How do crystallurgy weapons work? -> component descriptions

[Kamog]

OK, what's a fusion beam? I know what a fusion reactor is, it generates energy by combining deuterium / tritium atoms into helium, and part of the mass is converted to energy in the process. So does a fusion beam mean that it is a stream of particles that are combining to form heavier elements within the beam itself? That must be difficult to achieve, because it takes enormous pressures to bring the nucleii close enough for the nuclear fusion to occur, and that's not going to happen when the beam is traveling through open space. Maybe a fusion beam is simply a powerful laser that is powered by a nuclear fusion reactor?

So, do ripper beams and incinerator beams consist of a stream of particles, or are they a form of electromagnetic radiation which are waves? I suppose the question of wave vs. particle may be irrelevant because they are the same thing because of duality. Lasers are both waves and particles because photons (and, in fact all particles), are also waves - it just depends on the observation method or experiment that is used to look at it.

[Desdinova]

fusion beams work similiar to fusion reactors. they heat the feul inside a magnetic bottle until it reaches fusion state. then an opening is made in the bottle releasing the energy in a high temperature, high velocity jet (solar flare).

edit. in several of the scifi games i used to play in (traveller, space opera, star frontiers, etc.) it was usually a feul pellet that gets heated by high powered lasers. at lower tech levels they could only heat it till it reached a plasma state (plasma beams) but then at higher levels it could be contained until it reached fusion state.

[ November 22, 2002, 08:04: Message edited by: desdinova ]

[mlmbd]

Kamog, I really don't want to get into a heavy theoretical physics discussion (here). As you so aptly and very eloquently stated;

"So does a fusion beam mean that it is a stream of particles that are combining to form heavier elements within the beam itself? That must be difficult to achieve, because it takes enormous pressures to bring the nuclei close enough for the nuclear fusion to occur, and that's not going to happen when the beam is traveling through open space."

Although difficult, it is possible to get the nuclei close enough for the fusion to accrue. Now, what if the particles are not dispensed into space? Say they are collected in particle form into a canister, a shell, bubble or another form of containment (such as field) medium. In theory, they could then be dispensed in a stream or beam, if you prefer. Waiting to make contact with an object, the target, then BOOM!

Ripper beams and Incinerator beams, to be continued!!

mlmbd

[Taera]

yes exactly.