Patent ID: 8701639

Claim:
An elongated non-augmented electromagnetic railgun adapted to propel a moving armature through a bore along the length of the railgun from its breech end to its muzzle end, said railgun comprising: two elongated mechanically rigid electrically conductive barrel sections, said sections being spaced apart from each other along the length of the railgun; and mechanically coupled via a dielectric to each barrel section, and completely electrically insulated therefrom, an elongated current carrying rail for providing electromagnetic propulsive force to the armature, said two rails facing each other across an elongated open channel defining the bore; wherein: the two barrel sections are electrically connected to each other at a maximum of one location of the railgun, the barrel sections not providing any positive electromagnetic propulsive force to the armature; wherein each rail comprises an elongated internal channel adapted to deliver coolant to interior surfaces of the rail; and each coolant channel is segmented along the length of its corresponding rail into regions, permitting cooling of the rail on a region-by-region basis.