Coilgun Superweapon Traps Atoms

In most cases, you hear about researchers think their nifty science project is going to lead to the next superweapon, but Discovery News writes about the opposite: a notional superweapon helping out basic science:

Researchers at the University of Texas-Austin have built a so-called coilgun that works in reverse, stopping atom- and molecule-sized bullets in flight. The research could eventually help measure the mass of one of the most elusive and ubiquitous particles in the universe, the neutrino.

"What motivated this was weapons research," said Mark Raizen, a professor of physics at the University of Texas and one of the study's authors. "It's not often that weapons technology leads to basic research."

Coilguns are a standard feature of science fiction, but attempts by the military to make such a weapon practical have yet to succeed.

The goal of this project, according to the article, is to weigh the ever elusive neutrino:

*Here's how it works: The researchers trap particles from the air, store them in a tiny chamber, and release them in the direction of the gun. When a particle reaches the gun and encounters the coils, each coil's magnetic field progressively slows the particle down without touching it. *

And maybe someday scientists could figure out how to build a real, usable coilgun.