Rail gun weapons are not only popular in video games, they are actually being developed by the Navy for practical use. The figure below shows a simple model of how a rail gun works. The entirety of the rail gun is immersed in a magnetic field of strength B = 1.09 Tesla. With the switch open, the capacitor on the left is charged to a very high voltage V0 = 9400 Volts. When the switch is closed current will flow through the bar and thereby exert a magnetic force on the bar pushing it to the right. The bar has a mass M = 1.95 kg, a resistance R = 0.200 Ω, and a length L = 0.230 meters. We shall assume that the rails have zero resistance, and that the bar slides without friction. The bar exits the rail gun after having accelerated over a distance of d = 3.21 meters.
Calculate the current flowing through the bar when the switch is closed I = Amps
Calculate the force on the bar due to the magnetic field F = Newtons
Calculate the acceleration of the bar a = m/s2
Assuming the bar experiences constant acceleration, find the velocity of the bar when it leaves the rails: v(x=d) m/s
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