Alright this is just something that came across my mind in another discussion but I'm now actually really curious for the answers
overall I'm just curious how they're supposed to...work like what powers them, limits how far they extend and etc, but the big question I have is....do beams have weight?
What made me ponder this was gundams like the Deathscythe and the real life ways an actual scythe works, as a result it made me wonder...does the beam in a beam weapon have weight because that would (i'd think) greatly effect how one is wielded since without a physical metal blade there have no resistance and all sorts of physics that apply to well...a scythe! or a sword!
It's something that could probably date back to even Star Wars but I'm sure Star Wars somewhere has explained whether or not Lightsabers have some kind of weight..and I'm going to guess they do if only for the meta-reason the the actual actors were in reality waving around sticks.
So discuss! Do beam sabers, beam weapons in general have weight? Because the Beam Boomerang in particular will look really silly if it turns out there is no weight to the hot energy expending from the head of these weapons!
Beam Weapon Technology
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Silver_August
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Gone Astray
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Re: Beam Weapon Technology
Of course beams are going to have weight, as they're charged particles and thus have mass, so they'll have weight under gravity. That weight's negligible, though, which is an advantage of them: you can have very compact e-pacs for a beam rifle that has much more destructive power than a similarly sized gun that fires physical rounds. Beam sabers and shields also offer compact housing and more powerful offense and defense; one of the big reasons the UC timeline switches to beam shields is because they're lighter weight and more maneuverable.
But in regards to CE stuff, where the tech's not as rigorously defined as UC, we do still have at least one big indicator of the mass issue of beam weapons, and that's in the anti-ship swords which explicitly feature massive blades to help create a more powerful strike. On the other hand, though, this brings up how boomerangs are supposed to return; it's effectively missing just under half the mass of a normal boomerang, so it could potentially return if the center point of the spin were actually in the handle.
When it comes to scythes and polearms, you're forgetting that the staff itself is going to have mass, which will affect how a swing plays out. The Deathscythe and Shenlong actually have advantages in their weapons, since staff weapons make use of extra reach and centrifugal force when making swinging strikes; a heavy blade of some sort is going to aid penetration, but the nature of beam weapons means they don't need the extra mass of a physical blade in order to do even greater damage (and a beam scythe would actually be an effective weapon, as it wouldn't be limited to a cutting edge that runs along an inner arc). It would be a question of distancing your machine and its weapon, which can be handled by the onboard computer.
In real-life terms, I study Okinawan weapons. You can handle a regular staff and an eku (traditional wooden oar) in the same way, it's just the eku is balanced towards the heavy blade, and thus requires more force to swing; but as a consequence, it has much more penetrating power and can do some very nasty things to meat. Getting a regular staff to hit with the same force as an eku would require putting more energy into it to compensate the lesser mass (and even then, it won't have the same penetration due to a different shape).
But in regards to CE stuff, where the tech's not as rigorously defined as UC, we do still have at least one big indicator of the mass issue of beam weapons, and that's in the anti-ship swords which explicitly feature massive blades to help create a more powerful strike. On the other hand, though, this brings up how boomerangs are supposed to return; it's effectively missing just under half the mass of a normal boomerang, so it could potentially return if the center point of the spin were actually in the handle.
When it comes to scythes and polearms, you're forgetting that the staff itself is going to have mass, which will affect how a swing plays out. The Deathscythe and Shenlong actually have advantages in their weapons, since staff weapons make use of extra reach and centrifugal force when making swinging strikes; a heavy blade of some sort is going to aid penetration, but the nature of beam weapons means they don't need the extra mass of a physical blade in order to do even greater damage (and a beam scythe would actually be an effective weapon, as it wouldn't be limited to a cutting edge that runs along an inner arc). It would be a question of distancing your machine and its weapon, which can be handled by the onboard computer.
In real-life terms, I study Okinawan weapons. You can handle a regular staff and an eku (traditional wooden oar) in the same way, it's just the eku is balanced towards the heavy blade, and thus requires more force to swing; but as a consequence, it has much more penetrating power and can do some very nasty things to meat. Getting a regular staff to hit with the same force as an eku would require putting more energy into it to compensate the lesser mass (and even then, it won't have the same penetration due to a different shape).
