US Navy's sci-fi railgun breaks record for most powerful gun on the planet (VIDEO)

The futuristic gun was tested twice at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., and the first shot generated 33 megajoules of force out of the barrel, a world record for muzzle energy, the scientists said.

One megajoule is a unit of energy roughly equal to the energy generated by a 1-ton vehicle moving at 100 MPH. The same rail gun generated about 10 megajoules during a test two years ago.

Roger Ellis, the railgun program manager, told The Washington Post that people "see these things in the video games, but this is real. This is what is very historical."

What is novel about the gun – aside from its astonishing power – is the way it works.

Instead of relying on explosive propellants like gunpowder to fire, the gun uses a giant surge of electricity to propel the slug out of the barrel at speeds that can approach Mach 8 and can strike targets more than 100 miles away.   

Charles Garnett, a project manager on the railgun experiment, told the Post that the gun gets its power the same way a pocket camera builds up energy to operate its flash, but on a much larger scale.

Also, the projectile does not carry a warhead and therefore does not explode on impact, which will allow Navy ships to carry far less explosive material on board and cut down on the possibility of accidental blow ups.

Instead, the slug obliterates whatever it hits by sheer force of impact, hence the Navy's Latin motto for the project, "velocitas eradico." Translation: Speed destroys.

The Navy also said that the railgun will allow warships to attack enemies from safe distances and could be used as a defense against enemy cruise missiles.