Muzzle velocity design. In a side by side comparison with the .50 BMG, the titanium round "of any caliber" released almost 28 times the energy of the .50 BMG, with only a 27% mean loss in momentum. Energy, in most cases, is what is lethal to the target, not momentum. In conventional guns, muzzle velocity is determined by the quantity of the propellant (burn speed, expansion), the mass of the projectile, and the length of the barrel. A slower-burning propellant needs a longer barrel to burn completely, but can, on the other hand, use a heavier projectile. A faster-burning propellant may accelerate
Bussard ramjet to accelerate into the solar wind. However, in their calculations they assumed that: In the Zubrin/Andrews interplanetary ramjet design, they calculated that the drag force d/dt("mv") equals the mass of the scooped ions collected per second multiplied by the velocity of the scooped ions within the solar system relative to the ramscoop. The velocity of the (scooped) collected ions from the solar wind was assumed to be 500,000 m/s. The exhaust velocity of the ions when expelled by the ramjet was assumed not to exceed 100,000 m/s. The thrust of the ramjet d/dt("mv") was equal to the mass of ions