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06-11-2019, 07:21 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2009
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(Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
More importantly, how dangerous are they? They seem to me to be too dangerous to stop criminals. The though of being zapped by them scares me. I would be worried if criminals got them.
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06-11-2019, 07:28 PM | #2 | |
Join Date: Oct 2018
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
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2) the scientific foundation for electrolasers is pretty solid and some working prototypes have already been developed |
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06-11-2019, 10:22 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
They'd be about as dangerous as tasers. Whether you consider those too dangerous is going to be a judgment call.
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Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
06-12-2019, 01:25 AM | #4 |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
Aren't they pretty much just tasers that use a streak of ionized air instead of wire?
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RyanW - Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats. |
06-12-2019, 04:00 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
The big danger I see with electrolasers is the laser part. The ones in Ultratech have a laser powerful enough to cause burns, which not only could injure the target, but there is a risk of them starting fires. Even more worrisome, any laser powerful enough to ionize the atmosphere will probably also be a blinding risk. Those three factors make them more dangerous than tasers, but still less dangerous than firearms.
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06-12-2019, 04:59 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
Tasers can start fires, particularly if you zap someone soaked in alcohol, like someone drunk or covered in pepper spray from an attempt to drop them with it that failed.
The blinding threat is probably the thing with an electrolaser, but bad luck with a taser dart can blind, too.
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Rupert Boleyn "A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history." |
06-12-2019, 05:19 AM | #7 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
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06-12-2019, 08:20 AM | #8 |
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The plutonium rich regions of Washington State
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
I looked into the science of these things a while back. As others mentioned, the "electro-" part is basically just a taser's electrical waveform. For the "-laser" part, what seems to work best are fairly wide (several cm) beams of pulsed ultraviolet light*. Choose a UV wavelength with enough energy that the absorption of two photons will ionize nitrogen, but a single photon has insufficient energy to do so. With a very short, intense flash, you can get two photon ionization for a distance of several tens of meters - even to 100+ meters - with enough charge carrier density to conduct your electric pulse but that has insufficient time-averaged intensity to cause thermal burns or start fires (from the laser beam - the electric arc from the EMD waveform might ignite easily flammable items). The UV light can't get past the cornea of the eye, making it fairly eye-safe, and you would need to be exposed to the beam for an extended duration in one spot in order to develop a sunburn.
A detailed investigation is given here http://panoptesv.com/RPGs/Equipment/...ES_physics.php Alternate rules that more realistically follow the physics are here http://panoptesv.com/RPGs/Equipment/...php?TL=10&HR=0 and a conceptual picture of what one might look like is here http://panoptesv.com/RPGs/Settings/V...ar/Stunner.png Luke * Narrow beams lead to higher ionization density in the air, which leads to much faster recombination times, which in turn leads to an increased power needed to keep the current-carrying channels capable of conducting the beam, which leads to a higher risk of thermal burns. |
06-12-2019, 09:10 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
Luke, the "full strength" comment in your alternate rules link makes me wonder - should a character with the Unsupported Strength Limitation on some of their ST be required to make an additional HT roll each second they are paralyzed by an electrolaser (or possibly even TASER) to avoid injury and potential crippling? Certainly one affected by the "tetanizing" setting would suffer such, but I'm curious if the default "stun" setting should carry such a risk.
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GURPS Overhaul |
06-12-2019, 09:49 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The plutonium rich regions of Washington State
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Re: (Ultra Tech) How realistic are Electrolasers?
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I'm not familiar with the rules for Unsupported Strength - can you point me to the rules? If it is for something like a whale, which is plenty strong but can't really use than strength when lying on land, I'm not sure it would make much of a difference. Luke |
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