to even more stupid weapons to kill innocent people

Hurrahh!!!!

if(getThingFlags(source) & 0x8){
  do her}
elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
else{
  do a dude}

<3

Reminds me of the one in BattleTech, only without the 10ftx10ft ball of freaking death.

*gasp*

Good ol' silver tower...

I’m just waiting for someone to come out with a line of environmentally friendly weapons. You know, Guns that are made out of recycled beer cans, fire biodegradable bullets, and let off ozone gas...

Kill friends and enemies alike, and save the environment while doing it!

I call bull****. Frictionless? Spinning at 120,000rpm? Is it floating in a vacuum?

Knowing basic Newtonian laws doesn't exactly require a science degree.

On the other hand, there are other types of inventions that appear to defy physics. Take Bose speakers, for example.

This thing does look like Star Trek. And I coulda swore I read the wording, "...the next generation..." in that article. Just another example that the millitary are Trekkies, and another reason why I *don't* want to join.

<3

Greenpeace would love it.

"Kill whales, will you? Johnson, arm the ozone cannon!"

Johnson... arm... ozone... cannon...?

INUENDO!