Actually I wasn't thinking about damaging stuff with heat as much as crippling the power generators by heating up the radiators : you can't produce energy without a cold sink.

I don't really know how big a laser you'd need for that though : I'll do the math later when I have time.

edited 28th May '15 9:02:47 AM by Aetol

It might be easier to just use a full powered weaponized laser and burn off anything fragile that hasn't possibly been temporarily stowed for combat. The target will likely still able to function for a period without a working heat radiation device meaning they can still likely shoot back. It would be more effective in terms of making the enemy incapable of fighting back to fry exposed sensors and weapons.

The laser don't need to be very focused, since heat radiators tend to be quite large. This means it can be efficient at very long ranges, much longer than that of weaponized "pinpoint" lasers. So you can "tag" an enemy ship from a safe distance, and either approach it to capture it (provided it doesn't have missiles, those would still work), lob a missile at it while it's sitting there, or just cook slowly cook the crew to death if you're feeling mean (I said overheating fragile "equipment" wasn't the purpose, but that's bound to happen as a side-effect).

Of course, you'll need to dish out a lot of power, focused or not (obtaining exact formulas seems quite difficult, but calculations with simplifying hypotheses suggests their energy production will be cut by 1/3 of the power you're sending their way). So that mean you're much bigger than them — an "orbital guard" battlestation against smugglers for example, more numerous — a blockading fleet, again against smugglers — or ground based — the entire planet is your heat sink ! But on the other hand, that facility makes a juicy target for the Rods From God...

The problem with that approach is full on weaponized lasers are just simply more effective at degrading an enemies ability to fight back by sheer damage to pretty much anything they hit. Why bother trying to take more time and effort to wait for heat to over take the target when you could far more easily punch holes in them and achieve the same effect? If you want to knock out a radiator punch holes in it or destroy it directly. Not only far quicker but far more effective. If you want to make a hostile ships day miserable zap the engines or try and knock holes in sensitive areas of a ship like the power plant or bridge.

There are really only two good reason I can think of to flash a ship like that. One is to burn anything sensitive and exposed that does far more to disable a threat then trying to knock them out by overheating like that. If they can't detect or track a target because your burned their sensors off they are pretty screwed. The other use is basically a low power warning shot to heat up the enemy ship just enough to let them know you are serious and the next one won't be dialed back.

In terms of a Orbital Guard outright knocking out a threat would be far quicker and effective then waiting for them to be disabled by heat build up especially when engaging multiple threats.

@Aetol: I dont think that you are talking about two different types of lasers. All laser beams spread out over distance, so an "unfocused" laser is simply a "pin point" laser being used beyond it's normal range.

Before I forget about it again. This is mostly a thought exercise that involves moving the population of the Maldives into oil rigs converted into living spaces.

Cool, but not enough detail. How many people per rig is sustainable?

Don't ask me. Not my idea.

It was rhetorical. Based on the picture, they resemble large, overgrown shopping malls. So, based on living space alone without consideration of the resource base- 500 people?

Alright men, new topic! Launchers! Rockets, missiles, plasma cannons, grenade launchers, and more!

I got some ideas to ask for proofread tomorrow (especially multi-barrel, rapid-fire and/or cluster missiles) but don't have time for today. So theorycraft!

On what sorts of scales we talking about? A MANPACK system is going to be quite a bit different from a star ship , land based vehicle, and a sea vehicle.

There is only so much bang those guns can generate using existing chemical energy. Sounds like they are spinning a KE weapon off of the LRLAP projectiles.

2 things.

What if there was a 2 stage bullet? Like it gets 2 explosions to go flying, would it go even faster?

And secondly, what kind of cybernetic augmentations would you guys prefer to have made and weaponized?

To your first part, yes you can add stages to bullets but you get a bigger, more expensive bullet. The two stages also complicates accuracy as you've got to stabilize the second stage. You can use fins but that adds drag.

Well if you go with something like a well made Gyrojet type round that avoids the pit falls of the original, the round should still be accurate at longer ranges. It depends on how you plan to propel the round after the initial push.

