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| Technical Readout 2; Plasma Weapons and You | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 28 2007, 02:02 AM (106 Views) | |
| Janda | Sep 28 2007, 02:02 AM Post #1 |
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Shikaku
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[size=7]Technical Readout 21XX-2: Plasma Weaponry and You[/size] Well, what’s all this about, then? It has come to my attention that there is rather a lot of confusion going on at the moment about weaponry in the MMX-verse- particularly, about plasma weaponry. Assumptions are being made not on the basis of knowledge, but on the basis of ‘I want this to happen’ or ‘I want to do that’. Being one of the more scientifically-oriented minds about (and one of the most so without actually being a scientist) I guess I feel I ought to (or at least want to) fix that. I’m going to try to keep from entering that hoity-toity scientifical jargon if I can manage it, but there are some things that need technical terms, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to use them. That said, this is supposed to be a dissertation about plasma weaponry- specifically, how it works, and what limitations its operation provides. Given the difference of the two methods of use of plasma (beam melee weaponry and plasma cannon), I’m going to split the two up- but first comes the most basic form of explanation. For purposes of Rockman: Phaelin Era, I’m afraid you’re going to have to consider this ‘canon’- what is said here, goes, and I’m afraid there’s no choice involved. It would be nice to offer some, but what’s needed more than options is consistency. Before I will post this, the admins and other moderator will have had whatever cracks they want at it to spur me to add more information or alter things (if it makes sense to alter them- with real reason, not with ‘because I want to’). That said, if there’s anything that you personally feel needs elaboration in this, just wing me a private message and I’ll try to see to it that it gets written up. Compared to the first Technical Readout, this one is going to be quite short, but that’s understandable- it’s dealing with only one topic and three subtopics. Hopefully, even the length of the first Technical Readout will not discourage people from at least one reading- it lays out many important things that need to be distinguished before one can properly use a reploid or mechaniloid. So, without further ado- Plasma Weaponry and You. Part One: PLAYSMUH! Plasma. This curious term refers to what is sometimes known as the ‘fourth state of matter’ (after gas, liquid, and solid), and is sometimes known as ‘that stuff the sun is made of’. It appears in a surprising amount of science fiction, particularly that relating to games or war- and this is understandable given that its tendency is to act rather like a very spastic pyromaniac. The order of the day? Burn, burn, burn. But... what is this stuff? How do we manipulate it? How does it work? Ahhh, now we are asking the smart questions, yesss. Have a biscuit. So. First things first- there seem to be more than a few issues about what plasma actually is. So here’s the simplest way to lay it out: Plasma is supercharged matter. Doesn’t mean a whole lot, does it? Okay, let’s look at places where plasma happens that we know about. Plasma occurs naturally in space in stars and nebulae. It also forms lightning, flame, and the Aurora Borealis. People create plasma in plasma televisions, fluorescent lamps, rocket exhaust, and in arc lamps, arc welders, and plasma torches. Clearly there’s a lot of range in nature for plasma. Given that plasma can range in temperature from absolute zero (0 Kelvin) to roughly 100 million degrees Celcius (10 million Kelvin, seen in magnetic fusion), there’s clearly a lot to work with. Interstellar plasma has negligible heat and negligible magnetic effect, while plasma from the core of a star has not only intense heat but a very impressive magnetic effect on its surroundings. That’s all well and good, but cold nonreactive plasma isn’t much use as a weapon, and if you have your plasma too hot and/or too magnetic, you really can’t generate and/or manipulate it anyways- and if you did, it would either a: cook the planet or b: destroy all electronic systems on the planet. Clearly, some form of medium needs to be reached. For the sake of simplicity, I won’t go into the complications of plasma’s dual-temperature nature, but basically speaking a plasma such as would be used for these purposes (considered ‘weapons-grade plasma’) will have a temperature of several thousand degrees Celcius/Centigrade (despite being called, curiously, ‘cold plasma’), but will not conduct that heat into the air around it particularly well for a variety of reasons. Thus, we know that plasma is hot, but difficult to see as such without actually touching it. Further, the two defining characteristics of plasma (high energy, and separation of electrons from the molecular nucleae) mean that it is both a: electrically conductive and b: magnetically responsive. This is understandable, as these characteristics tend to go together anyways. This also indicates that plasma will be more effective against conductive materials, and can be manipulated through the use of magnetic fields. Because of the nature of plasma as highly excited matter, it tends to mass much less than any solid or liquid, so in an atmosphere, plasma tends to have something akin to a null mass, much like a balloon full of normal air- it won’t demonstrate any major effects from the pull of gravity, simply a gentle ‘downward drift’. Also due to this, if the magnetic field around a plasma is