A complete rundown on the schematics and physics behind the gun are being featured in this homemade Coil Gun project. It illustrates how a simple but extremely effective Coil Gun can be made using only a few parts that are easily available. The image below shows the use of electromagnetic coils to push a ferromagnetic projectile rapidly through a barrel. The electromagnetic current is controlled with capacitors and is usually drawn from a battery.

Coil Guns, also called as reluctance coil gun, are known for using intense electromagnetic fields to propel objects at high velocities unreachable with modern gas driven weaponry. A ferromagnetic projectile in steel round shape is being pulled by the electromagnetic field of the coil towards its center. When the projectile is in the center allowing the projectile to continue traveling down the barrel, out the gun, and to the target, the current supporting the electromagnetic field will turn OFF. The properties of this system can be understood better using a coil and a few batteries. This can be seen on the image below:

The second image above shows the housing on the outside of the Coil Gun that is made from metal, wood, and plexiglass. The Coil Gun uses a relay which is a simple electromagnetic switch that utilizes an electromagnet so that the two contacts of a separate circuit can be pulled together, comleting the circuit and allowing electricity to flow. Relays were used because they allow more current to pass through them than regular push button switches that are weld together normally. Usually, a machine or computer is allowed to switch ON or OFF electronically using a relay.