Technological Detail Challenge - Weapons

[Gateman]

Name: SPR-901 "Beam Saber"

Function: Close quarters sabotage. The SPR-901 (SPR designation derived from the working title "Solid Plasma Rod") is a standard sword with a modern twist. The "blade" is made of a telescoping rod composed of a classified alloy of 316 stainless steel, titanium, and 750 nickel, with small holes drilled in at regular intervals along the rod. The holes act as vents for a superheated plasma to coat the rod. The rod's alloy mixture has a somewhat unique charge that keeps the plasma attracted to the metal, rather than dispersing into the air, and its high melting point prevents degradation to an extent. The design and characteristics of the SPR-901 make it very well suited for the sabotage and disabling of automata and mech troopers, with the plasma reaching temperatures high enough to cut through most metals with ease. Additionally, the electric charge runs the risk of severely damaging any electrical systems that it comes in contact with.

Weakness: The alloy mix, while sturdy and advantageous, is not without flaws. The heat of the plasma degrades the metal over time, and the changing temperatures can warp the metal to the point that the telescoping rod can jam during operation; while this seems like a minor problem, the lack of vents for the plasma can cause the handheld unit to explode. In addition, the supercapacitor power source for such a tool is rather large and cumbersome, somewhat akin to the fuel packs of WWII era flamethrowers, and is attached to the handheld unit via reinforced cable. Should either become damaged, the unit is worthless. Finally, the extreme heat of the plasma requires any operators to use shielded body armor to protect themselves from severe and even fatal burns.

This model is currently being field tested to great success, but needs to continue being researched to remove weaknesses and address practicality. Currently, the maximum operating time for the SPR-901 before mechanical failure occurs is 120 minutes.

 

[GOOEY]

M380RA:
The M380RA is a custom rifle that's been contracted for those in the Special Operations Community. The contractor, Horizon, is a fairly new corporation, but their superior technologies and quick turnaround time allowed them to secure a weapons contract with the United States military.

The M380RA is a shoulder fired, magazine-block fed, fusion powered Rail Rifle. The 14.5 inch barrel is lined with two conductive rails, and a precisely controlled, high-power electrical pulse is delivered to the rails generating a magnetic field. The effective range of the projectile can be controlled by varying the power of the electrical pulse.

The magazine-block is machined bronze. When the bolt moves forward into the charged position, it shaves off 2.64oz of bronze, pushing it into the heated chamber. The shaving is pressed into a .5in cubed sphere which can then be sent down the barrel between 1020 m/s up to 1700 m/s based on the energy used. The max effective range for the M380RA at full power is 3800m. The upper receiver of the weapon sits in an advanced suspension housing, this along with the dampening coil significantly reduces the recoil of the weapon, greatly reducing muzzle rise.

The M380RA receives its power from a fusion power source. This particular model is modded to have either an attached battery pack, or a chord from another power source.

The max sustained firing rate before the barrel needs time to cool is 45 rounds in 25 seconds, 90 rounds in 45 seconds, and 150 rounds in 60 seconds. The highest sustained firing rate capable without needing time to cool is no more than 30 rounds every 45 seconds.

 

[Krnon]

Function: Close quarters sabotage. The SPR-901 (SPR designation derived from the working title "Solid Plasma Rod") is a standard sword with a modern twist. The "blade" is made of a telescoping rod composed of a classified alloy of 316 stainless steel, titanium, and 750 nickel, with small holes drilled in at regular intervals along the rod. The holes act as vents for a superheated plasma to coat the rod. The rod's alloy mixture has a somewhat unique charge that keeps the plasma attracted to the metal, rather than dispersing into the air, and its high melting point prevents degradation to an extent. The design and characteristics of the SPR-901 make it very well suited for the sabotage and disabling of automata and mech troopers, with the plasma reaching temperatures high enough to cut through most metals with ease. Additionally, the electric charge runs the risk of severely damaging any electrical systems that it comes in contact with.