released, it will tend to disperse into a cloud of extreme charge and heat, shocking and cooking anything unlucky enough to be in the area. However, so long as the magnetic field is maintained, the plasma suffers a relatively slow rate of attrition of energy, and can take some time to disperse. Because of the functioning of busters- a form of plasma cannon- it can be concluded that the plasma typically used within the Rockman-verse is what is known as ‘dusty plasma’. The buster draws in particulate matter from the surroundings, mixed with gas, that are then aggregated and charged with energy to both heat and ionize them. This results in a somewhat round cluster of plasma contained in its own magnetic field that is then pushed away by another magnetic field, ‘shooting’ it out from the buster’s barrel. With a beam weapon, on the other hand, the dusty plasma is simply leaked out into a shaped magnetic field that guides it into the form of a blade or, really, any shape magnetically desired. There are two major results of this. The first is such: Plasma is less effective the longer it spends traveling- and it moves relatively slow, since the motion of plasma is created entirely by magnetic fields. The entire time that a ‘ball’ of plasma is traveling through the air, water, or any other material, it is losing energy- energy that keeps it in the state of plasma. Because of this, as plasma travels, it will gradually lose cohesiveness until it dissipates into a cloud of hot electrical gas. This invalidates a number of otherwise potential uses- plasma artillery is a pretty unreasonable concept because the plasma masses would both take rather too long to get where they are going and tend to dissipate into clouds of hot lightning somewhere midair quite possibly nowhere near the target, especially at extreme ranges. To a point these problems can be worked around- a longer barrel on a plasma weapon permits installation of magnetic coils that can be used to accelerate the plasma further- but there’s always the issue of added friction on a mass that is less solid than water- which tends to separate out into masses of tiny droplets when traveling large distances. The second result is that plasma causes damage through heat and electricity. This means that protecting oneself against plasma basically involves insulation- nonconductive materials will take less damage as they absorb less heat and receive less electricity. Ergo, the plasma-resistant materials seen are all resistant to temperature variation and electricity as well. That or they are surrounded by a highly disruptive set of magnetic fields, which would serve quite well to force plasma to disperse before actually reaching the material itself. To a point it is relatively easy to protect oneself against plasma, but because of the nature of atomic physics, it is also relatively difficult to protect oneself completely against it. If that’s too much to take in, here it is: To wit, plasma is a gas with a mass close to that of air that responds to magnetism and both shocks and burns whatever it contacts. Part Two: Imma Chargin’ Mah Busta Now we move on to the juicy stuffs. How some of these weapons work, so you can actually use them and know whatall you’re doing with them- and how to expect things to react and what effect you can expect them to do. The two that will be covered in this informational are, of course, busters and beam weaponry- and what should we start with? Why, what was first crafted- busters. Now, the nomenclature of the weapon is a bit odd (Buster? After a person, or are they supposed to ‘bust things up’?), but that aside, their functioning is fairly straightforwards. A buster primarily consists of two elements- a ‘release’ barrel surrounded by an electromagnetic coil, and a ‘charging chamber’ holding a magnetic suspension field and various small electrical elements. At its default setting, a buster will simply charge a small volume of gas and then launch it by manipulating the magnetic field in its barrel via electromagnet. This launches a small ‘bead’ of plasma in the shape of its own electromagnetic field, with a certain degree of charge and heat. Because of its nature as a magnetically cohesive mass of supercharged gas, it has both minimal momentum and relatively low effect on whatever it contacts. What energy it does have is focused into a relatively small area, so it will likely pit or pock whatever it encounters, expending itself in the process without all of the plasma actually reaching the target. Lacking the proper momentum or impetus to spread on impact, these shot are actually fairly good for pinpoint shooting, though the low speed of plasma shot from a buster (~40-50 miles per hour) makes it difficult to use them on a target with any agility. Furthermore, the nature of plasma makes them ineffective at a range of roughly ten to fifteen meters, as they expend themselves, denaturing into what a human or animal might experience as a ‘tingly warm spot in the air’. In order to ‘charge’, a plasma buster takes in ambient dusts and gases, either through vents or through the barrel, and charges them together to generate a ‘dusty plasma’. Partial charging results in a somewhat half-formed mass of plasma (sometimes derogatorily called a ‘snotball’) that leaks out its charge as it travels through the air. Despite the difficulties this tends to cause with plasma stability, the greater volume and magnetic field of this ‘hot’ dusty plasma makes it considerably more damaging than the base shot of a buster. Between the greater volume and the less coherent plasma field, these shot have roughly the same range as the standard buster shot, and are easier to dissipate, typically spreading only slightly