Some of my favorite sci-fi weapon systems are from the Zone of the Enders videogames. The main mechs from that game, Orbital Frames, are extremely strong machines equipped with Anti-Proton reactors, on-board AI copilots, self-repair capability, flight systems that let them move as if they were not impeded by gravity, and the ability to grow and evolve based on the abilities of the pilot. What is more, they have the ability to distort space. The most important use of their spatial distortion technology is the Vector Trap, a small pocket of compressed space which lets an Orbital Frame carry a ridiculous amount of optional weaponry (seriously, they usually carry enough weapons to comprise about 5 to 10 times as much mass as the mech itself). Advanced Orbital Frames can use powerful Vector Traps to bend space and protect themselves from oncoming ranged weaponry, or even to move at significant fractions of the speed of light using the Zero Shift. Space-bending technology is also put to use in weapons like the Vector Cannon, which is designed to break through barriers of distorted space.
The Battle Angel Alita manga has quite a few interesting applications of advanced technology, since the series' focus on cybernetic martial artists puts an interesting new spin on things. I think the term "Electromagnetic Karate" (with punches that easily break the sound barrier, and go up from there) sums up a lot of the tone of how technology works in that series. Of course, there may be too many cool gadgets in that series to even begin to list them all, with everything from high-pressure water jets being used as weapons to robotic weapons powered by an entire planet's power grid through the use of a wormhole.
Of course, you can never go wrong with technology that lets a person transform thought into reality, like the Lambda Driver from the Full Metal Panic anime. Or large-scale robotic weapons powered by the fundamental power of life and evolution itself, like you see in Getter Robo or Gurren Lagaan. The latter actually has quite a few distinct weapons of its own, like missiles that alter probability itself so that it is literally impossible to not hit their target, or beam guns capable of hitting targets in the past or the future (designed to fight enemies who dodge attacks by using time travel).
I almost forgot to mention, but one of the most out-there and powerful weapons I have ever seen is the Infinity Cylinder from the Super Robot Wars games, since it is a weapon designed to erase its targets from existence as if they never even existed in the first place. Of course, there are a lot of truly bizarre and impressive weapons from that series, since one of the first Banpresto Original mechs from that series was equipped with a Black Hole Cannon, and they seem obsessed with topping themselves with each new game.
I almost forgot to mention, but one of the most out-there and powerful weapons I have ever seen is the Infinity Cylinder from the Super Robot Wars games, since it is a weapon designed to erase its targets from existence as if they never even existed in the first place.
Marvel Comics has had a version of that floating around for a few decades- the Ultimate Nullifier.
It will completely eradicate the target from existence, regardless of power...but at the cost of eradicating the weapon's wielder in the same way.
(Definitely a weapon you keep safely under lock & key, especially with an inquisitive toddler in the house...)
The Gundam SEED universe probably has the single highest number of super-weapons of any Gundam series. It has the Neutron Jammer (N-Jammer) that creates an energy field that halts nuclear decay, preventing the use of nuclear weapons or power reactors (which was used to trigger an energy crisis on Earth), the N-Jammer Canceler that allows nuclear weapons to operate inside of an N-Jammer's field, and the Neutron Stampeder that explosively accelerates nuclear decay within its effect range, causing otherwise stable nuclear weapons and reactors to detonate.
Oh, well there's something I forgot...weapons designed to target other weapons. Of course, in simplest form, that includes off-hand dueling blades designed to trap your opponents weapon, but triggering the other guys nukes is more dramatic. Maybe the las-gun/shield combo from Dune counts as this.
Also, there is the concept of destroying infrastructure. The U.S. military actually has IRL carbon fiber strands designed to short our enemy power grids. The ability to absorb a foe's power might also count here.
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Originally Posted by SKyOdin
There are plenty of cool weapons from elsewhere in mecha anime. For example, the Radiant Wave Surger from Code Geass is a very impressive weapon. The Radiant Wave Surger is a claw-like weapon mounted on the arm of a mech that can release a massive burst of energy radiation into anything the mech grabs hold of. Since this energy conducts along metal, the Radiant Wave Surger can completely destroy a mech by simply grabbing one of its limbs.
Not sure how great this is...in theory, all you have to do is avoid being grabbed while you blast away with your own weapons. Of course, that presumes you don't have the plot against you. Obviously this is anime, so I'm not arguing practicality but coolness...
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Originally Posted by SKyOdin
The Goldion Hammer combats them by using graviton shock-waves to completely annihilate any matter it comes into contact with, transforming it into harmless photons.
So...it performs a complete matter to energy conversion, releasing photons as the end result? That's a LOT of photons for anything of any size. Don't know how harmless it would actually be. Again, it is probably pointless to argue practicality, but the description suggests unthought-through ramifications by the creators.
__________________ Baby Marcus is here, 11/17/09 at 8:57pm!
...with everything from high-pressure water jets being used as weapons...
This actually exists, and is used in the meat packing industry. High pressure water can cut like a knife. It also reminds me that I forgot a whole bunch of weapons in the form of cryo or freeze rays. Ah-nold forgive me. Since these are much less explanable in terms of real-world physics, they remind me of the ever popular shrink rays, too, though those could be considered space distortion weapons.