Interesting choices indeed, so you chose those materials specifically for those purposes I see. When metals heat up, they tend to elongate, then melt. Ok, so you have a negative charged plasma and a positive charged weapon, and opposites attract... am I the only one seeing a design flaw there? When you mix metals, the product ends up with a mixed melting temperature, or depending on materials, a mixture could have one in the favor of higher or lower, but that still depends on the materials used. 316 stainless steel also resists acid to a degree, sodium and calcium brines, so I give you props for the forethought. Now back to the weapon, you have a charged plasma on one side, and a charged metal on another. The plasma will be drawn to the metal, but you did not say if it was grounded or not, so I am assuming it is not, which would make the plasma react to the metal in that sense. Lightning is nothing more then a charge of energy pushing down a column of plasma, and this is a charge energy on the metal attracting the plasma. Other then this, Well done!

 

[Krnon]

The M380RA is a custom rifle that's been contracted for those in the Special Operations Community. The contractor, Horizon, is a fairly new corporation, but their superior technologies and quick turnaround time allowed them to secure a weapons contract with the United States military.

The M380RA is a shoulder fired, magazine-block fed, fusion powered Rail Rifle. The 14.5 inch barrel is lined with two conductive rails, and a precisely controlled, high-power electrical pulse is delivered to the rails generating a magnetic field. The effective range of the projectile can be controlled by varying the power of the electrical pulse.

The magazine-block is machined bronze. When the bolt moves forward into the charged position, it shaves off 2.64oz of bronze, pushing it into the heated chamber. The shaving is pressed into a .5in cubed sphere which can then be sent down the barrel between 1020 m/s up to 1700 m/s based on the energy used. The max effective range for the M380RA at full power is 3800m. The upper receiver of the weapon sits in an advanced suspension housing, this along with the dampening coil significantly reduces the recoil of the weapon, greatly reducing muzzle rise.

The M380RA receives its power from a fusion power source. This particular model is modded to have either an attached battery pack, or a chord from another power source.

The max sustained firing rate before the barrel needs time to cool is 45 rounds in 25 seconds, 90 rounds in 45 seconds, and 150 rounds in 60 seconds. The highest sustained firing rate capable without needing time to cool is no more than 30 rounds every 45 seconds.

Shoulder fired, so it is presumably light. Magazines add weight to the thing as well. So, you mean you are doing like the ghost buster's and carrying around a nuclear generation device? The rest of this I do not see an issue with on this sentence.

Personally, I do not know the electromagnetic hold ability of bronze, but the best material for electricity that we currently possess is silver, but we do not have enough of it for all the items we would want to for every item we would need. Silver has a resistance to energy of 15.87 and a density of 10.49, but there may be even more that might be better, this part was just an example. Bronze is copper and tin smelted into one, copper has 16.7 resistance to electricity and a density of 8.96, while tin has 115 resistance to electricity and a density from 5.76 to around 7.4 depending on the type of tin. Bronze itself has a decent electrical ability, but I digress by providing a link, (https://www.bluesea.com/resources/108).

Otherwise, I am impressed at your details, well done!

 

[Yiyel]

Shoulder fired, so it is presumably light. Magazines add weight to the thing as well. So, you mean you are doing like the ghost buster's and carrying around a nuclear generation device? The rest of this I do not see an issue with on this sentence.

Personally, I do not know the electromagnetic hold ability of bronze, but the best material for electricity that we currently possess is silver, but we do not have enough of it for all the items we would want to for every item we would need. Silver has a resistance to energy of 15.87 and a density of 10.49, but there may be even more that might be better, this part was just an example. Bronze is copper and tin smelted into one, copper has 16.7 resistance to electricity and a density of 8.96, while tin has 115 resistance to electricity and a density from 5.76 to around 7.4 depending on the type of tin. Bronze itself has a decent electrical ability, but I digress by providing a link, (https://www.bluesea.com/resources/108).

Otherwise, I am impressed at your details, well done!

The best material for electricity conductivity is silver... and even that's wrong - platinum and gold technically have a better conductivity. Anyhow, that's not even the right property to be used - for maximum efficiency in a railgun, you want to look at ferromagnetic materials (which are, for the most part, made mainly of cobalt and/or iron and/or nickel - though there's chrome dioxide and some manganese-based substances that show that property) else you start pushing against the atomic momentum of things and that's becoming quite energy-expensive. In this particular case, there's three materials which would be ideal for this: pure cobalt, pure iron and magnetite, which are the three ferromagnetic substances with the highest temperature before they lose their magnetic properties (cobalt being above a thousand degrees celsius). And for ease of shaving, pure iron would be best as it is very soft, though the pressure would need to be high to be able to be pressed into a stable projectile.

