Post Your Futuristic Weapon - Got an Awesome Picture?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around futuristic weapons, including guns, vehicles, missiles, and robotic designs. Participants share images, ideas, and concepts related to advanced weaponry, exploring both theoretical and practical implications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share images and concepts of futuristic weapons, including a reference to Einstein's ideas.
  • Concerns are raised about the reliability of robotic weapons, citing a malfunction incident involving an antiaircraft cannon.
  • One participant speculates on the future of warfare being dominated by robots and automated systems, suggesting that human involvement may become obsolete.
  • Others express skepticism about the superiority of robots in ground combat, emphasizing the need for human decision-making in complex environments.
  • Various futuristic weapon concepts are discussed, including EMP weapons, lasers, railguns, and particle cannons, with differing opinions on their effectiveness and current development status.
  • Some participants mention the potential for non-lethal weapons and the importance of human oversight in robotic warfare.
  • There is a reference to the challenges of using microwave weapons and the limitations of Faraday cages in protecting vital equipment.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the effectiveness and future role of robotic weapons in warfare. Some believe in the potential of automation, while others highlight the ongoing necessity for human involvement and the challenges posed by current technology.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the limitations of current technologies, such as the effectiveness of lasers and the development status of particle weapons. There is also mention of the evolving nature of warfare and the need for adaptive strategies in response to emerging threats.

  • #31
I have been working on a futuristic weapon using old tech. I call it the collapsing overhead canopy.

It appears to be a harmless patio umbrella until it suddenly collapes and enfolds an enemy while at the same time releasing laughing gas.

My first prototype called Storm Damage I can be seen below.

http://i49.tinypic.com/241qjpt.jpg

Don't laugh I am not done yet.
 
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  • #32
edward said:
Don't laugh I am not done yet.
Sorry, it just sort of slipped out.
 
  • #33
Jimmy Snyder said:
Sorry, it just sort of slipped out.

Oh yea, well I'll have you know that I am leaving to pick up my second prototype and more laughing gas.

http://www.target.com/p/Cantilever-Offset-Patio-Umbrella-Champagne-10/-/A-13660011?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C13660011&CPNG=patio%20garden&ci_sku=13660011&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=
 
  • #34
One of my old public school friends, who I hadn't seen in 10 years, decided to write an SF story and wrote to me (we're on opposite sides of the country now) about possible technologies. A weapon that I proposed for that book, for use as an inter-ship tactical device, is a missile that spews acid in a magnetic fluid matrix. (I'm thinking along the lines of the magnetic ink that used to be used for computer printers. That was cutting-edge technology at the time, but it seems kind of crappy now.) The idea is that it will stick to an opponent's hull long enough to chew through it.
 
  • #35
Ryan : i thought about small capsules levitating like spores, terrorists inhale them, and they would have a magnetit core. It would explode when it get a directed microwave current.


An idea for a futuristic weapon : create a mini black hole, and fire it.
 
  • #36
GTOM said:
Ryan : i thought about small capsules levitating like spores, terrorists inhale them, and they would have a magnetit core. It would explode when it get a directed microwave current.
Just assuming that would work for the moment (and I'm skeptical that it would: how would you ensure enough was inhaled, absorbed and wasn't noticeable via side effects) what are the advantages of such a system? You still have to get line of site on a target and pull a trigger. Why not just swap our the directed microwave with a gun...
GTOM said:
An idea for a futuristic weapon : create a mini black hole, and fire it.
Assuming you did create one you would A: need a massive particle accelerator ala LHC, B: need to somehow stabilise the hole before it evaporated, C: be very unpopular with everyone since you just consigned the planet to a slow death.
 
  • #37
They have been calming people that even if a mini black hole would appear in LHC, that wouldn't consume the planet, as it would evaporate quickly.
What it depends, that it evaporates, or stay stabil?
 
  • #38
GTOM said:
They have been calming people that even if a mini black hole would appear in LHC, that wouldn't consume the planet, as it would evaporate quickly.
What it depends, that it evaporates, or stay stabil?
I'm aware, I didn't mean literally you needed and LHC but something more powerful. The black hole will be stable if it is massive enough to reach the wall of the collider and start consuming. As it will fall into the Earth it will then just sit there and slowly grow.
 
  • #39
So you say, if we would raise energy levels in LHC, it could REALLY mean destroying Earth?
 
  • #41
About lasers :
What is the best efficiency of lasers today?
Can they be effective against reflective surfaces? While all mirrors swallow some percent of the light, but it isn't the same whether they can reflect 90%, or 30% if they don't know the exact wavelength of the beam.
 
  • #42
I think you mean to ask what is the best efficiency of reflective surfaces and how much heat can they take before they loose this. I'm unfamiliar with this field but I've read that any weaponised laser would be able to warp a mirror to the extent that it is no longer reflective and thus useless as a defence, all in a short period of time. Regarding wavelength I'm pretty sure that reflective surfaces only reflect certain wavelengths with others being reflected at differing efficiencies.

The best defence against a laser is likely to be a lot of mass or to not be in the way.
 
  • #43
teleportation would be the worst thing for war because you could tp bombs anywhere, right past any security system, any army.

with that you could also teleport a place hole for a microsecond behind enemy lines, just suck them up then disappear.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #44
Superposed_Cat said:
teleportation would be the worst thing for war because you could tp bombs anywhere, right past any security system, any army.

Superposed_Cat said:
with that you could also teleport a place hole for a microsecond behind enemy lines, just suck them up then disappear.

Good job it isn't possible then. We should keep this to some semblance of realism please or the thread will have to be locked.
 
  • #45


Currently being developed by the United States military apparently.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

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