Fallon Kell
Commodore
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1846
Location: Tacoma, WA
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 Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 2:37 am Post subject: How blasters work |
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I suppose this subject transcends several forum divisions (ships & equipment, Gamemasers, Fan-made sourcebooks, and later even Artwork), but I figured here would be as good a spot for it as any...
I've been working on a plausible reconciliation of all the conflicting information on how exactly blaster weapons work. Most canon sources describe blaster bolts as being particle beams or coherent light energy, despite the fact that particle beams and light travel at light speed. Blaster and laser cannon bolts clearly don't. Add to this the fact that clone troopers carried "plasma blasters" which delivered bolts of plasma to the target instead of energy beams, but were still apparently fundamentally similar to a standard blaster in operation and design.
So I would appreciate it if anyone wanted to look over the first segment my rough draft and see if they can spot any blatant canon contradictions that I may have to work around.
| Quote: | How blasters work...
A blaster-type weapon is any weapon which fires a beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation, encapsulated in an accelerated plasma bolt. Blaster-type weapons range in power from simple hold out blasters, no more powerful than a small slugthrower, to the Empire’s massive superlasers that destroy or disfigure planetary bodies in a single discharge. They appear in many exotic varieties including standard blasters, disruptors, turbolasers, maser cannons, and more.
At the heart of blaster technology lie the blaster gasses. Blaster ammunition consists of any one or a mix of excitable gasses, including Eleton, Tolium, Prothium, Orveth, Skevon, Sig, and occasionally Tibanna, among a few others. The type of blaster gas fired determines the color of the bolt. The gasses and colors correspond mostly as follows.
Eleton - Magenta
Tolium - Blue-Green
Prothium - Orange
Orveth - Yellow
Skevon - Red
Sig - Green
Tibanna – Blue
Note that mixing gasses can produce unexpected colored bolts, and some rare blasters fire a mix of gasses that produce a bolt outside of the visible spectrum.
Blasters
When a blaster is fired, a component called the heter valve releases a small quantity of blaster gas from the gas reservoir into a chamber called the gas conversion enabler, or XCiter, where it is bombarded by energy from the blaster power pack. The energy bombardment agitates the molecules of the gas until they convert to a plasma state.
The agitated gas is then drawn into the actuating blaster module. A focused beam of energy then triggers a matter-energy conversion in the actuating blaster module, releasing a powerful beam of coherent light energy particles. In most blasters, the particle beam travels through a prismatic crystal which focuses the beam, directing it down the barrel.
Inside the barrel, the particle beam excites the atmospheric gasses that fill the bore, creating a dense pocket of plasma. (In vacuum-capable blasters, the barrel is often primed with the waste gasses from the actuating blaster module) As plasma is opaque, it traps and contains the coherent light and particle beam, forming the blaster bolt known throughout the galaxy. This plasma is then accelerated and concentrated magnetically by the galven coils in the barrel which force it out of the emitter at the muzzle of the weapon. The whole process, from the point the trigger is pulled to the point at which the bolt exits the barrel, takes only a tiny fraction of a second.
The blaster bolt travels through the atmosphere or vacuum, constantly radiating what light can escape to the surface of the plasma. Upon impact with a target, the plasma is dissipated and the coherent light and thermal energy is released. Therefore, blasters categorized both as plasma weapons and particle beam weapons.
Plasma Blasters
Plasma blasters operate on almost identical principals to standard blasters, with the notable exception that they do not contain prismatic crystals. They also use significantly more blaster gas. Due to the increased quantities of gas used, the XCiter only partially agitates the blaster gasses. As a result, the reaction in the actuating blaster module is more subdued and results in a lower temperature, more highly charged plasma. Most of the energy in a plasma blaster’s bolt is in the charge and temperature of the plasma itself, rather than the coherent light like a normal blaster bolt.
The higher charge present in a plasma blaster’s bolt is highly effective against electronics and droids, but the greater excitable gas demands mean that more ammunition must be carried. Some plasma blasters are also less effective against biological and armored targets, due to a lower energy level.
Disruptors
Disruptors are among the most infamous weapons in the galaxy. As with most infamous weapons, disruptors operate on a simple principal. Overwhelming power. Functionally, a disruptor is a type of plasma blaster, since it has no prismatic crystal, but the bolt characteristics resemble standard blasters except much more powerful.
Usually, a disruptor uses a much larger XCiter and actuating blaster module assembly, this allows a disruptor to utilize huge quantities of blaster gas and a massive energy dump. When the massive quantities of ionized gas in the actuating blaster module are converted, the particle beam surges through the barrel, requiring almost all of the galven circuitry to contain. As a result, a disruptor bolt is slower than a blaster bolt, and may have to pass through a plume of un-condensed plasma outside the emitter. The final product is a "crude" and extremely powerful bolt which dissipates quickly and is difficult to aim, even at relatively short ranges.
The short range, combined with the high power and ammunition demand prevent disruptors from being commonly used as military weapons, and make them impractical for starships and vehicles. The high damage and infamous reputation make them a favorite of criminals and bounty hunters, though.
Rare high-tech disruptors were built to overcome these problems. Using technologies like rapid-pulse energy modules, they can retain blast cohesion and bolt velocity over great distances, or even fire blasts that magnetically bond to their targets and continue eating away at and disintegrating them after the bolt has made contact. The cost of these crucial components reflects the increased capabilities.
Laser Cannons
The most common space-borne weapon in the galaxy is the laser cannon. More than a scaled-up blaster, a laser cannon, or laser rifle has a distinct anatomical difference. They add a chamber called the laser actuator, between the actuating blaster module and the barrel. This chamber is kept full of blaster gas, which is much more easily and more profusely excited by the energy beam passing through it when the weapon fires.
The over-excited plasma is extremely easy for magnetic fields to manipulate, compared to a standard blaster bolt. As a result, the bolt is concentrated to a much higher degree and accelerated to a greater velocity. This allows laser bolts to maintain cohesion over much greater distances.
Turbolasers
Turbolasers are the weapon of choice for most large vessels and planetary defense systems of the galaxy. They are, as the name suggests, essentially large laser cannons, but their size and power demands large banks of capacitors instead of the standard power cells of a laser cannon.
Most turbolaser capacitor banks are charged by massive turbine generators, and turbolasers that can fire more than once every two seconds are rare, and some can tend to overheat during prolonged combat.
Another peculiarity of turbolaser cannons is a result of their sheer size. Some blaster-type weapons are built to allow for a magnetic polarity reversal of the bolt after a set duration of flight. When the poles of the bolt reverse, the bolt explodes in a flak-like blast. This type of modification is very useful for bringing down small craft, but it requires very fine circuitry. The physically large barrels of turbolasers make these features easier to build in, so many turbolasers incorporate this fire option. |
I hope to eventually add some technical illustrations (or at least technical-like illustrations  ) and publish it in PDF format. I will also go into laser cannons, disruptors, turbolasers, and maybe superlasers and ion cannons, explaining the discreet differences between each.
If anyone is interested, I'll also be happy to explain my reasoning and/or the real-world physics I've based this project on and where and how much I'm stretching those rules.
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Or that excessively long "Noooooooooo" was the Whining Side of the Force leaving him. - Dustflier
Complete Starship Construction System
Last edited by Fallon Kell on Fri Jul 01, 2011 3:35 am; edited 1 time in total |
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