As a side note, this sounds like an early version of the principle under the weapons in Mass Effect, so props to that!

 

[Krnon]

My apologies, I was just trying to put my two cents into it to try to help.

 

[Yiyel]

Stop apologizing XD

But yeah - it's all good, it was still very constructive - I wasn't taking your two cents, I was putting in mine :P

 

[Shamrock]

Actually, this is the First Time I have ever tried a Creative Challenge XD. Here it goes:
Note that I added some extra details to make it more awesome :D

Name: M1L4DY a.k.a: The Kronos' Doom

Design: It was primaly built for 2 functions: Assault Mode & Sniper Mode. In Assault Mode, it is 5 inches but in Sniper mode, it will reach up into 8 inches long. In the exterior, it glows orange light but it can be turned off using a switch that can be found in the left side of the gun. It also glows light blue when in Sniper mode. It can also be added with a new scope in the top & can also be added with a silencer. It is made of adamant (lightweight metal that can only be weighted as 3 grams) & is covered in fire - proof strengthened plastic. It has 2 places where the Bullet can leave the gun.

Ammunition: Any type of Assault Rifle/ Sniper Rifle Ammo. It increases its Velocity, Strength, & Distance of where it will shoot, thus making the bullet more efficient. Sniper Mode is Semi Automatic while Assault Mode is automatic.While in Assault Mode, it can be switched from Automatic to Spread & Sniper Mode from Semi Automatic to Shrapnel by pressing a certain button below the handle.

Function: It doesen't need any barrels. Once the Trigger is pulled, a Certain Magnet that only attracts normal metal, is uncovered & attracts the bullet into the Centerpiece. From the force that made the Trigger move, the force is concentrated & turned into code by a special device found inside the exterior of the gun. The code is then turned into a gust of air inside & then blows the bullet to the interior of the gun. As the bullet traverse through the gun, magnetic circuits & some electrical plates increases the bullets strength & velocity by increasing friction & adding some electrical newtons into the traversing bullet, before the bullet leaves the gun, the bullet is pushed by extra gusts by propellers inside the gun. The propellers are activated when the bullet is in the middle of the interior, magnetic plates pulls down the metal propellar & is activated by the electrons that are given out by the plates, the bullet, then, traverses a straight line where the holder has been shot. Special Device will last only for 10 years & can only be replaced by scientists in the Korai Institute. It is mainly used to kill & to destroy projectiles.

Safety Information: If the gun has transformed to one mode to another without waiting for at least 3 minutes, the circuits inside that powers the gun will overheat & malfunction & will explode caustically when the trigger is pulled. If it is reloaded with ammo that is not an Assault/ Sniper rifle type, the bullet cannot be propelled by the gust & will jam the gun. The bullet can only be taken out of the gun if the gun is taken apart, piece by piece, which can only be done by a professional engineer. Precision is slightly reduced if the gun is shooting for too long.

History: As the War of Area 51 begun in 5192, the Kronos took over the major parts of the Eastern part of Earth, namely, Asia. The American Scientists begun research & teamed up to become the Korai Institute. They made a specific gun that is used only for 2 reasons with no excuses asked. To Kill & to Destroy Obstacles that are in the way of war. Using adamant found in the so - called Enchanted Mountain in the Philippines & futuristic technology they created in the past, they created a gun that can kill efficientlly with cunning precision. They named it M1L4DY. They only created 350 guns, enough for the whole army. As the army marched over the heart of enemy territory, they purged the crisis from the inside. The Kronos named the gun: "The Kronos' Doom" before the entire species died. The guns are stored from a secret bunker, only to be used for another invasion.

Well, how did it go? Try to post my mistakes here :)

 

[Krnon]

Design: It was primaly built for 2 functions: Assault Mode & Sniper Mode. In Assault Mode, it is 5 inches but in Sniper mode, it will reach up into 8 inches long. In the exterior, it glows orange light but it can be turned off using a switch that can be found in the left side of the gun. It also glows light blue when in Sniper mode. It can also be added with a new scope in the top & can also be added with a silencer. It is made of adamant (lightweight metal that can only be weighted as 3 grams) & is covered in fire - proof strengthened plastic. It has 2 places where the Bullet can leave the gun.

