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Post by wvengineer on Jun 17, 2023 13:44:24 GMT
I had an idea for a scifi space weapon.
This is a more realistic scifi setting. maybe a bit more advanced than The Expanse.
The weapon itself is a small projectile that does nothing more than project a very strong magnetic field around it. However, just prior to launching the weapon, the magnetic field is filled with high energy plasma. So the whole weapon is just to hold the plasma and then smash into the target ship with it. The plasma would be the primary destructive element.
Due to the vacuum of space, thermal loss from the plasma would be minimal. Once the warhead gets very close to the target, it would transfer the thermal energy of the plasma into the target hull. Once the projectile itself reaches the target, it would hit the hull with its kinetic energy and whatever damage you get from that, but I would imagine it being small compared to the energy of the plasma. Of course, once the projectile hits, it is destroyed and there is no longer any magnetic field to contain the plasma, it would start to disperse into space with only its inertial to try to direct some of the energy to the target. I would imagine some of the plasma energy would be lost to space.
So my question is, realistically, how much damage could something like this do? Conversely, how would someone counter such a weapon?
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Post by GTCGreg on Jun 17, 2023 14:08:48 GMT
The neon bulb in my power strip has plasma in it, and it’s not very destructive. But when it does start to get out of hand, I just turn it off.
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Post by rmc on Jun 17, 2023 15:36:56 GMT
I had an idea for a scifi space weapon. This is a more realistic scifi setting. maybe a bit more advanced than The Expanse. The weapon itself is a small projectile that does nothing more than project a very strong magnetic field around it. However, just prior to launching the weapon, the magnetic field is filled with high energy plasma. So the whole weapon is just to hold the plasma and then smash into the target ship with it. The plasma would be the primary destructive element. Due to the vacuum of space, thermal loss from the plasma would be minimal. Once the warhead gets very close to the target, it would transfer the thermal energy of the plasma into the target hull. Once the projectile itself reaches the target, it would hit the hull with its kinetic energy and whatever damage you get from that, but I would imagine it being small compared to the energy of the plasma. Of course, once the projectile hits, it is destroyed and there is no longer any magnetic field to contain the plasma, it would start to disperse into space with only its inertial to try to direct some of the energy to the target. I would imagine some of the plasma energy would be lost to space. So my question is, realistically, how much damage could something like this do? Conversely, how would someone counter such a weapon? Countermeasures might include making repulsive use of the magnetism involved some way? High magnetism used as a shell for the plasma like you say might provide a means to manipulate the projectile itself, possibly? |
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Post by the light works on Jun 17, 2023 23:04:35 GMT
I know that plasma cutters are a thing. my understanding is it is essentially a TIG electrode with an air jet blowing into the arc to make a more precise analog to a cutting torch.
so assuming you can fire a packet of plasma, first question would be if the heat of the plasma would destroy the magnetic nucleus. if it hit, would the plasma remain in contact long enough to heat the hull - keeping in mind insulating material. and then would you be counting on it heating enough to cause a blowout? because it would need an oxidizer to burn through the hull. of course that doesn't mean your nucleus can't contain the oxidizer
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Post by GTCGreg on Jun 17, 2023 23:48:44 GMT
I know that plasma cutters are a thing. my understanding is it is essentially a TIG electrode with an air jet blowing into the arc to make a more precise analog to a cutting torch. so assuming you can fire a packet of plasma, first question would be if the heat of the plasma would destroy the magnetic nucleus. if it hit, would the plasma remain in contact long enough to heat the hull - keeping in mind insulating material. and then would you be counting on it heating enough to cause a blowout? because it would need an oxidizer to burn through the hull. of course that doesn't mean your nucleus can't contain the oxidizer Yeah, a plasma cutter is just an arc un-welder. An electric arc melts the metal and an air jet blows the molten metal away. |
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Post by wvengineer on Jun 21, 2023 2:29:32 GMT
The plasma cutters that I have worked with are only good for about 1/4" / 1 cm thick metal. It's also a rather slow process. So I don't think that would be ideal for a anti ship warhead. Sabotage maybe or a boarding action maybe.
However, TLW idea of having a compressed gas in the nucleus is interesting. To take it a step further, a better option is a shaped charge. So you use the plasma to soften up the area of the hull, then a shaped charge in the warhead itself to blow through the softened hull. Interesting take, TLW.
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Post by GTCGreg on Jun 21, 2023 5:18:01 GMT
The plasma cutters that I have worked with are only good for about 1/4" / 1 cm thick metal. It's also a rather slow process. So I don't think that would be ideal for a anti ship warhead. Sabotage maybe or a boarding action maybe. Well yeah, if you buy one from Harbor Freight. Industrial plasma cutters can handle almost 3 inches. And that's operating from 480 Volts 3 phase. Imagine what one operating from an anti-matter power source could do. |
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Post by the light works on Jun 21, 2023 5:22:43 GMT
The plasma cutters that I have worked with are only good for about 1/4" / 1 cm thick metal. It's also a rather slow process. So I don't think that would be ideal for a anti ship warhead. Sabotage maybe or a boarding action maybe. However, TLW idea of having a compressed gas in the nucleus is interesting. To take it a step further, a better option is a shaped charge. So you use the plasma to soften up the area of the hull, then a shaped charge in the warhead itself to blow through the softened hull. Interesting take, TLW. I'm sort of seeing it as a plasma torpedo. you launch it, and it starts building plasma via some kind of reaction. perhaps you could even come up with some way it projects the plasma ahead of the torpedo. so the plasma hits first, and superheats the hull of the ship, then the warhead hits and delivers oxidizer/shaped charge/ whatever. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Jun 25, 2023 13:38:42 GMT
Star Trek's idea of what a plasma weapon might look like.
Time code 49:25
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Post by the light works on Jun 26, 2023 2:23:54 GMT
Star Trek's idea of what a plasma weapon might look like. Time code 49:25 trying a quote to get the video to come up. |
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Post by wvengineer on Jan 10, 2024 2:53:35 GMT
An interesting look at the physics of how conventional explosives work or don't work in a space setting.
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Post by the light works on Jan 10, 2024 13:31:51 GMT
An interesting look at the physics of how conventional explosives work or don't work in a space setting. I can still see a use for a canister shot style weapon over a gatling gun, which is that part of the mechanism of a gatling gun involves cooling the barrels, or at least slowing the rate of heating. with a canister shot projector, you first have a system where you can design your launcher to reduce the heat accumulation, possibly even making a rocket howitzer, rather than a gun - so the hottest parts of the firing process are launched rather than staying in the gun and second, you can have at least a negligible amount of terminal control over the dispersal of the shot. similarly, the advantage of the cluster weapon minefield is that you don't need to have a ship there to disperse the shot. the mines can remain dormant, until such time as you decide you NEED to deny the area, and then be activated remotely. the other point is that, as as used as a story element in a recent sci-fi book I read, on a planet, a kinetic weapon will eventually lose kinetic energy. in space, it just keeps coasting until it hits something. so an explosive warhead has the option of remote detonation, which would reduce its kinetic mass in the event of a miss. |
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