Editing Magnetic Accelerator Cannon

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[[Image:Coilgun animation.gif|thumb|340px|The basic design of a Coilgun.]]
<center>''Were you looking for [[MAC Blast]]?''</center>


{{Quote|That MAC gun can put a round clean through a [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] capital ship.|[[Sergeant Johnson]], talking to the [[John-117|Master Chief]] on board the [[Orbital Defense Platform]] ''[[Cairo Station|Cairo]]''.}}

The '''Magnetic Accelerator Cannon''', also known as '''Mass Accelerator Cannon'''<ref>''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', page 119</ref>, or the '''MAC Gun''' or '''MAC Cannon''', is a large [[Wikipedia:Coilgun|coilgun]] that serves as the primary offensive weapon for [[UNSC]] warships. 

A larger variant is in service aboard [[Orbital Defense Platform]]s. Within the UNSC arsenal, only nuclear ordnance exceeds the power of the MAC. The [[M68 Gauss Cannon]] used by UNSC ground forces mounted on some [[Warthog]]s may be regarded as a relative of the MAC, albeit on a much smaller scale.

==Overview==

 
[[File:1206045726 Orbital MAC Gun.jpg|thumb|Cairo station with the tower at top being a MAC Gun.]]
==Mounting==
The size of a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon is such that it is normally an integral component of a warship's structure. Some types of Defense Stations are literally built around the massive weapon for orbital defense. A good example of this is [[Cairo Station]]. The MAC gun can be clearly seen protruding from the rest of the platform. After [[Cortana]] says, "I'm going loud", you can look outside and witness the cannon firing.

===Ammunition===
A typical ship-based MAC fires slugs of either ferric [[Tungsten]] or depleted uranium at 40% the speed of light. The high muzzle speed gives the 600 ton slug the kinetic energy and momentum necessary to damage a target and partially mitigates the unguided nature of the slug and its lack of maneuverability. [[ODP|Orbital Defense Platforms]] fire a 3,000 ton slug at nearly 50% of the [[Wikipedia:Speed of light|speed of light]] about 150,000 km/s, enough to pierce the shield of a Covenant ship, destroy it and keep going (as seen in ''[[Halo: Uprising]]'' pt 4.) (similar to the Stanchion Rifle of ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' on how it pierced office buildings and its trajectory and velocity were unchanged). Hence demonstrating the ability of the MAC round to pierce multiple obstacles before fully stopping the projectile, if needed.

The Super MAC Slug can be seen on the level [[Cairo Station (Level)|Cairo Station]]; Go out of the elevator to the bomb and immediately turn left, then go into the hollow rail in the middle of the room, you will see the 3,000 ton slug being placed into the firing chamber. In other words, stare down the moving thing in the middle of the room. Consequently, walking into the firing chamber will result in the [[Master Chief]] being crushed by a slug as it is loaded into the chamber.

===Aiming===
The integration of the MAC to its hull means the entire warship or station must maneuver to aim the weapon. With the latest generation of 'Smart AI's', hitting a fleeing ship from 100,000km is more than possible. At a distance, one would have to aim where the target is <i>going</i> to be, a simple calculation for a Smart AI.

===Firing===
The firing process of a super MAC gun can be seen in the level [[Cairo Station (Level)|Cairo Station]]. The process uses electromagnetism to fire a ferromagnetic-tungsten slug at high velocity. An extremely large amount of current is put through the first solenoid (coil of conducting wire) which creates a strong magnetic field which attracts the metal slug. As the slug passes into the solenoid, the solenoid is quickly turned off and the second solenoid, which is further up, turns on, which attracts the now high velocity metal slug just like the first solenoid, and the process is carried on. By the time the slug is fired out the end of the barrel it has been accelerated to a speed of approximately 40 - 50% of the speed of light (120 000 - 150 000 km/s). At the same time, a pair of thrusters on the bottom side of the station fire for a couple of seconds to counteract the acceleration imparted to the station. The process then repeats. It normally takes five seconds to recharge the capacitors as well as load the slug, which is why boarding craft have to be deployed to take the stations out.

