40K - LASGUNS OR LASERS? RECOIL? - THE EMPERORS FLASHLIGHT? - Warhammer 40,000 Lore/History

[@Luetin09]

This vid obviously took longer than I anticipated, and I didn’t plan to stretching talking about Lasguns to an hour, yet.... here we are lol - things about to get rambly! So buckle up for my personal vocal version of white noise and hopefully enjoy. If you do - drop a LIKE - helps me, and the channel! Thanks all.

[@FeedMeSalt]

Oh but rambly is why I'm here my good man.

[@funwithfrank7522]

Glad too hear you any day of the week pal I was on an old video binge last night and today you grace us with a new one

[@Luetin09]

@@FeedMeSalt Im bracing myself for the people who arent lolol :D

[@reigningmonarch]

@@FeedMeSalt this man knows why we’re here.

[@hugotheimpecileone]

You should do a video about tanks.

[@poenschepper]

Never played any 40K but man the way you tell about the races, factions, gods & lore is beyond, i always use your stories to unwind at the end of a hard day, thanks for that.

[@mateerdos1664]

I feel you man, same here.. xd

[@ericbrown-yq2ey]

It's literally how I sleep. Makes it weird when a lady stays the night and hears sounds of tyranids

[@usetheforkluke6556]

Same here! ❤️

[@Peeser87]

@@ericbrown-yq2ey It is the right NO the ONLY way!

[@parmavee]

@@ericbrown-yq2ey me too. Great to drift off to.

[@TheEldritchGod]

The Inquisitor peered at the Fabricator General sitting across from him, "What do you mean the Lasguns are functioning as intended?" The Fabricator dipped his cybernetic sensor array towards the inquisitor, "Indeed, Inquisitor." The Inquisitor started to gesture at the files he had spread out on the table, "This battle, the lasguns worked without recoil, this one... with. This battle the lasgun shot actual concentrated blasts, this battle had shafts of ruby red. This one shot through orcs, this battle, the orcs exploded when hit." He stabbed at the files with a finger bejeweled with digiweapons, "Every one of these battles, the lasgun has functioned differently, and yet each and every lasgun was identical and produced at THIS forge world!!!" The Fabricator General repeated the gesture from before, "Yes." The Inquisitor narrowed his eyes, "I thought the Mechanicus was all about the machine god, never changing anything. The lasgun pattern was SACRED." He tapped a file, "But it's clear that the lasguns have SOMEHOW been altered AND I have tracked each gun's origin BACK to this forge world, and yet..." He leaned back in his chair as he gendo posed, "It seems you don't care." "That makes me think of corruption." The fabricator tilted his head to the side. He remained still for several seconds before speaking, "I have checked your clearance. Do you understand the Warp? How local belief affects demons depending on the locality where it manifests?" The Inquisitor learned forward with narrowed eyes, "Yes... What does-" The Fabricator cut him off, "The Lasgun is nearly universal. It is held by and beloved by many a guardsman. That many humans having an emotional attachment to his weapon has an effect." He held up a servo tentacle, "That much belief affects how the weapon performs. If the Guardsmen all came from a low tech world with slug throwers, they often discover that lasguns function more like a slug thrower." The General gestured in a rolling fashion with a servo, "Once a group consensus has been accepted, it becomes expected." The inquisitor's jaw hung open, "Are you saying that... the lasguns are being infected by chaos, somehow?" The Fabricator shook his sensory array, "No. I am saying that the machine spirits in the lasguns are influenced by guardsmen. If you worship and care for your weapon properly... Give it a name.... Sleep with it held tight in hostile territory... And if the weapon saves your life... you might take extra care of it. In such case, a grateful machine spirit might wish to make you... happy. To..." "Meet Expectations." The inquisitor's eyes darted from side to side as his mind tried to process this new data point. A data point that he did not want to accept. A data point that approached perpendicular to both his view of reality and morality. In a way, they were the same thing. "So... despite the inconsistent manner lasguns perform in different theaters of war... they are actually functioning..." The Inquisitor's voice trailed off. It horrified him to think that the immaterium was not only involved, but that, if the amalgam of man and machine before him was correct, it would be impossible to ever untangle this Gordian Knot. A knot that bound every guardsman's soul inexorably to the machine spirit he depended on for his very survival. The Fabricator General let out a soft grinding noise that was the cybernetic equivalent to a sympathetic sigh. This would not be the first time he witnessed a paradigm shifting without a clutch. It certainly would not be the last, "The lasguns are functioning as intended..." "Because we ask them to function that way."

