Energy and momentum in the gauss accelerator

Physics Teacher

Volumn 42, Issue 1, 2004, Pages 24-26

  Kagan, David ^a  

^a CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 85006944293     PISSN: 0031921X     EISSN: 19434928     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1119/1.1639964     Document Type: Article

References (5)

1. J. Rabchuk, "The Gauss rifle and magnetic energy," Phys. Teach. 41, 158-161 (March 2003).
2. This device is also known as the Gauss rifle. However, due to the high rate of gun violence in our schools, I choose to call it the Gauss accelerator.
3. The idea of using spherical magnets came about because part of the magical properties of the Newton's cradle device is often attributed to the spherical shape of the colliding spheres. For example, see A. David, "Colliding rods: Dynamics and relevance to colliding balls," Am. J. Phys. 62, 522-525 (1994).
4. Science Toys (http://www.scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/magnets/gauss.html) sells a kit with cube-shaped magnets for $26. Spherical neodymium magnets can be obtained fairly cheaply from Educational Innovations Inc.; 888-912-7474 or http://www.teachersource.com.
5. Thin brass strips of known thickness (1/64 in, 1/32 in, and 1/16 in) were used. They were found at a local hardware store and were very inexpensive.