Magnetic Cannon (Gauss Cannon)

A magnetic cannon for demonstrating principles of kinematics and mechanics. The 100 cm barrel uses magnetic acceleration to launch steel balls along a tube, and the set includes ten 19 mm steel balls. Its mechanism is simple enough for pupils to take part in everything from setting it up to running the experiment. It illustrates fundamental concepts such as acceleration, mass, force and the laws of motion, and pupils can vary the number of balls, use balls of different weight or size, or insert different materials between the balls to see how the cannon's efficiency and the balls' speed change.