"For who would lose, though full of pain, this intellectual being--those thoughts that wander through eternity; to perish rather, swallowed up and lost in the wide womb of uncreated night, devoid of sense and motion?"
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Silver_August
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Re: Beam Weapon Technology
So basically if i read that right, the beams SO have a weight to them that effects swinging movements so its not like they're just swinging a handle, but not enough to mirror a physical blade and thus give an advantage in the case of more...creative beam weapons like a scythe, making it more akin to a staff, right?
Cause I'm just wondering like holding a sword when you swing it around your swings are particularly based on well the weight of the object vs your own force, but if you have something virtually weightless, then you're more likely to end up flailing more randomly without the precision that comes from something actually there weighing you down so to speak.
but now the Death Scythe's weapon actually seems like a real handed piece of destruction then,
Cause I'm just wondering like holding a sword when you swing it around your swings are particularly based on well the weight of the object vs your own force, but if you have something virtually weightless, then you're more likely to end up flailing more randomly without the precision that comes from something actually there weighing you down so to speak.
but now the Death Scythe's weapon actually seems like a real handed piece of destruction then,
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Gone Astray
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Re: Beam Weapon Technology
UC material states explicitly that beam sabers and shields are planes of Minovsky particles that contain superheated plasma; for the sake of the argument in application to other series, I'm going to assume they run along similar lines. Beam mass would be negligible in the swing and strike, but the weight of the machine behind it, plus the focused heat energy from the blade, would more than make up for it when making penetration.
But you're thinking about using a weapon incorrectly. It's not the mass of the weapon against your own movement, but with. If your weapon's balance is directed into the handle (like, say, brass knuckles), then you're going to move it with that understanding unless you're more aware of it; again, with beam weapons, this is going to be cleared up by a computer (and Star Wars has the Force to make wielding a lightsaber a much less foolish endeavor, as they can be aware of where the virtually weightless blade is at all times).
This is me as a weapons student, but if you pick up a weapon and just start flailing it about without regard for the balance or construction, then you need to put it back down until you can learn not to flail, or do the world a favor and sever something vital.
But you're thinking about using a weapon incorrectly. It's not the mass of the weapon against your own movement, but with. If your weapon's balance is directed into the handle (like, say, brass knuckles), then you're going to move it with that understanding unless you're more aware of it; again, with beam weapons, this is going to be cleared up by a computer (and Star Wars has the Force to make wielding a lightsaber a much less foolish endeavor, as they can be aware of where the virtually weightless blade is at all times).
This is me as a weapons student, but if you pick up a weapon and just start flailing it about without regard for the balance or construction, then you need to put it back down until you can learn not to flail, or do the world a favor and sever something vital.
"For who would lose, though full of pain, this intellectual being--those thoughts that wander through eternity; to perish rather, swallowed up and lost in the wide womb of uncreated night, devoid of sense and motion?"
Re: Beam Weapon Technology
For CE's beam boomerang, the MG manual has some information on that
Basically, Sword Impulse's beam boomerang is bascially boomerang in name only. However, Infinite Justice's beam boomerang can function in similar way as a normal boomerang even in space as its movement is due to the beam blade's force field interacting with surrounding matter.
Basically, Sword Impulse's beam boomerang is bascially boomerang in name only. However, Infinite Justice's beam boomerang can function in similar way as a normal boomerang even in space as its movement is due to the beam blade's force field interacting with surrounding matter.
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Silver_August
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Re: Beam Weapon Technology
Leave it to the actual model kits to try and explain one of the more siller weapon ideas Gundam ahs ever come up with...in a serious setting mind you.
Makes me wonder if its possible to just make...a Beam Ring, loll like similar to the Stargazer's energy rings but instead its the same particle energy used in beam sabers so jsut running around you can slice stuff up.
Makes me wonder if its possible to just make...a Beam Ring, loll like similar to the Stargazer's energy rings but instead its the same particle energy used in beam sabers so jsut running around you can slice stuff up.
Re: Beam Weapon Technology
I'm going to sound like a d*ck for saying this...but before we get into another discussion of beam saber cutting mechanics, if that happens, perhaps it's best to clarify some basic laws and mechanics of physics, like thermodynamics/heat transfer/specific heat...