on impact before losing enough energy to become harmless. A fully charged buster shot, with the same amount of dust as a ‘snotball’ shot but more complete ionization, tends to take a form considered a ‘fireball’- and an apt description that is. With a much more solid nature than pure-gas or nebulous ‘snotball’ plasma, a charged buster shot can travel nearly three times as long before dissipating into a crackling cloud of dangerously hot gas. When they impact, fully charged dusty plasma shot tend to try to retain their shape, thanks to their intrinsic magnetic field, while maintaining their velocity and direction. The result of this is that the entire volume of plasma tends to impact and burn into what it strikes, with any remaining continuing onwards after eating a hole in its target. There are, of course, certain difficulties inherent in busters. As mentioned previously, the short barrel length of a typical buster severely limits the traveling speed of the plasma, making the shot considerably slower than that of a projectile or even of some missile or rocket weapons. A well-hurled throwing weapon can outpace plasma shot at times- though it simply does not match for destructive potential. Furthermore, mounting multiple busters can cause some rather large problems as the magnetic fields involved both in dust-collection and manipulating the plasma can interfere- improperly calibrated dual busters can, on charging, cause each other to overload and erupt in a large and very hot cloud of plasma. Buster shot passing each other can warp each others’ trajectory, or the larger can absorb the smaller. For any but a properly-charged dusty plasma shot, avoiding harm can be as simple as holding up a piece of paper in the way. A disrupted plasma shot can generate pretty severe collateral damage, and finally, a good strong electromagnet can simply repulse plasma shot entirely. On the other hand, plasma cannon such as busters do not need actual ammunition. There is very little wear and tear on the internal parts, as it is basically an electronic device with magnets in. To a certain degree, the magnetic fields of a buster will protect it against electromagnetic disruption, particularly since the electronics need to be insulated against themselves and each other anyways. And finally, it is very hard to jam or misoperate a plasma launcher. Despite all this, there is a limit to the places for plasma cannon. Because their projectiles have very little mass and therefore very little momentum, there is a rather low cap on the speed of a plasma shot, and thus on the range such can be used at. As a general guideline, no weapon that launches plasma is going to be practically effective at ranges greater than six hundred meters- and that distance assumes a multi-ton cannon. For plasma launchers wieldable by someone of typical human size, a general upper limit of one hundred feet for a heavy cannon with a shape somewhat akin to a rocket launcher or bazooka is relatively reasonable. This, of course, is keeping in mind that a plasma launcher is much more damaging than ballistics when applied to nonorganic material, effectively being a form of ammunitionless short range rocket. Part Three: Form Blazing Sword! So, then, what about beam weapons? Well, these are at once both less and more complex than plasma cannon such as busters. Why less and more? Well, the functioning of them is relatively simple. Unfortunately, the nature of plasma means that beam weapons function *very* differently from standard melee weapons, which can result in a lot of very large misconceptions about what happens when you fight using them. Let’s start with the easy part. So, what is this thing, anyways? Beam weapons are, at the heart of them, a simple concept. Here, we have plasma. Unlike a sharp piece of metal, plasma is dangerous from *every side*, not just whatever sides we manage to make pointy or put an edge on. So, supposedly, if we substitute plasma for the blade of a weapon- particularly a sword- we don’t have to worry about using a backswing to retract the weapon before attacking again, or even what orientation we’ve got the handle in. If we’re moving the blade through where our enemy is, we’re hitting them. Now, this is great. Suddenly, someone with a melee weapon is just that much more dangerous. Dangerous to themselves as well until they learn what they’re doing, but hey, that’s what a practice sword is for anyways. Of course, in order to keep the plasma in place, you need a magnetic field. And you’ve got to have something to generate the plasma. So a beam weapon is basically a plasma cannon minus the dust-collection element and minus the magnetics to form a barrel. Of course, this means that there needs to be something to collect the dust if we want the beam weapon to be optimally damaging. This is where things like Zero Omega’s little white backpack come into play. Any beam weapon has a limit to how much it can function before it runs out of dust reserve- which is what such ‘charging stations’ or ‘beam chargers’ are for- when the weapon is clipped into place on the charger, the charger ‘dumps’ gathered dust into the reserves within the weapon itself, as well as recharging its internal power stores. The power is then used to both generate a magnetic field that shapes the ‘blade’ of the weapon, and to excite the stored dust and any dust and gas within the magnetic field into a plasma state. Because of this, basically all of the mass in a beam weapon is contained in its handle or haft- the blade literally weighs as little as air. The beam potentially damages anything it touches, and plasma weapons interact primarily via the clashing of magnetic fields. As such, they will often generate