HRogge Wrote:So what is an acceptable speed for a low projectile mass coilgun?I got away with Mach 1000 (or 0.1% lightspeed) because virtually anything that can move (including The Island a quick Fenwiki walk reveals) can either pace or outrun a rail cannon bolt. It leads to a comparitively powerful weapon against slow (relatively) targets at close range. Anything that can't dodge is either dead anyway or so big it'll take more than a rail cannon bolt.
However, that's distracting from the story. Have you considered a 'piece of space junk' caught in Saturn's gravity, with the Mad device giving the 'Space Junk' a push?