[@muninrob]

≡][≡ This data entry has been filed for immediate seizure - all inquisitorial staff involved are to have their rosarius taken from them for breach of information control standards.≡][≡ Thanks, I'm stealing that one, but I think there needs to be more "prayers", "blessings", and "The Emperah" - that cog-boi sounded more like he was explaining the "waaaagh" than Imperial faith. P.S. There is in-universe confirmation (at least once you get into complex machine spirits) for your theory on the machine spirits. Check out the Space Marine Land Raider - a vehicle with a history of mysterious autonomous actions.

[@muhammadabdulrehman1540]

This headcanon actually makes sense.

[@bkanderson2659]

This is excellent. Makes sense from a lore standpoint to me.

[@Shinzon23]

This is actually not the most fuckiest explanation I've ever seen. And we do have proof that human belief does create things -Imperial saints and celestine anyone?- so this is plausible.

[@muninrob]

@@Shinzon23 Ya missed The Legion of the Damned. (yea, decent theory, just not enough "holy this and sanctified that" terminology for a mechanicus scholar discussing "miracles") IMO a lot of people think "lasgun" means "M4" or "AK-47" when the equivalent word would be "assault rifle". The specific models would be the "patterns", with "lasgun" being the parent group for all the various patterns of infantry laser rifle.

[@pentacosttb2565]

Lasguns are actually an interchangeabley powerful selection of minor energy weapons discovered by the tech priest Gary Las, and thus this class of various weapons is named after him. He then combined all their different tech into his magnum opus, Las's Cannon.

[@robertnett9793]

Ah yes. Good ol' Gary Las. Allthough, it seems bold of you to speak his name so freely, as he was found guilty of heresy not long after... because that seems to be the way of the Imperium - 'No good deed goes unpunished' :D

[@ericstephenbrenner]

This is the only logical explanation I will go with from now on and I will defend it fiercly! But to be honest, I already thought of the possibility that "Las" is just an akronym or means a tech group or person. But as I heard of Gary Las, it all became clear.

[@snugglyhedgehog]

@@ericstephenbrenner perhaps it stands for Local Armament System

[@ericstephenbrenner]

@@snugglyhedgehog No no. Not a chance. It's Tech Priest Gary Las now. XD

[@FrostRare]

@@robertnett9793 yes. The HEINOUS allegations leveled against that “priest”… his abuse of office to take advantage of children. What a creep.

[@raycearcher5794]

THEORY: We know lasguns are made by a bunch of different Forge Worlds in a bunch of configurations, so maybe "Lasgun" is just the guard term for a battlefield energy rifle meeting command's requirements for power output, power pack usage, and general durability, with different lasguns operating very differently. Some might be pure lasers, some might use lasers to ignite puffs of gas into energetic plasma, some have recoil, some don't, some cause surface injuries and some heat from within, and so on. So a lasgun might be a plasma rifle or a laser rifle or a heat ray or an electromagnetic DEW, but for the guard's purposes they are all interchangably "lasguns."

[@BR-bn1mz]

Tbf doesn’t Star Wars blasters use plasma? My assumption was that overcharging them to be more powerful, like Krieg often do, had some sort of physical component, hence the recoil whereas fireing normally wouldn’t be that noticeable, but this maybe makes more sense

[@HubiKoshi]

That makes a lot of sense and considering how absolutely enormous the Imperium is the various sectors and segmentums and Mechanicus worlds might not even compare notes on what each is producing and how it works. It would make sense for Mechanicus who are very secretive about their tech.

[@toyhaunter8260]

There is proper plasma weaponry. Though the tech makes them big, bulky, and risky if you don’t vent the heat. The next thing below those would be Melta weaponry, which heat up gasses into a thermal beam, but not to the point of making a plasma attack.

[@fenrirrising131]

@@BR-bn1mz that is what i was saying. A charged particle weapon with emphasis on the energy aspect instead of the gas or whatever itself

[@varelmarais2222]

YES! This is exactly what I was thinking while watching this

[@ADHDgonewild7]

12:58 oiling something doesn’t inherently mean there are moving parts. For example, part of sword maintenance involves oiling it to protect it from rust and corrosion. I Imagine that Is how it is used for the lasgun as well

[@hollamari5109]

I'm late but I assumed it was because the mechanicus said so. Oil the gun so chaos doesn't corrupt it. Either that or what you said.