==Types==
===Standard Magnetic Accelerator Cannon===
The standard ship-mounted MAC fires a 600-ton ferric-tungsten projectile with a depleted uranium core at 40% the speed of light. The large amount of energy needed to fire the weapon is particularly onerous on a warship, and the extended recharge time is a significant factor in combat against Covenant warships as multiple MAC rounds are required to penetrate Covenant shields. At&nbsp;1.17 Gigatons&nbsp;(Yield)&nbsp;per shot, the standard MAC is sufficient to destroy any human vessel or severely damage an unshielded Covenant vessel. 

An experimental version of the MAC was developed to fire three successive rounds on a single capacitor charge. A prototype was mounted on the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}.<ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''</ref> This MAC was specially designed to fire the consecutive Tungsten-cored shots with an outer casing and a ferrous shell on top. Behaving like a normal [[assault rifle |assault rifle]]'s shredder rounds, it gave the cannon three consecutive blows for one shot, which could supposedly down a Covenant ship with one charge.

The colony ship-turned-warship [[UNSC Spirit of Fire]]'s [[MAC cannon]] is revealed to be unable to penetrate a [[Citadel (Covenant)|Citadel]]'s [[Shield Generator (Covenant)|shield]] in ''[[Halo Wars]]'' in one hit. This might be the result of a weaker, earlier version of the Cannon, or that the Shield is simply very powerful. It is likely though that the ''Spirit of Fire'', being a colony ship refitted for battle, had a weaker MAC gun. Alternatively, it may only be for gameplay purposes.



 

[[Image:Cairo_Mac_firing.jpg|thumb|Cairo Orbital MAC Station firing.]]

==="Super" Magnetic Accelerator Cannon===
:''Main article: [[Orbital Defense Platform]]''
A UNSC Defense Platform typically mounts a much larger and more powerful version of the standard MAC, nicknamed "Super MAC" or "The Big Stick." 

These cannons fire a 3000-ton ferric-tungsten round at nearly 50% the speed of light, impacting with a massive amount of relativistic kinetic energy, which&nbsp;at 50% of&nbsp;the speed of&nbsp;light is of equal power to&nbsp;9.98 Teratons of&nbsp;TNT. No known ship, UNSC or Covenant, has been shown to survive the impact of one of these rounds. Against Covenant shield technology, the rounds possess enough kinetic energy to punch through shields, cut through the ship, and, upon exit, still retain enough energy to cripple or destroy a second ship. It is theorized that if a ship's armor or shields were to absorb all the kinetic energy of a MAC round, the release of thermodynamic energy would still vaporize the ship. By receiving power from [[Orbital Defense Generator|ground-based power plants]], orbital platforms could achieve recharge and reload times as short as five seconds.

===Related Technologies===
====[[M68 Gauss Cannon|Gauss Cannon]]====
The Gauss cannon is a UNSC weapon mounted on the [[M12G1 Warthog LAAV|Gauss Warthog]] and on the stationary Gauss Turrets. It uses MAC technology, but on a much smaller scale. It is used as a light anti-armor weapon against the ground forces of the Covenant.

====[[Model 99 Special Application Scoped Rifle|M99 Stanchion Gauss Rifle]]====
The M99 is a man portable anti-material and anti-personnel special application weapon. It utilized the same technology as the M68 Gauss cannons, only on a much smaller scale, using 5.4mm/.21 caliber rounds. Though smaller than conventional ammunition, these rounds were accelerated to speeds fast enough to travel long distances with almost no change in trajectory, punch through any obstructing materials, hit their target, and still retain significant kinetic energy. Despite their effectiveness, production of this weapon ceased in [[2521]].{{fact}}

====Mass Drivers====
While never officially incorporated as a weapon, Mass Drivers have been used, most notably at the Rubble and Harvest, as MAC weapons. Their purpose is for drilling holes into asteroids and moving giant metal ingots to other in-system locations, but it can be a very powerful weapon. They use MAC technology to fire a large, dense slug across whatever distance necessary. It has been noted that they could launch a slug across the entire system of Hesoid. While not a purpose-built weapon like a MAC, these platforms are still potent weapons of opportunity. In [[2525]], [[Mack]] used two mass driver rounds to cripple the [[Brute]] controlled cruiser [[Rapid Conversion]].

