I. Introduction
Attempts to accelerate projectiles to higher velocities continue to hold interest for those doing equation-of-state (EOS) research. Although the railgun has been considered as a potential tool for high-pressure EOS research for about two decades, its realization has taken longer than anticipated. The problems that have been encountered in attempts to use the railgun to accelerate projectiles to high velocities contain barrel wall ablation, plasma armature separation, and secondary arc formation by restrike et al. [1]. Sketch of the fast shock tube.