Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Piezoelectric Implosion Cartridge

Boom. Zap. Kerplunk.
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The problem with magnetic weapons like Gauss rifles and rail guns is that you need a lot of electricity very quickly. The only way to get this is by charging a huge bank of capacitors beforehand. But perhaps there is another way.

Piezoelectric materials generate a voltage when squeezed. Hitting a piezoelectric crystal with a hammer causes a visible electric arc. But the power generated like this is pretty puny.

Proposed, therefore, is a replica of a fission bomb, with the nuclear fuel replaced with (much cheaper) piezoelectric material. This can either be an implosion- or gun-type device, depending on where it's easiest to attach the crocodile clips. When the (conventional) explosive charge is fired, we should get a whole bunch of electrons jumping out of the jump leads.

The advantage of all this is that the device could be produced in bulk, in cartridge form, and loaded into a (possibly cumbersome) magazine, so that your futuristic magnetic weapons can now be semiautomatic.

A spin-off business will also market a miniaturized version of the system for speeding up the recycle time of photographic strobe lights.

mitxela, Feb 12 2016

A book about such things... https://books.googl...v=onepage&q&f=false
Explosive Pulsed Power [Ling, Feb 13 2016]

Explosively pumped flux compression generator https://en.wikipedi...mpression_generator
As mentioned in my anno. [notexactly, Feb 14 2016]

[link]






       [+]   

       // The only way to get this is by charging a huge bank of capacitors beforehand. //   

       Or compulsators.
notexactly, Feb 12 2016
  

       Ah. Yes. Those too. But they still need charging beforehand.
mitxela, Feb 12 2016
  

       Indeed they do.   

       More on topic, I'm not sure you'll get enough current out of your device. Tests are in order!
notexactly, Feb 13 2016
  

       Re [Ling]'s link: Why didn't I think of this sooner? Just use an EPFCG! [link] Those are well-studied already.   

       Also, [Ling], your link is in Thai. Is that your native language?
notexactly, Feb 14 2016
  

       //Also, [Ling], your link is in Thai. Is that your native language?// Heh, I assure you, the book is in English! I know enough Thai to get into trouble, but not enough to get out of it.
Ling, Feb 14 2016
  
      
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