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Stealthy Weapons (Lasers, Gauss, etc)

From: "Thomas.Barclay" <Thomas.Barclay@c...>
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 15:08:56 -0400
Subject: Stealthy Weapons (Lasers, Gauss, etc)

Reminds me of the aforementioned Traveler campaign.  Xray lasers
were supposed to be silent and invisible.  The engineer of the
group calculated that you'd see the line of superheated air
between laser and target, and hear the thunderclap, so it would
be a lot stealthier to take an M16..

** Similarly, I imagine a gauss projectile would probably heat some air.
The
question you have to ask is (in either case): 

Is there enough heat discharged into the air to make the air glow? For
how
long? To what extent? How inefficient would that make the weapon if its
expending profligate energy into the air like this? 

I'm not sure I buy the argument about a visible track on a laser. I've
seen
high intensity lasers at work and didn't see that effect. However, the
crack
or crackle was noticeable. Probably not as loud as a rifle discharge,
but
not silent either. Any object tunnelling through air rapidly thus having
a
vaccum to fill behind it or any beam displacing air energetically and
thus
leaving a vacuum tunnel will have some sort of sound - a crack, a
crackle, a
thunderclap - depends on the size of the tunnel through the air I'd
think. 

Laser might be a good sniper weapon for accuracy, and its awesome in
space
(great marine weapon) and on small asteroids and airless moons. Gauss
weapons are probably just as good in atmosphere and not subject to
problems
shooting through mist or aerosol obstructions... 

T. 

Thomas Barclay
Software Specialist 
Defence Systems
xwave solutions
www.xwavesolutions.com
v: (613) 831 2018 x 3008

Alea iacta et pessimo resulto factura est.
 
Ave, Caesar! Te morituiri salutimas!   

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