Ok, dual function gun, got it. A five inch assault gun, are we talking a Sub machine gun? An eight inch sniper gun? Is this a real thing? The average sniper rifles of today are around 18" to 20" for the barrel alone. Are you saying this thing telescopes out to adjust to the size, or is there something interesting going on? Also, weight is measured by mass being pushed down by gravity, so there is no item anyone can ever find that under any circumstances only weighs a set amount.

Ammunition: Any type of Assault Rifle/ Sniper Rifle Ammo. It increases its Velocity, Strength, & Distance of where it will shoot, thus making the bullet more efficient. Sniper Mode is Semi Automatic while Assault Mode is automatic.While in Assault Mode, it can be switched from Automatic to Spread & Sniper Mode from Semi Automatic to Shrapnel by pressing a certain button below the handle.

How does the chamber in the rifle change to reflect the ammunition? How does it increase the Velocity and such?

Function: It doesen't need any barrels. Once the Trigger is pulled, a Certain Magnet that only attracts normal metal, is uncovered & attracts the bullet into the Centerpiece. From the force that made the Trigger move, the force is concentrated & turned into code by a special device found inside the exterior of the gun. The code is then turned into a gust of air inside & then blows the bullet to the interior of the gun. As the bullet traverse through the gun, magnetic circuits & some electrical plates increases the bullets strength & velocity by increasing friction & adding some electrical newtons into the traversing bullet, before the bullet leaves the gun, the bullet is pushed by extra gusts by propellers inside the gun. The propellers are activated when the bullet is in the middle of the interior, magnetic plates pulls down the metal propellar & is activated by the electrons that are given out by the plates, the bullet, then, traverses a straight line where the holder has been shot. Special Device will last only for 10 years & can only be replaced by scientists in the Korai Institute. It is mainly used to kill & to destroy projectiles.

All guns have a barrel, even the one you have shown has one, it is just very short. What magnet are we talking about here? I thought all electromagnetism worked the same on it's own, and that it is true that some metals are very susceptible, but I am unaware of a metal, a "normal" metal that has it's own magnet that is the only kind it attracts to, my apologies. Ok, here is the fun part, you seem to be mixing digital data and physical data. Magnetic circuits I understand, along with electrical pulses, but how is it turning "code" into "gusts of air"? Ok, Friction is the force that an object gets when it moves on something else. Traveling your finger on a tablecloth over and over again causes friction and heat is it's byproduct. Friction is not wanted in a projectile because it lowers velocity, accuracy, and overall punch. No projectile in the physical realm has ever been able to travel in a completely straight path indefinitely, except for lasers.

Safety Information: If the gun has transformed to one mode to another without waiting for at least 3 minutes, the circuits inside that powers the gun will overheat & malfunction & will explode caustically when the trigger is pulled. If it is reloaded with ammo that is not an Assault/ Sniper rifle type, the bullet cannot be propelled by the gust & will jam the gun. The bullet can only be taken out of the gun if the gun is taken apart, piece by piece, which can only be done by a professional engineer. Precision is slightly reduced if the gun is shooting for too long.

Ok, what is powering the gun in the first place?

History: As the War of Area 51 begun in 5192, the Kronos took over the major parts of the Eastern part of Earth, namely, Asia. The American Scientists begun research & teamed up to become the Korai Institute. They made a specific gun that is used only for 2 reasons with no excuses asked. To Kill & to Destroy Obstacles that are in the way of war. Using adamant found in the so - called Enchanted Mountain in the Philippines & futuristic technology they created in the past, they created a gun that can kill efficientlly with cunning precision. They named it M1L4DY. They only created 350 guns, enough for the whole army. As the army marched over the heart of enemy territory, they purged the crisis from the inside. The Kronos named the gun: "The Kronos' Doom" before the entire species died. The guns are stored from a secret bunker, only to be used for another invasion.

Nice history, but I believe reverse engineering futuristic technology would take time, of which if the enemy had spies they could find out by then, or if it is that far in the future, if any of that information would be on an electronic device it may be accessible. Cars today have computers in them which you could get into to find out things about your car like how many miles it has ran, or what area is generally in need of repair. Imagine this being tuned up 3,188 years in the future! I do admire your originality though, good work!

 

[Krnon]

Side note, I responded to each section individually, and not as a whole.