[@MrMrrome]

Maybe the oil goes on the muzzle side of the focusing lens. That way as it fires the oil gets carbonized and small pieces of this dust somehow flys with the beam/bolt. A piece of carbon the size of a grain of sand, traveling anywhere near the speed of light would cause an "explosive" reaction to soft, fleshy targets.

[@Elphazo_O-two]

Do you think a gatling lasgun could work?

[@mythrilman672]

@@Elphazo_O-two Yes they exist now, but technically it would be super bulky due to each of the barrels needing a large quantity of heavy tech and the battery would die quickly, so an automatic laz weapon would almost certainly be better, but you would need to bring an extra barrel

[@boldCactuslad]

gotta appease the machine spirit with the holy cloths and the holy oils bros

[@The0Stroy]

It uses compressed air heated by a laser and then shot along a laser. Most damage is from being hit with basically a ball of burning, ionized gas, not the laser itself. It still uses a laser to function - yet not directly. That will also explain recoil and sound. In the same way a "black powder gun" doesn't shoot beams of black powder after all...

[@FrostRare]

Interesting… I was wondering about this because a true laser weapon would have an invisible tracer. Lasers by their nature move faster than the speed of light, so we wouldn’t see all these little “pew pew pew” sorta things. You’re saying they’re essentially propelling ionized gas through… what?

[@The0Stroy]

@@FrostRare Gas getting ionized along laser beam.

[@benanddadmechanical6573]

I wonder if the tech is actually more like a rail gun that uses a laser to accelerate a packet of mass to close to the speed of light. E=MC^2 means you don’t need much mass for each shot.

[@DoughboyJonesmk2]

Maybe 'laser' is just an outdated term that everyone still uses even though the tech has moved forward, sort of like how we still say 'filming' even though footage is largely digital nowadays.

[@Kj16V]

I like that explanation. It's good enough for my head canon!

[@NinjaMan47]

"Any Legionaire that scoffs at the power of a Lasgun has not charged across a field against a hundred of them." One of my all time favorite quotes from the franchise. The main firearm of the Guardsman is relatively weak but is never used alone.

[@sev1120]

There's also: "The Demolisher, the Vanquisher, even the mighty Deathstrike Missile Launcher pale in comparison to the sheer firepower of trillions of lasguns unleashing hell in unison."

[@KalashVodka175]

Relative is the important term here. Lasguns will do just fine against the vast majority of what the galaxy throws at guardsmens. It USUALLY won't do against the elites (space marines, carnifex, nobz...) but it is more than effective against gaunts, ork boyz, other humans, tau, etc As for eldars, I doubt they'd survive more than a few discharge of a lasgun, but that's the thing they do their best not to be hit in the first place. The only ones whom would really screw the guard over in most situation are the crons

[@rocketpod1]

What book is that from

[@olroyohboy1119]

A Nob: "I 'ave. Sting loik a bitch."

[@exnihiloadnihilum5094]

To use an ancient meme: One lasgun does diddly. A thousand lasguns however is a shit load of diddly.

[@bluedotdinosaur]

In real life physics, there is an increasing amount of research into the concept of using laser beams as a medium through which to accelerate the movement of charged particles. Some information on this can be found by searching for articles on laser beams as possible replacements for metal guides in particle accelerators. In a science fiction sense, I vaguely recall reading some pieces of military SF over the years in which charged-particle weapons projected a laser "primer" beam a microsecond before the primary discharge of energy meant to do damage. In some fiction, this was particularly important when firing a particle weapon within an atmosphere, as the laser quite literally burned a hole through the gas medium and prevented the particle beam from diffusing. This could be one way to conceptualize the 40k lasgun. Given that so much Imperial technology is not fully understood, even something as simple as a "laser gun" might in fact be based on more complicated principles than the most basic form of laser beam generation. However the laser part of the lasgun is the easiest for the Imperials to understand, therefore, a combination particle beam / laser weapon would simply be referred to as a "las". And from a certain point of view it's not inaccurate. The laser beam would be the first thing the weapon fires. It's absolutely a "laser gun". It's just that most damage to the target would be the work of charged particles riding the laser beam as a wave guide. Now, here's an interesting thing about recoil. I've read that a really powerful laser should actually create some kind of "kickback" when fired in an atmosphere because of the explosive evaporation of air in the path of the beam. One might imagine charged particles could create really explosive evaporation due to sun-like temperatures suddenly springing into existence in otherwise cool air. In this sense, a lasgun might not exactly recoil like a projectile weapon would, but perhaps it'd still be jostled around and "jerk" from the barrel being buffeted by blast of hot vapor expanding backwards against the barrel or focusing lens.

