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I think that the pulse length in a railgun should be as short as possible, and after half a cycle is done (180 degrees) and the current is reduced to zero, the circuit should remain open (easy if triggered with an SCR).
This way, there will be no current at the moment the projectile leaves the rails, so no spark will appear - less corrosion!
On the contrary, the designs I see tend to add some toroids to make the pulse longer - thus losing some energy of the first half cycle, AND creating a lot of spark!
The Short pulse is easier and more efficient in other ways too: smaller capacity, means higher voltage, means higher current and thus Lorenz force - AND cheaper capacitors.
The inductor is used to increase the pulse length, as if all of the energy was disipated by one section of the rail the corrosion would a lot worse than spreading the pulse across the entire rail. But yes it would be best to have less current flowing when it leaves the rails.
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Pulse length for a railgun
