| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| DARPA New Weapon |
| 2010-12-06 |
| They are calling it MAHEM, which stands for Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition. The intent is to create a device that creates a powerful enough electromagnetic field to propel streams of molten metal at enemy armor. "This could provide the warfighter with a means to address stressing missions such as: lightweight active self-protection for vehicles (potential defeat mechanism for a kinetic energy round), counter armor (passive, reactive, and active), mine countermeasures, and anti-ship cruise missile final layer of defense." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #4 FaL, once accelerated the molten stream cools in it's travel becoming a kinetic weapon with tremendous velocity. Imagine the energies required to propel a molecule to tremendous speeds, then the next and next until they become a stream. Lorenz says it doesn't take much. They collesce in cooling into a single mass because they are ionized by the flight. The ones leading slow as they give up energy in cooling and become the shaping framework. It's a bullet cast in flight. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2010-12-06 23:59 |
| #3 ...or an anti-orbital weapon as illustrated by the scorching of the X-whatever that just landed. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2010-12-06 23:45 |
| #2 Not sure how they plan to keep the stuff molten but I have never liked passing one of those flatbed semis with a crucible full of molten aluminum on the trailer |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2010-12-06 18:08 |
| #1 This seems to be a HEAT round (think WWII bazooka) where the molten jet is accelerated by electromagnets. What I don't understand is how they intend to keep the molten jet around long enough to be accelerated by the electromagnets. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2010-12-06 12:07 |