Why not just take the powder from the second stage and add it to the first one? Makes a bigger bullet that goes faster.

I don't see how a two-stage round could ever be useful. Unlike a rocket, all the mass in a bullet is useful (since it contributes to the kinetic energy), so there is no point in leaving some of it behind.

Two good reasons actually.

You can use a initial lower pressure cartridge to get the round out of the gun. This would mean you can do things like increase rates of fire without as much heat build up, give larger rounds more velocity without the recoil in the weapon, and some rounds that would damage a barrel at high velocity wear less at lower velocities. You improve the life of the gun, reduce felt and perceived recoil, and in general make it easier to handle and maintain the weapon. Second you can use a load that would be too high in terms of pressure or heat for weapon in the first place but is now in the back end of the projectile. You can use propellants and materials that produce more heat and pressure more easily without worrying about the stresses on the weapon. Stresses on the projectile are a lot easier to handle.

Rocket Asssisted Projectiles do the same thing. You don't up the pressure in the gun the projectile gets more range that way. The LRLAP uses the exact same concept to give common Naval guns a lot of extra range and velocity. Out of the 155mm AGS it has triple the range of the big guns of a Battleship. Out of the 5"/54 mk. 45 it has four times the range.

The only problem left to solve is stabilization and there are several options in that regard.

There is a very real limit in terms of pressure, heat, and recoil you put on a personal weapon before it becomes an issue. A common problem for high pressure weapons is high parts wear because the high pressure and recoil forces cause more stress to the weapon. Using a lower velocity initial shot with a booster to kick up the velocity solves a lot of those issues.

edited 2nd Jun '15 7:46:12 PM by TuefelHundenIV

A "2 stage bullet" is a solution seeking a problem. A missile fired from a gun is the best solution for tanks and large caliber guns, like Uncle Tuffel said, it prolongs the life of the gun and can get more firepower for certain roles. Hence the Russians fire ATGM's from their 125mm tank guns and there are the Rocket Assised Projecticles. Sabot rounds or flechettes for shotguns are an attempt to get more bang for the buck. Most gimick rounds for rifles haven't panned out.

RE: cybernetic augmentations, think a "system of systems" approach. Go modular. Weapons a cyborg can "plug into" and then use. Some tabletop games have had one or two shot weapons mounted in an arm but in practice they're just good of a cheap shot or a surprise.

Close combat is another story, all kinds of Blade Below the Shoulder or Wolverine Claws are on the table....

Cybernetic Augments when I make them do often include arm blades.

How about non lethal weapons? Like internal stun guns and such?

Recessed or flip out spikes, stun gun contact surfaces, some of the more exotic ones are poison injection systems like needles in the hands or finger tips. So you have to just touch, prod, or grab your victim and that's it. Mini projectile launchers of various sorts are popular in fiction. Including everything from min-crossbows, rockets, guns, to energy weapons.

Robocop fist spike At about 1:57.

Arm blades from Deus Ex Human Revolution

I will dig up more examples at home.

edited 3rd Jun '15 8:14:30 PM by TuefelHundenIV

I really like the Deus Ex example. Pretty smooth moving and practical.

So we got that down. What about projectile weapons?

In Gi TS innocence Batou had a shotgun built into his arm.

For a mostly-human-shaped cyborg whose body stays unchanged between combat and personal life, I see two reasons to make weapons into integral parts of him; To keep them hidden, and for convenient self-defense at all times.

Otherwise they could just be part of his combat suit, along with the armor and heavy-duty sensors, while his own body has more fundamental modifications; Direct brain-machine interface, improved muscles and skeleton, internal reinforcement and life support, etc.

That could also include internal power supply, capable of much greater output than the body requires, and able to plug into external devices; Combining that with an integral electroshocker should be easy. Having each electrode in each arm would allow the cyborg to connect to different parts of the enemy's body, increasing or better directing the damage.

Another option is for the cyborgs to switch between bodies; One for personal life, and several designed solely for combat. But if the latter still have similar limits on their movement as the human body, or even if they're just still humanoid, it raises the question of why.