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Originally Posted by TwinBahamut
Of course, you can never go wrong with technology that lets a person transform thought into reality, like the Lambda Driver from the Full Metal Panic anime. Or large-scale robotic weapons powered by the fundamental power of life and evolution itself, like you see in Getter Robo or Gurren Lagaan. The latter actually has quite a few distinct weapons of its own, like missiles that alter probability itself so that it is literally impossible to not hit their target, or beam guns capable of hitting targets in the past or the future (designed to fight enemies who dodge attacks by using time travel).
Transforming thought into reality -- I wonder if that is more a description of the control system rather than the technology? Very Forbidden Planet.
What do you mean by "power of life and evolution?"
If you can shoot through time...why wouldn't you just shoot your opponents grandparents? I would assume it is a targeting thing. Still, that sounds like the ultimate "kill Hitler" gun.
Altering probability is a very, very interesting question of physics...I would think it is either impossible or well within the realm of quantum mechanics. My incomplete understanding of modern physics theory has led me to the invention of Schrodinger's missile...
__________________ Baby Marcus is here, 11/17/09 at 8:57pm!
Marvel Comics has had a version of that floating around for a few decades- the Ultimate Nullifier.
It will completely eradicate the target from existence, regardless of power...but at the cost of eradicating the weapon's wielder in the same way.
(Definitely a weapon you keep safely under lock & key, especially with an inquisitive toddler in the house...)
Diverging momentarily from the sci-fi zone...that describes Robert Jordan's bale fire from the Wheel of Time series. A consequence was that the fabric of reality started to unravel when it was used on whole cities, retroactively erasing their existence. The consequences were dire enough that the genocidal torturer mad scientist cannibal tyrant side unilaterally stopped using it at the same time as the good guys.
__________________ Baby Marcus is here, 11/17/09 at 8:57pm!
This actually exists, and is used in the meat packing industry. High pressure water can cut like a knife.
And actually, there are industrial cutting tools that combine high-pressure water with a grit included...its been used to cut metal and other materials, all at essentially room temperatures.
All this speculation is good, but I feel that in Real Life we'll probably still be mostly using Kalashnikov's for the next century. But then again maybe the Russian company most famous for the AK-47 might make something like the AK-227 rail gun that looks exactly like it's modern day counterpart.
Though as far as energy weapons go, I think a lot of them might be based on firing unstable particles.
Flash Gordon - Ming's weapon to break the earth apart and bring the parts in as satellites is just a cool concept; it reduces the population to the stone age and controlable numbers. (what I remember of it)
Simon Green's - Zombie Bombs (lack of a better name) used by the rogue AI in combat in the Deathstalker books; devices are delivered to a target during combat by teleportion or missle, they release nanobots that use the bodies of the dead as troops, along the line of the borg.
TORG RPG - The Reality Bomb, it changed the reality of an area to prevent thinks like guns from working. Figure the idea came from something else, like Amber?
Nikola Tesla - nuff said.
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Not sure how great this is...in theory, all you have to do is avoid being grabbed while you blast away with your own weapons. Of course, that presumes you don't have the plot against you. Obviously this is anime, so I'm not arguing practicality but coolness...
It actually makes a lot of sense in the context of the series. Code Geass (particularly the first season) primarily focuses on close-quarters combat between small mecha in urban environments. Mechs that have a combination of closing speed, the ability to protect against incoming fire, and superior close-range combat abilities have a huge advantage. Besides, the Radiant Wave Surger is surprisingly good at stopping incoming ranged attacks. It has stopped everything from sustained barrages of machine gun fire, missile clusters, and even point-blank shots from a VARIS rifle (Variable Ammunition Repulsion Impact Spitfire rifle, essentially a rifle that fires bullets incased in a repulsive force field).
Of course, the series creators do play up the weapon's disadvantages at ranged combat. When mechs start gaining flight systems and the powerful Hadron cannon comes into use, the mech using the Radiant Wave Surger is at a significant disadvantage until it is likewise upgraded.
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So...it performs a complete matter to energy conversion, releasing photons as the end result? That's a LOT of photons for anything of any size. Don't know how harmless it would actually be. Again, it is probably pointless to argue practicality, but the description suggests unthought-through ramifications by the creators.
I actually thought of that myself when they first used it, but the series is a Super Robot show that is more about having fun than hard science in the first place. Besides, every sci-fi series bends some scientific laws (or all of them) freely anyways in the name of coolness and plot, so it doesn't really bug me that much.
I actually thought of that myself when they first used it, but the series is a Super Robot show that is more about having fun than hard science in the first place. Besides, every sci-fi series bends some scientific laws (or all of them) freely anyways in the name of coolness and plot, so it doesn't really bug me that much.
Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant had a lightspeed travel mechanism that converted an object (like a ship) into encoded light patterns. Somehow (I forget the details), the light waves would be resolved back into the object at its destination (typically another star system). I mention it because in one scene in the book, a hostile ship is converted into light -- and shot into the back of another ship like a laser.