 

[GOOEY]

Shoulder fired, so it is presumably light. Magazines add weight to the thing as well. So, you mean you are doing like the ghost buster's and carrying around a nuclear generation device? The rest of this I do not see an issue with on this sentence.

Personally, I do not know the electromagnetic hold ability of bronze, but the best material for electricity that we currently possess is silver, but we do not have enough of it for all the items we would want to for every item we would need. Silver has a resistance to energy of 15.87 and a density of 10.49, but there may be even more that might be better, this part was just an example. Bronze is copper and tin smelted into one, copper has 16.7 resistance to electricity and a density of 8.96, while tin has 115 resistance to electricity and a density from 5.76 to around 7.4 depending on the type of tin. Bronze itself has a decent electrical ability, but I digress by providing a link, (https://www.bluesea.com/resources/108).

Otherwise, I am impressed at your details, well done!

The original character this was designed for is on a futuristic earth in which fusion and fission power are advanced enough that it can be used as a personal power. The character specifically has an exosuit that is powered by Antimatter-Initialized Fusion, which also will power the M380RA.

The original choice for copper was that the projectile would still be heated and that the speed of it would form it into a conical shape that would then solidify in the barrel, but I wasn't sure how a metal that soft would react in the barrel, or if it realistically it could form a perfect conical shape every time so that it would effect the trajectory of the round.

 

[Yiyel]

I second what Krnon said, except I would like to add in my three cents:

First, Adamant sounds like unobtainium, and the rules specifically said no unobtainium.

Second, technically speaking, lasers bend with gravity AND have an energy falloff equivalent to the square of the distance or something similar, so not quite indefinite and not quite straight.

Third, unless we discover either some unknown plasma/fluid dynamics, a portable and reliable fusion reactor is unlikely - it would be too dangerous. And you're throwing in some antimatter too? It's simply impractical.

 

[Krnon]

The original character this was designed for is on a futuristic earth in which fusion and fission power are advanced enough that it can be used as a personal power. The character specifically has an exosuit that is powered by Antimatter-Initialized Fusion, which also will power the M380RA.

Hmm, I can only conceive nuclear power being 'advanced enough' to be used on a personal level in one of two ways, but that's my own opinion.:

One, the generator is very small and light enough for personal transport. This way has a downfall because it would need to be heavily armored in case of taking hits while running, unless you like the flavor of explosions. You would only be able to use it near water or if you had a coolant of sorts on you.

Two, you strap a 'miniature' nuke on one soldier, disarmed, and sneak it to the enemy base of operations. You then have the soldier set it off, losing one soldier and removing their base if it goes right. If not, the soldier can cause an explosion which would distract them for time while others go on and do even more damage subtly, until you eventually wear down those that are in power.

Sadly, that is all that I can conceive for nuclear power on the battlefield, unless you want to make nuclear grenades? The biggest problem with nuclear stuff is it is detectable due to how much energy and radioactivity it emits.

Needless to say, some well placed trap guns that spray acids (HSO3​F, Fluorosulfuric acid) would suffice I believe to cause your exo-suite some issues.

Anyway, I presume you mean Adamantine of metals in Dungeons and Dragons perhaps? (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Adamantine)

Otherwise, I would have to guess with just Adamant. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adamant)

If you mean Adamantine, It is supposed to be a "metal of the gods" and as such is supposed to have a hardness of twenty. In comparison, here is a list of things we know with a hardness of twenty:
(http://www.tedpella.com/Material-Sciences_html/Abrasive_Grit_Grading_Systems.htm)
Scroll down for the list.

If you mean Adamant, It describes a hard material, probably diamond or adamantine.

This leads me to wonder if you were referring to the metal, or the gem, I'm assuming you mean the metal. (who wears gems into battle that would break easily other then Taric?) Since it is that hard, how would you process it? The nature of such a hard material would require a material of equal hardness or greater to break it. A way around this is with fluids by weakening the outer layer a bit, then mining the metal.

Diamond is supposed to have a hardness of 7,000 and Talc is supposed to have a hardness of 20, so, assuming again that you mean the metal, we could compare it's general hardness to Talc? Though, this is being unreasonable because the word itself means a "hard material", as such I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and give it 7,000.