hissing or crackling sounds when they clash, as the two volumes of plasma leak into one another through magnified imperfections in the magnetic field, eating into the air much as they do when the weapon is swung. Alright, that’s great. What can I do with this, then? Well, there are a lot of issues with trying to use beam weaponry- for the sake of argument, let us consider a beam saber as compared to a steel saber. First off, there is the blade itself. A metal saber is only dangerous when its wielder stabs with the point of it, or when it is brought around in a chopping or slashing motion with the sharp edge in the lead. Furthermore, the mass of the blade, particularly gathered near the end as typical with a saber, will increase the momentum of the swing, causing it to deal more damage as the wedge of the blade is driven further into whatever it impacts. A beam saber, however, has simply a length of plasma. This is dangerous to touch at all, whether the grip with its magnetic field is moving or not. Stabbing is certainly going to deal damage, but the wielder can strike just as easily on the backswing or while swinging ‘sideways’ as they will with a normal slash. The blade itself has no mass at all, which means that the only thing contributing to the swing is the muscle of the wielder themself. Of course, the damage dealt by the blade is dependent not on its sharpness or the strength of the wielder, but on the intensity of the plasma and how quickly more is generated to replace what ‘expends’ itself in burning and electrifying the target. Literally speaking, the strength of the wielder has absolutely no effect on how damaging a plasma blade is. Finally, when a plasma blade is swung- especially when it is swung suddenly- the magnetic field will move faster than the plasma. This causes plasma to trail from the ‘backside’ of the swinging blade, leaving a brief and dangerous cloud of electrified and superheated gas- hence the apparent ‘bending’ of beam weapons- it takes time to replace the plasma that has left the magnetic field, and it effectively generates from the base of the blade out to the tip, which results in the curious, almost-spiraling curve of damaging plasma left by a quickly-swung beam saber. Second off, there is the matter of clashing weapons. With a metal saber, it is stopped by anything it contacts- it is solid, and cannot pass through other objects. This includes armor, shields, people, walls, and, of course, other weapons. When metal weapons impact each other, the blades cut into one another, leaving nicks and gouges. This also ends the swings of such weapons. The same goes for a shield- it functions against a steel weapon because it stops the swing. With a beam saber, the only way to actually stop the swing is to interfere with the magnetic field- such as from another beam saber. Anything without a repulsing magnetic field will simply ‘absorb’ whatever plasma is spent to damage it, and let the swing of the blade continue. This is *very* different. A shield works against a beam saber because it absorbs the plasma- it doesn’t stop the swing, and presently it will be eaten through. Parrying a beam saber with a beam saber is possible because they use similarly-oriented magnetic fields, which repulse each other. In fact, the actual blades of beam weapons rarely, if ever, come into contact simply because the magnetic fields repulse each other strongly enough that the closer together they get, the more difficult it becomes to push them any closer together. Now, it is a bit of a presumption that beam weapons will use the same orientation, but it makes sense to use a standardized polarization- all-positive, let us suppose. This is because beam weapons of differing orientation will *attract* each other- likely resulting in a unification of the magnetic fields, followed shortly by explosive overload that likely damages both wielders very severely. In the event of someone aiming for a pyrrhic victory- a suicide strike, effectively- this would work, but it is safe to assume that this is a relatively rare thing. At any rate, a clashing of beam weapons rarely does any damage to either weapon, because they tend to have a set strength of magnetic field. As a final note, beam weapons have something that metal weapons do not- a certain degree of customizability. A steel saber has its set length and breadth of blade and that’s that. Relatively speaking, it is simplicity itself to slightly alter the strength or shape of a magnetic field to allow a beam weapon’s blade to become longer, shorter, broader, thinner, or possibly even to grant it a small inherent curve. What does all this mean? Well- a beam weapon’s ability to deal damage is entirely due to its plasma. No matter how strong you are, your beam weapon has a more or less set ability to damage. The magnetic fields clash- not the plasma. No matter how nasty the plasma in your beam weapon is, its ability to clash with another beam weapon is based entirely on its magnetic field, as manipulated by your strength in moving it about, and your mass providing an anchor. Strength applies to beam weapon combat only in regards to situations where the magnetic fields clash. Otherwise, the only thing concerned is the volatility of the plasma involved. Hopefully, this will make plasma weapons much more comprehensible, and misunderstandings considerably less commonplace. |
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Call me a ronin if you will. Or if you won't, a wanderer. Makes no difference to me. -Janda I am dreadfully sorry about this, but I am going to have to kill you now. -Renowned mercenary-assassin Ariadne, only recorded statement ever. | |
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