Mike It really appears we arguing at cross purposes here, in that you are arguing the singular listed item the Gauss Rifle is introduced at TL12. Which I don't disagree with you about.
The point I am making that there is definitely the possibility of electromagnetic propulsive devices available at earlier tech levels that have performance characteristics similar to the ACR. What I am not saying that Electromagnets are the sole solution in this broad class of weapons, but an additional option.
Traveller TL's are partially defined by energy density of storage medium...
transcribed from Striker Bk 4:
| TL | Storage | Price |
| 8 | 1.25 | 325 |
| 9 | 2.25 | 375 |
| 10 | 3 | 525 |
| 11 | 3.5 | 675 |
| 12 | 4 | 850 |
| 13 | 10 | 3000 |
| 14 | 15 | 5000 |
| 15 | 25 | 10000 |
Storage is in MW⋅s/kg of battery.
Current real world high end runs 100 W⋅h/kg to 150 W⋅h/kg (depending upon a range of factors)...1 W⋅h/kg = 3.6 KW⋅s/kg
So 100 W⋅h/kg = 0.36 MW⋅s/kg
Tessla is pushing past those numbers - I've seen refs to 250 W⋅h/kg, and they are aiming for 1 KW⋅h/kg of charge. (1 KW⋅h/kg is 3.6 MW⋅h/kg) - TL 11.
In certain applications, capacitance banks have already exceeded that, but only on large scales and VERY short terms.
(The TL8 numbers are probably capacitance banks, not batteries, a subtle but important difference, as capacitance banks are designed for high load short use)
Note that Tesla currently has around 250 W⋅h/kg or 0.9 MW⋅S/kg – we're not even TL 8 yet for batteries – and that the effective penetration is mathematically derived - a useful no-backpack GR is about TL12 simply for energy issues, and because the defined energy needs true room temp superconductors.
https://electrek.co/2016/11/02/tesl...energy-density-cell-world-cheapest-elon-musk/
http://www.allaboutbatteries.com/Battery-Energy.html
