Electrodynamical acceleration of dielectric bodies in a railgun accelerator in a permanent current regime

The experiments with a railgun accelerator system are described for nondestructive MHD acceleration by a plasma piston of dielectric bodies up to velocities, when the kinetic energy per each atom becomes comparable or greater than the chemical bond energy. In the approximation of constant current a simple expression is determined, which unambiguously relates the acceleration path length and electricity quantily through the system independently of the speed-up rate and the final body velocity. The use of a long L-C line, combining the advantages of capacitive and inductive energy storage rings, has provided to speed up the body in such a constant current mode (accelecration) and to attain high efficiency of conversion of the stored energy to the kinetic one at a rather short distance. At energy of ∼200-300 kJ stored in the capacitor battery a 1.6-2 g body is accelerated within 40-45 cm up to 4-4.5 km/s