Gauss Pistol

coil gun

Nuts to the Midigun, we’re talking gauss pistols today. The gun works by accelerating a projectile through a pair of coils. Is it dangerous? Only indirectly: There is 440V across the capacitor terminals. It is kinda heavy, so you could throw it at someone. The laser sight could cause eye damage. The small parts are a choking hazard. Finally, it has about the same power as a pellet gun, but the projectile is much heavier so it moves a lot slower. All the info you need can be found in the FAQ.

[thanks Jason]

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Hackaday Links

The first anniversary of Hack-A-Day is coming up Monday September 5th. So if you’ve got any pictures of Hack-A-Day swag in the wild, now is the time to send them in. Since it is labor day I’ll probably be idling on the #hackaday Efnet channel most of the day too. So stop by and say hi.

Wondering what to do with the vacuum forming table? The process was used to create the case for this portable Dreamcast. [ian]

The ReBirth software synth has been retired and released for free. The software models two Roland 303s, an 808 and a 909. [via MeFi]

The competition for the Treehugger DIY contest is heating up. Check out this solar powered hydrofoil. UPDATE: Readers have cried foul because Marquette’s Solar Energy Society deserves all of the credit for this project.

Fabienne was wondering the other day how to make private links in del.icio.us. She dug up this clever bookmarklet hack that encrypts your links.

How to make your Molex power connectors glow. [AD]

I’m not sure if these guys are in the DARPA Grand Challenge or if they just enjoy running crap over in their homebuilt tank. [Baconjacobs]

I hope you’re having a good weekend.

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