nebulous

ok here we go
<LOUD MECHANICAL WHINING NOISE>

Don't say gun it's a forbidden word oh shit oh shit oh no nono

They're benign and can't really be militarized (unless you want WWI Krupp levels of absurdity): https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wstf/site_tour/remote_hypervelocity_test_laboratory/two_stage_light_gas_guns.html

HI AND WELCOME TO THE HYDRAULIC PRESS CHANNEL,

Press. Why gas guns?

Because accelerating samples of material that needs to be characterized to velocities of 10 km/s can produce environments of several million times atmospheric pressure without the mess of explosive implosion... or the unanticipated consequences of an explosively pumped flux compression generator.

or we could get a hydraulic press
ewe