Railguns in science fiction

Electromagnetic projectile devices often appear in fiction, especially science fiction where they are described as Kinetic energy weaponry, gauss guns, mass drivers or railguns. However, their fictional behavior rarely matches that of real-life projectile devices, which are typically much less powerful and far more bulky.

Some computer games feature railguns as weapons. The most popular type of ammunition for these railguns are depleted uranium slugs. A common trait shared by many railguns in different games is the ability for a slug (or other ammo type) to hit and pass though multiple enemies with one shot as well as allowing one to see, one shot kill, and/or shoot though solid matter by use of some type of x-ray or even a thermal aiming device (mainly in first-person shooters). This is conspicuously similar to the behavior of the railguns in the aforementioned movie "Eraser", which was released during the first person shooter boom.

Other traits can include these weapons being able to do electricity- or EMP-based damage because most railguns in video games use electromagnets as a main power source.

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