Someone asked recently what kind of weapon works well in space. This kind.
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I mean, railguns would probably be more effective in space, I actually remember there was a story with an alien race making an empire with energy weapons (so possibly lasers by another name) and developed excellent shields to make them useless against them.
Then they ran into humans who had railguns....and they just smashed through their shields because they were kinetic weapons. It's always good to have a variety of options than only improve one.
Rail guns still have the problem that the barrels and magnets wear out with every shot. And unless I miss my guess(based on my own experience with linear accelerators) they'd generate a fair bit more heat than something like this.
Not saying kinetic weaponry wouldn't have a place, but in early space combat it'd likely take the form of guided missiles which externalize most of their heat after leaving the ship.
everything wears out.
at the current level of technology, any [space]shp carrying these weapons is going to "wear out" from being shot at by railguns, way before the railgun barrels get worn out by intensive use.
Some things wear out faster than others. You can get a lot of use out of a super magnet and it doesn't have a lot of moving parts, but you need a steady supply of deionized water to keep it cool. Or else it'll arc and start melting your other components.