====LRG Rail Gun====
While MAC's work on the principle of Gauss technology, railguns are a similar but separate type of projectile acceleration, instead using two rails of powerful electromagnets, rather than coils, activated in sequence to accelerate a ferrous projectile. The only known railgun in service in the UNSC was the [[LRG Rail Gun]] mounted on the [[SP42 Cobra]].

====M92 Principle Gauss Cannon====
The M92 Principle Gauss Cannon is one of the many weapons mounted on the [[Open Frame 92/Extra-Vehicular Activity]], it is used primarily for attacks on Covenant vessels.

==Speculation==
===Other MAC Sizes===
Although never explicitly elaborated upon, there may be many more different sizes of MAC weaponry based on the sizes of possible mounts. For example, one might extrapolate that a [[UNSC Frigate|frigate]] would mount a smaller, less powerful cannon than a [[UNSC Supercarrier|supercarrier]] or a {{Class|Marathon|Cruiser}}, if only for power management issues.
Conceivably, a 'large' ship could mount many 'small' MACs. However, the lack of such occurrences might suggest that the power of a MAC, once the mass and volume of all attendant components (i.e. capacitors) are accounted for, does not scale linearly. There is one known exception (destroyers), which are outfitted with two MAC cannons. The [[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn]] had one large MAC cannon which could fire three 144 ton "shredder" rounds in succession on a single charge (see below).

==={{Class|Halcyon|Cruiser|}} MAC Location===

 
[[Image:POA-MAC Schematic.jpg|left|thumb|An overlay of the Pillar of Autumn and its MAC.]]
Many believe that the MAC barrel is located near the underside of the ship, where there are three large plates. However, it is more likely that the barrel is located along the entire length of the ship.

=== Space Stations' MAC Location ===

Further supporting the hyper cargo elevator, the player can look up and visibly observe the Super MAC platform in action. The slug travels through the entire length of the tower, and exits at the "top" of the further nozzle. Later in the level, the player can notice the loading zone of the slugs at the base of the firing chamber.

==UNSC Usage==
The following unit types mounted some form of MAC weaponry.

*{{Class|Halcyon|Cruiser}}s
*{{Class|Marathon|Cruiser}}s
*{{Class|Phoenix|Colony Ship}}s (wartime refit)
*[[Orbital Defense Platform]]s
*[[UNSC Destroyer]]s
*[[UNSC Frigate]]s

==Trivia==
 The Magnetic Accelerator Cannon is twice mistakenly referred to as the "Mass Accelerator Cannon" in the [[Halo Universe]] - in ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', and in [[Halo Wars]], in which it is referred to as a "Mass ''Accelerated'' Cannon", which seems to be a simple typo as it does not make sense grammatically. It may be a confusion between the MAC and the [[Mass Driver]], a non-military application of similar technologies.



==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Mac.jpg|Three frigates around the portal firing MAC rounds.
Image:1211481899 36048131-Full.jpg|MAC charges exploding over the [[Portal]].
Image:Navesota.jpg|The front view of a frigate's MAC cannon.
Image:PoAed.JPG|MAC muzzle.
Image:61013766-Medium.jpg|The MAC of a Frigate.
</gallery>

==Sources==
<references/>

==Links==
===Internal===
*[[M68 Gauss Cannon]]
*[[MAC Blast]]

===External===
*[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_stationsignage/ "Bungie.org - MAC"]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun "Railgun on Wikipedia"]


{{Template:UNSC Heavy Weapons}}
[[es:MAC]]
[[Category:UNSC Weapons]]
[[Category:Starship Weapons]]