__________________ Baby Marcus is here, 11/17/09 at 8:57pm!
All this speculation is good, but I feel that in Real Life we'll probably still be mostly using Kalashnikov's for the next century.
Probably. The M16 was introduced into service in 1962, and it was based on the AR-10, a design from 1954. Design work on the AK-47 began in 1944, and started service in '47-49. The upgraded and rechambered AK-74 was introduced in 1974. The two most popular service rifles in the world are both based on designs more than 50 years old today.
The Browning .50 M2 was designed at the end of WWI and is still in use today with the U.S. military. 9mm Parabellum, the caliber used in the U.S. Military's standard service pistol (the Beretta M9) was introduced in 1902. Some military technologies have very long service lives.
On the other hand, the P90 was designed in '86-'87, so it is a relatively new design. It is very effective at killing Goa'uld, Wraith, and Ori soliders. :P
__________________ Baby Marcus is here, 11/17/09 at 8:57pm!
Well, gunpowder & dumb projectiles are a fairly effective and reliable tech, so we'll probably be seeing some form of guns for a while.
However, we are starting to see increasingly "sci-fi" type weaponry make it to the RW practical level.
In the past 15 years, we've seen not 1 but 2 man-made materials exceed the hardness of diamond; glue-guns a-la Marvel Comics' Trapster's deployed in the Persian Gulf; sonic weapons go from FutureWeapons to deployment in the war against piracy and for crowd control; and lasers capable of disorienting or even harming humans get down to the size of a night-watchman's flashlight- you can find ads for them in the backs of Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and other magazines for $1000-3000 each.
I've even seen reports about advances in Iron Man style body armor w/artificial muscles and a cloaking system that reminds one of the Predator movies.
However, we are starting to see increasingly "sci-fi" type weaponry make it to the RW practical level.
We always seem to be predicting things before we have them. H.G. Wells and Jules Verne predicted tanks and nuclear submarines, among other things. I see no reason why that trend won't continue.
Wash: Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.
Zoe: We live in a spaceship, dear.
Wash: So?
__________________ Baby Marcus is here, 11/17/09 at 8:57pm!
There have been several things mentioned well beyond the scope of one of my faves, but I was always a fan of Simon Hawke's warp grenades from his Timekeepers book series. Warp grenades combine a handheld nuclear bomb with a modified time machine that transports part of the explosion to the center of the galaxy. So you set the machine's field size to the size of the explosion you want to get precisely-tuned devastation- while keeping everything outside of the field unharmed! Although there is a slight implosion effect due to the vacuum caused in the area that gets nuked. But still, skirmish-scale nuclear devices are pretty awesome!
__________________ -FoxWander Standing in uffish thought.
There have been several things mentioned well beyond the scope of one of my faves, but I was always a fan of Simon Hawke's warp grenades from his Timekeepers book series. Warp grenades combine a handheld nuclear bomb with a modified time machine that transports part of the explosion to the center of the galaxy. So you set the machine's field size to the size of the explosion you want to get precisely-tuned devastation- while keeping everything outside of the field unharmed! Although there is a slight implosion effect due to the vacuum caused in the area that gets nuked. But still, skirmish-scale nuclear devices are pretty awesome!
It's all fun and games until someone from the center of the galaxy inquires who has been using these weapons.
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There have been several things mentioned well beyond the scope of one of my faves, but I was always a fan of Simon Hawke's warp grenades from his Timekeepers book series. Warp grenades combine a handheld nuclear bomb with a modified time machine that transports part of the explosion to the center of the galaxy. So you set the machine's field size to the size of the explosion you want to get precisely-tuned devastation- while keeping everything outside of the field unharmed! Although there is a slight implosion effect due to the vacuum caused in the area that gets nuked. But still, skirmish-scale nuclear devices are pretty awesome!
It sounds a lot like the FLEIJA warheads from Code Geass (even down to the implosion/vacuum effect after the explosion) in its effects. The FLEIJA used some kind of forcefield technology to contain the explosion (I think) instead of a time machine though. Honestly, warping a nuclear explosion into the center of the galaxy seems like a completely unnecessary waste of energy and a little silly.
When I was poking around random topics on Wikipedia a few months ago, I did stumble on the fact that most modern nuclear bombs are technically variable yield devices, which can be set to detonate with varying amounts of power. For example, the same device can be set to detonate at 0.3 kilotons, 5 kilotons, 10 kilotons, or 80 kilotons. Sometimes real technology is weirder than sci-fi.
When I was poking around random topics on Wikipedia a few months ago, I did stumble on the fact that most modern nuclear bombs are technically variable yield devices, which can be set to detonate with varying amounts of power. For example, the same device can be set to detonate at 0.3 kilotons, 5 kilotons, 10 kilotons, or 80 kilotons. Sometimes real technology is weirder than sci-fi.
I would guess that there would be more fall-out from the small booms compared to the big ones. After all, fall-out is the unexploded bit of the nuclear core.
Of course, in simplest form, that includes off-hand dueling blades designed to trap your opponents weapon, but triggering the other guys nukes is more dramatic. Maybe the las-gun/shield combo from Dune counts as this.
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