Internet Sources Used:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/rail-gun.htm
http://www.onr.navy.mil/Media-Center/Fact-Sheets/Electromagnetic-Railgun.aspx
http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/electro/railgun/railgun.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-RAILGUN!/
What I've Learned:
Throughout my experience of trying to put together this rail gun and understand how it functions, I've learned a vast amount about the field of electromagnetism and how charge works and affects things that it comes into contact with. For instance, one of the most important concepts I've learned was "charge equilibrium" where any two objects with a charge that come into contact with each other will equalize and average the charges evenly, per mass, between them. This is a vital concept in understanding how a rail gun works because what a rail gun is, when broken down into basics, is the construction of a positively charged rail in close proximity to a negatively charged rail and when a conducting material is put in between them, the charge can move freely from the rail through the projectile down the opposite rail resulting in thrust and creating force and momentum.
Because I was able to research into this project and learn scientific concepts such as those explained above, I was given a wonderful opportunity to compound my knowledge in the fields of physics and electromagnetism which I was studying at the same time in school. This helped me tremendously to understand the class and the material and be successful on homework and tests.
Some of the problems I faced while building the rail gun where cost, getting help with construction, finding the proper types of materials, and finding a charging unit. Because a rail gun uses electricity rather than combustion as a power source, you have to have batteries that can hold enough energy to release a big enough burst of power to actually move an object, or your projectile. As a result of this need for high grade batteries, you must also have methods to charge, maintain, and safely connect these batteries. One of the biggest problems I faced whilst building this gun was the breakdown of a capacitor charging unit resulting in my being unable to charge the capacitors. It's also very important that when soldering or assembling the battery unit, to be very careful not to interfere with the construction of the capacitors themselves.