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Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2
For one thing, local conditions seem like they'd affect these things more than they would most weapons. Rain, humidity, etc. What would happen if you fired one in a blizzard? Would thick fog do anything?
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Anything thick enough to appreciably affect visibility would also interfere with the laser. Wet air might actually make it work better, it's generally easier to ionize. A chain link fence would stop it cold, though.
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Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2
What happens if the user's aim is a little off and the ionized path intersects something electrical with some serious juice in it?
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Probably nothing. An electrolaser operates at way higher voltages than anything it's likely to encounter, it just has an extremely short duration.
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Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2
Or something that is more flammable than it looks?
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Possibly a fire, but hardly a unique risk of electrolasers.
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Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2
What happens if there's an exchange of fire and your ionized paths intersect when they fire?
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Probably nothing, chance of one or both shorting out.
A thing to bear in mind for weapons is that, well, they're expected to be used in combat. A lot of risks are tolerable due to being smaller than ordinary combat risks.