Linear motor outperforms steam-piston catapults

摘要

Hudson, MA—In a large shed off a back road in this rural Massachusetts town, engineers are developing the world's highest-thrust linear motor. For Naval aviation, it may mean the end of the age of steam. By 2005, naval architects may begin replacing the enormous steam catapults on aircraft carriers with EMALS—the electromagnetic aircraft launch system, "We're hoping to replace heavy machin-ery with electronics," says Wolfgang Schlegel, EMALS program manager at Kaman Electromagnetics Corp.