The railgun recoil debate

Do railguns have recoil, and would warships need to grow to become stable gun platforms?

The discussion ultimately acknowledges reaction forces, but does not quantify them or establish a required ship size. It distinguishes purely electromagnetic launchers from systems that also use a chemical charge.

The discussion starts with a claim that an ideal railgun could avoid recoil, then acknowledges that reaction forces still occur and that Newton's third law applies. Participants differ over whether to call those forces ordinary recoil and suggest that their size depends on the design. They also distinguish purely electromagnetic weapons from attempts that combine a chemical charge with electromagnetic acceleration. No recoil figures or complete naval installation are supplied, so the exchange does not establish how large a warship would need to be.