This is very nice, and while some of the structuring (lots of suspended pieces) looks odd, I'm sure with materials of the far-flung future should hold fine. How's this supposed to cycle?
On cycling, well its a rail gun so it doesn't have a bolt, bolt carrier, or chamber in the traditional sense. The magazine operates pretty much like a modern magazine does. The magazine pushes the bullet (there is no casing, propellant, or primer, into a cylinder that rotates along the barrel axis. This cylinder has two notches that the bullets will fit into in the 12 o clock and 6 o clock positions. When a round is fired the cylinder will rotate the round in the 6 o clock notch to the 12 o clock position where it can be engaged by the rails. The 12 o clock notch will end up at the 6 o clock position where it can pick up another bullet from the magazine. This rotating cylinder design helps create a better seal when the bullet is fired and keep the rails from inadvertently affecting bullets still situated inside the magazine. The first round is chambered electronically (the red button on the hand grip is used to electronically cycle rounds without firing them.)
Very well Just as a note on that basis, a railgun will actually work better with a saboted penetrator. For the same reason that APFSDS is a highly effective anti-armour round.
How's this supposed to cycle?
Just as a note on that basis, a railgun will actually work better with a saboted penetrator. For the same reason that APFSDS is a highly effective anti-armour round.