1. Flashfire07

    Flashfire07 Active Member

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    What resources are there for the science behind science fiction weaponry?

    Discussion in 'Research' started by Flashfire07, Apr 5, 2017.

    Hey all. I'm writing a science fiction story with a high emphasis on combat. Trouble is I have a very shaky basis in science so would like to find some pointers towards resources I can refer to (other than Wikipedia) in order to get at least a basic understanding of how the various weapons used will function (and maybe pillage a few inspirations if I'm being completely honest).
     
  2. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    Science fiction is by definition fiction. Usually sci-fi technology are based on strange concepts that are simply poorly understood by the general public. Or anything that pop science articles say are still mysterious to scientists.

    Personally, I use academic journals that unfortunately tend to be behind paywalls. Wikipedia can often give you a vague idea of complex ideas, but YouTube channels by fermilabs, pbs Spacetime, scishow... are very science forward and well written for general public.

    Is there any specific technology you'd like to understand the underlying physics of? Warp drives usually take advantages of quirks of general relativity and has valid solutions, light saber like weapons could be contained magnetically, but would be pretty useless and explode as soon as they hit another. Plasma projectiles would also simply explode, but there are better alternatives like a keugelblitz as a projectile. Antimatter is extremely dangerous, but with powerful enough magnets, it could fuel a huge structure.
     
  3. Flashfire07

    Flashfire07 Active Member

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    Thanks for taking the time to reply, youtube is a very useful resource. I am looking for information specifically on weaponry, the science may not be shown in the book but I prefer to keep my technology... plausible I suppose is the word. I'm worried that if I just go with what I think sounds plausible that I'll wind up with my readers just giggling at how inept my understanding of the things my characters are using is. Especially because one of the characters is employed to study the weapons their enemies use.

    I am particularly stuck on how to make solid projectile firearms more advanced. They seem pretty sorted out to me but in a few decades who knows what they'll be shooting at each other? Googling it has not turned up much in the way of good results either.

    Energy weapons are another one I'd like to know more about. Laser, plasma, radiation.... I have no idea what's scientifically plausible to kill each other with. At the moment I have radiation rifles that inflict horrific burns and will usually kill their victims one or the other (Would they irradiate the area? Would they damage inorganic materials?), lasers that are used to knock down a target (if pulsed, is that even viable? Does it actually create a shockwave effect or was that just a fantasy thing?) or just kill them (Does laser burn flesh or just burn a neat hole in it? Would they have to sweep a beam through a target and dismember them or could they just point and shoot? What does it do to water in the human body? Could a laser just make a character explode if they got shot?) and micro-missiles (How small can a guided explosive projectile be? How much guidance can a projectile be instilled with without manual remote guidance? Could one stick a plasma ball in one?).

    In addition one of the factions uses living symbiotic weapons. That's another kettle of fish that one... how would a living firearm... fire? How would it be reloaded? Would it eat?

    These are just some of the weapons questions I have but I'll leave it at that for now.
     
  4. Robert Musil

    Robert Musil Comparativist Contributor

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    Atomic Rockets is a website covering the hard-science side of all things sci-fi, and it is basically my bible when I'm writing. Here's a link to the section on weapons, but the whole thing is worth browsing: http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacegunintro.php

    Actually, that's more about ship-to-ship combat. Here's the link for fighting on or around a planet's surface: http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/planetaryattack.php

    If you click around you can find whatever you're looking for, it's a very comprehensive site.
     
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  5. Flashfire07

    Flashfire07 Active Member

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    Thank you for that link. It looks very useful so far!
     
  6. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    For projectile weapons, the future will be self-guiding bullets. We don't have the nano technology to do it yet, but there is no reason that we couldn't. A small computer capable of following a laser sight and some tiny tail fins should be able to hit a target every time from miles. For mounted weapons, rail guns will likely replace gunpowder. As soon as we figure out how to make superconducting magnets effectively, magnets can produce way more power than an explosive and won't produce a shockwave.

    Humans won't explode unless you use an explosive. Our bodies are mostly water, and all of that water is stored in pretty tough connections. Radiation weapons now mostly use IR to deter, but they are more than capable of killing someone. They're more adept at repelling people than anything though. It'll work very well to keep pirates from boarding your ship, but be pretty useless against any heat shielding armor.

    High intensity lasers like those mounted on 747s during the later stages of the cold war were huge chemical lasers that simply melted through the casing and destroyed the rocket. X-rays interact very strongly with metal and heat them. A laser of that power fixed on a person might obliterate the body, but most laser weapons won't even poke a hole, they'll just burn. A smaller personal weapon would likely burn a hole through its target, but the human body will self-seal. That's specifically why lasers are used in surgery: the cuts don't bleed.

    Lasers absolutely produce shockwaves. It'll super heat the air around it, which will cause it to expand. It'll likely not look like an explosion or anything, but it'll probably sound like lightning. Thunder is the shockwave created by the heating of the atmosphere as lightning traverses it.

    Plasma would be useless, it'll dissipate very quickly. It may burn people, but do next to nothing to equipment. Antimatter would be far superior. Of course creating and storing antimatter is both very hard and very dangerous.

    For ship to ship combat, antimatter or hydrogen weapons would likely dominate in space. Nukes have an upper limit to how powerful they can be, hydrogen does to but it's way higher and antimatter has no upper limit. Given enough shielding though, you could defend against either (NORAD would survive a hydrogen bomb assault.) A micro black hole will explode due to hawking radiation with as much power as antimatter, and can not be shielded against in any way so it the ultimate bunker buster.
     
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  7. Pinkymcfiddle

    Pinkymcfiddle Banned

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    Given the relative velocity you can achieve in space, the kinetic energy of a projectile could be catastrophic to ships, planets etc. No need for antimatter or nukes.

    EDIT: To add to that. If you were protecting earth, you would likely do two things: -

    1. Create a mine field of inanimate objects that any fast moving ships would slam into and disintegrate.

    2. Have projectiles in a fast orbit around the sun and redirect them towards any incoming ships, which they would disintegrate.
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2017
  8. Flashfire07

    Flashfire07 Active Member

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    Thanks for the thorough replies so far. I feel that I shoukd mention that I am primarily writimg from the perspective of infantry level squad based skirmishes. Special forces units and stuff like that. Space combat is something I won't be worrying about for a while as there are some oddities in the setting that need to figured out first.
     

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