Testing a simple model for the magnetic cannon

Abstract

Abstract. A magnetic cannon consists of a line of steel balls which are in contact with a permanent magnet. If another steel ball collides with the system on one side, then the ball at the other end of the line is ejected at high speed. A theoretical model is proposed for the system by neglecting energy losses and making the approximation that the magnetic field is uniform near each ball. Our model can account for any magnet shape and is able to accurately predict the most efficient system configuration, as verified by experiments. Additionally, the predicted values of the ejection velocity are in most cases found to be in reasonable agreement with the experiment.

The Gauss pendulum

“…Such procedure ended up being more cumbersome than initially thought. Similar problems have been reported by other authors [6,7] and we came to know about their experience after our trials. In the effort of avoiding or isolating the friction forces, we came up with the idea of the Gauss pendulum.…”

“…In the literature of Gauss rifles, magnetic potential wells are treated by analogy [11]. Other works focused their analysis on field and forces [2,6,7].…”

“…To those who are not familiar with the Gauss rifle we suggest to take a few minutes to watch the educational video made by our group, available on the internet [3]. The Gauss rifle has been considered an interesting problem for physics and engineering projects [4][5][6][7].…”

Canhão de Gauss

“…G. Magkos et al [3] e Arsène Chemin et al [4] estudaram o campo magnético e a conservação de energia em um canhão de Gauss. G. Magkos et al [3] focaram o estudo na análise do comportamento do campo magnético em função da distância entre o ímã e a esfera pivô, utilizando a Equação (1), O estudo da conservação de energia foi feito particularmente por Arsène Chemin et al [4].…”

“…Magkos et al [3] e Arsène Chemin et al [4] estudaram o campo magnético e a conservação de energia em um canhão de Gauss. G. Magkos et al [3] focaram o estudo na análise do comportamento do campo magnético em função da distância entre o ímã e a esfera pivô, utilizando a Equação (1), O estudo da conservação de energia foi feito particularmente por Arsène Chemin et al [4]. A solução deles fez a consideração de que a esfera pivô teria uma energia cinética inicial nula, e que não haveria nenhuma interação do ímã com a bola ejetada na região das b esferas (Ver Figura 1).…”