This Is Why Mainstream Journalists Shouldn't Write About Guns...

Things that make my brain hurt over Sunday morning coffee (my bold below)…

The weapon is called a railgun and requires neither gunpowder nor explosive. It is powered by electromagnetic rails that accelerate a hardened projectile to staggering velocity—a battlefield meteorite with the power to one day transform military strategy, say supporters, and keep the U.S. ahead of advancing Russian and Chinese weaponry.

In conventional guns, a bullet loses velocity from the moment the gunpowder ignites and sends it flying. The railgun projectile instead gains speed as it travels the length of a 32-foot barrel, exiting the muzzle at 4,500 miles an hour, or more than a mile a second.

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Bullets in a cartridge-based or blackpowder firearm are moving at a speed of zero miles per hour when the gunpowder ignites. If a bullet loses velocity from zero…

I need more coffee.

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