Don Coyote
Scribe
I don't understand the math, but I get your point. It makes sense and I like it.
In real life, rifle barrels are a consumable item, like tires on a car. Like tires, how long they last depends on several factors. Tire life depends on driving style, tire compound, surfaces driven on and so on. Barrel life is dependent on barrel profile, steel type, bullet type (Steel jacketed bullets wear barrels faster but are cheaper to produce) and how the rifle is used. A friend recently replaced the barrel of his full auto AR after running ten thousand rounds through it. It's plausible the railgun can be disassembled with tools to replace the worn yantras.
Velocity is always good with kinetic kill weapons and more velocity gives more penetration of armor and hard cover. But you don't have to go to extremes for an effective infantry rifle class weapon. The AK fires a 123 grain bullet at roughly 2400 feet per second, slower than most rifle bullets. An M4 fires a 69 grain bullet at about 2800 to 3000 fps. Both are effective. Your railgun can fire the same weight bullet at the same velocity as a smokeless gunpowder firearm with less recoil.
It's not necessary for your railgun to accelerate its payload to such fantastic speeds you have to worry about friction with the air.
In real life, rifle barrels are a consumable item, like tires on a car. Like tires, how long they last depends on several factors. Tire life depends on driving style, tire compound, surfaces driven on and so on. Barrel life is dependent on barrel profile, steel type, bullet type (Steel jacketed bullets wear barrels faster but are cheaper to produce) and how the rifle is used. A friend recently replaced the barrel of his full auto AR after running ten thousand rounds through it. It's plausible the railgun can be disassembled with tools to replace the worn yantras.
Velocity is always good with kinetic kill weapons and more velocity gives more penetration of armor and hard cover. But you don't have to go to extremes for an effective infantry rifle class weapon. The AK fires a 123 grain bullet at roughly 2400 feet per second, slower than most rifle bullets. An M4 fires a 69 grain bullet at about 2800 to 3000 fps. Both are effective. Your railgun can fire the same weight bullet at the same velocity as a smokeless gunpowder firearm with less recoil.
It's not necessary for your railgun to accelerate its payload to such fantastic speeds you have to worry about friction with the air.