First issue, Obtaining it. You would need to mine it like we mine diamonds. Second issue, processing it. I do not think we have a place that could reach a heat needed to melt diamonds, but I can be wrong as I did not look that up. Third issue, taking fire. The harder the material, the easier it shatters. Diamond's own makeup makes them very resilient to being cut, but you can break them easily with a hammer, so who is to say you could not shoot one and break it?

Powered by antimatter? Ok, so you have less then a drop of that liquid energy everyone wants in your suit then? Now here is the fun part, how are you storing it? If it touches normal matter, it will explode at an incredible ratio of 1 kg of antimatter to 1 kg of matter is 180 petajoules, or about 43 megatons of TNT.

So, we have a metal that will shatter on impact that holds antimatter?

Just some of my thoughts.

 

[Shamrock]

Sorry, as I said. I'm still a Noob. Sorry if I can't actually explain it very specifically. Sorry Again :(

 

[Krnon]

Don't apologize, I over analyzed, I'm the one to apologize, I'm sorry.

 

[Yiyel]

Hmm, I can only conceive nuclear power being 'advanced enough' to be used on a personal level in one of two ways, but that's my own opinion.:

The problem with nuclear power is that elements that can undergo energy-positive fission have a minimum mass required to go critical and start an effective chain reaction (for instance, if I remember, Uranium-235's critical mass is somewhere around 52KG) and that's assuming we found some ultra-efficient shielding AND some sort of radiation panel that could capture radiation like solar panels capture light (otherwise we'd need a bulky two-layer steam assembly to extract energy and well shit gets heavy, especially with traditional shielding) and fusion requires a massive magnetic field to maintain an efficient reaction (which would hardly be carry-able, and if we include all the shielding to prevent the soldier from being killed by all the incoming things, the smallest reactor I could foresee would be the size of a van). RTGs (essentially nuclear batteries) could be an option, but it would still be a backpack-sized device for a few hundred watts, which would severely reduce the power that the weapon is capable of (unless we add an array of capacitors charged by the RTG, but then it reduces the effective fire rate).

An advantage of RTGs as well is that they're slightly less dangeous when compromised. No explosions, just a whole bunch of radiation.

Two, you strap a 'miniature' nuke on one soldier, disarmed, and sneak it to the enemy base of operations. You then have the soldier set it off, losing one soldier and removing their base if it goes right. If not, the soldier can cause an explosion which would distract them for time while others go on and do even more damage subtly, until you eventually wear down those that are in power.

Refer to the past paragraph regarding fission reactions. The mass of the required fissile matter alone would be a burden to the carrier, let alone the whole detonator for it. I think the smallest nuke I could see would be fridge-sized. And then there's thermonuclear... which requires nukes as a detonator. Two of em.

Sadly, that is all that I can conceive for nuclear power on the battlefield, unless you want to make nuclear grenades? The biggest problem with nuclear stuff is it is detectable due to how much energy and radioactivity it emits.

Honestly? Assuming the enemy doesn't have metal detectors, the hardest part is actually carrying the weight of the shielding (and having enough shielding so that the soldier doesn't have adverse effects/doesn't die before he gets there).

This leads me to wonder if you were referring to the metal, or the gem, I'm assuming you mean the metal. (who wears gems into battle that would break easily other then Taric?) Since it is that hard, how would you process it? The nature of such a hard material would require a material of equal hardness or greater to break it. A way around this is with fluids by weakening the outer layer a bit, then mining the metal.

There are ways around this - most of the time, metals are found in a much softer rock matrix first of all, and second with automated drones it might be possible to make a heat-mining device.

First issue, Obtaining it. You would need to mine it like we mine diamonds. Second issue, processing it. I do not think we have a place that could reach a heat needed to melt diamonds, but I can be wrong as I did not look that up. Third issue, taking fire. The harder the material, the easier it shatters. Diamond's own makeup makes them very resilient to being cut, but you can break them easily with a hammer, so who is to say you could not shoot one and break it?

First issue is an issue with all materials, so moot. Second issue is also moot - did you know that in a house fire, the only thing we ever find of a diamond engagement ring is a puddle of gold? The diamond BURNS away. Melting diamond though would be possible in an oxygen-free environment with a proper ceramic base - while it's the element with the highest melting point, carbon does have a liquid phase just above tungsten, and we DO melt tungsten. Third issue is valid - the harder it is, the more brittle indeed - though having it cut you pointed the solution out. We could do the same as we do with diamonds - take a hammer to a few and make diamond-coated blades to cut diamonds.

