This page was created as a part of my physics ISU report on railguns. The essay itself has been broken up into pieces and scattered into segments across this page, but the complete version is available for download (along with bibliography), although you'll miss a lot of neat pictures and other such. Be sure to check out the lorentz force applet in the theory section. Also, if you wish to further explore railguns a few select links are available on the links page to get started with.
 
    The actual format of the essay is a little unusual and it's probably a good idea to keep the following in mind: When we look back at the past say 100 years we can see those technological changes that have clearly greatly affected our lives, the automobile, the airplane, the television, and etc. Similiarly, this essay is set in 2078 and examines the possible effect of railguns on our lives based on what we know right now;
 
    History is marked by events of great consequence, for example Ford's use of the assembly line to build automobiles, or the first time a radio signal was broadcast. In this essay I have tried to cover those hallmarks as it applies to railgun history as well as giving a general trend of railgun development.