Powered by antimatter? Ok, so you have less then a drop of that liquid energy everyone wants in your suit then? Now here is the fun part, how are you storing it? If it touches normal matter, it will explode at an incredible ratio of 1 kg of antimatter to 1 kg of matter is 180 petajoules, or about 43 megatons of TNT.

That's without mentioning the prohibitive cost of it, and the fact that as with fusion it would require incredible amounts of magnetic shielding, which is impractical. As for the risk of explosion - your estimates are off. E=MC2​, and all of the matter in such a reaction is converted to energy. So E=1kg*(89875517873681764m/s)2​. That's ~9e16kg*m2​/s2​, which is only 80 petajoules, or about 21.5 megations of TNT (or about half the solar energy that hits Earth every second). And there is no way in hell that a soldier is carrying 62.5 quadrillion dollars worth of antimatter on themselves. For a more reasonable half-gram (at 36.25 trillion cost), it's a mere 44.9 terajoules, or 10 kilotons of TNT - still nothing to frown at, considering the Little Boy nuclear bomb was only 125% more powerful. But antimatter isn't the end-all like that. And assuming we have the fusion geometry to actually have one of these microfusion plants that can be carried, it would be more than enough to start the fusion process indeed.

As for being shatterable, unless the magnetic containment itself depends on that, it won't be as much of a problem as that - copper isn't brittle.



How's that for overanalyzing? :P

But yeah, it assumes a lot but I like the weapon :D

 

[Krnon]

Congratulations, @Yiyel, you have over analyzed my analyzation.

Honestly? Assuming the enemy doesn't have metal detectors, the hardest part is actually carrying the weight of the shielding (and having enough shielding so that the soldier doesn't have adverse effects/doesn't die before he gets there)

Shielded vehicles maybe?

There are ways around this - most of the time, metals are found in a much softer rock matrix first of all, and second with automated drones it might be possible to make a heat-mining device.

This is true, though the harder metals can be found more frequent the further you go down. I agree with the drone part, or maybe make a planet drilling rig that runs on tracks that it itself lays, uses a boring system with intricate blades that sharpen themselves as it goes, and sends the rock or ores back to a set location with belts? This method would be way more costly, but easier to maintain then drones, especially if there were a cave-in.

did you know that in a house fire, the only thing we ever find of a diamond engagement ring is a puddle of gold?

I did not know this.

copper isn't brittle.

Copper is not brittle, true, but i was analyzing the material I was assuming that made up the backbone (majority) of the suite.

 

[ASTA]

Refer to the past paragraph regarding fission reactions. The mass of the required fissile matter alone would be a burden to the carrier, let alone the whole detonator for it. I think the smallest nuke I could see would be fridge-sized. And then there's thermonuclear... which requires nukes as a detonator. Two of em.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W54

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W82

Assuming sufficiently-advanced technology (especially in antimatter containment; creating the stuff in viable quantities requires creating a specialized particle accelerator or mining it from the upper atmospheres of planets IIRC), you might be able to get away with using antimatter-catalyzed nuclear fusion or nuclear isomers to bypass the required fission first-stage. You might get smaller and more efficient tactical thermonuclear weapons this way, but I'm unsure.

 

[Yiyel]

Good point, the size would no longer be a problem with alternate detonators - but the mass is still a problem, unless they've been trained or have equipment to deal with it, I can't see many people carrying fifty pounds of stuff on their back for any prolonged amount of time.

 

[Krnon]

Assuming sufficiently-advanced technology (especially in antimatter containment; creating the stuff in viable quantities requires creating a specialized particle accelerator or mining it from the upper atmospheres of planets IIRC), you might be able to get away with using antimatter-catalyzed nuclear fusion or nuclear isomers to bypass the required fission first-stage. You might get smaller and more efficient tactical thermonuclear weapons this way, but I'm unsure.

As for the W82, it was impractical for a shell in that time. For the W54, it was made to replace the W72. These are all according to the articles from wikipedia that you generously acquired and shared.

Now for me to do some research (I personally don't always trust wiki, I'm sorry.).

W82 was designed to be used as an artillery shell. W72 was an actual warhead with contact explosion.
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html

The site goes from the early 1945's to the '90's with the US's old explosive ordinance's history.