[@Toneill029]

I think you got it on the money. Something doesn’t move at high speeds out of something without pushing something out of the way or moving something, that’s not how things work. Like you said it’s a small jerk most likely negligible the kind you get from a paintball gun.

[@malloc7108]

You can get simpler: photons have mass, if you have enough of them to do what a lasgun does you probably would have a kick from the discharge.

[@Kohl293]

@@malloc7108 Minor correction: Photons do not have mass, only momentum. I know, it’s dumb. It sounds impossible, but it’s an important distinction in relativity.

[@Kohl293]

What I noticed is that lasgun shots always glow a bright red. If that comes from the laser, it interacts unbelievably strongly in the atmosphere and would cause really high “recoil” for laser weapons.

[@davidfrancisco3502]

In a FPS game the laser gun has an upgrade Of making the beam to accelerate a small particle Of tungsten on every shot increasing the damage and armor penetration.

[@thebigh4752]

Out of all the things in the 40K lore to be so disputed. I did NOT expect the Lasgun to be one of the most contentious pieces.

[@goldenhate6649]

The thing that gets me is light DOES have kinetic energy, we literally have an entire spacefaring tech around this, solar sails. The question more is, how much kick, and would it be tangible.

[@Cythil]

@@goldenhate6649 That is true. Light do push. There is also the idea of using light as a way to push a rocket more directly rather than using a solar sail, or its cousin, the laser sale. But of course such a touch drive would likely never be practical due to how little kick light has. It is actually scary to think how much energy a Lasgun would have, it is has so much recoil that we see in frequent depictions. That would indicate that the power pack itself is equal to a nuclear device in power density. Now that power pack could be ultra stable. After all, a Kilo of water is a heck of a lot of energy given E=mc². But you're not going to set it off. Chucking it in fire would not be enough to charge it in any reasonable amount of time, ether. And one would expect an even great effect on the target on the other side. Now, recoil could simply due to some mechanism in the Lasgun itself, even if it is a more "reasonable" laser. Perhaps the power pack system need some mechanical squeeing action to fully release the energy, or the way the laser itself is produced may need some mechanical squeezing. That is not as unrealistic as one may think. And it would explain the need for stripping and oiling it as it would have actual mechanical parts. Now... I can not say I know a direct analogue to that in the real world. But I still think it not beyond possibility that though a squeeing of the laser producing medium one might gain more out of it or just be a part of the production of the laser effect itself. There certainly are a whole host of interesting ways to produce lasers like nuclear pumped laser which use the blast of a nuclear bomb itself to produce a very powerful one shot laser.

[@theotv5522]

"There's a xenomorph tearing thru our tanks with it's claws and you're here arguing what we should call our guns?" - John Guardsmen

[@minhducnguyen9276]

​@@goldenhate6649 The problem is light carries so little impulse to make lasguns to have recoil. If lasguns have any perceivable recoil, they'd be pumping out so much energy that every time a lasgun fires I'd turn the air in front of it into a glowing plasma ball that's melt the face of the guardsman or at least blind him. A laser that powerful would be able to seriously damage a Titan. For the amount of damage a lasgun can inflict, it shouldn't have any perceivable recoil. But of course, for dramatic effect, lasgun must have recoil

[@xermasboo5401]

@@Cythil There is one possibility which is a combination of two different things: Amplifier and Resonator. It has to do with what lasers do inherently which is shooting light photons. An Amplifier basically super chargers(causes the photons to become extremely 'excited') and a Resonator takes two or more frequencies to create 'Harmony' or Harmonization which allows the frequencies to increase the next wave from the previous wave. Las guns could have several miniature amplifiers(which would be our waves here) and have them go into a specially designed Resonator chamber where they Harmonize before entering an acceleration chamber where they become condensed there magnetized lensing before the final stretch through the focusing arrays. Just to point out I would assume that all of these are super tiny, with the battery being able to store at least 4 MW - 5 MW by itself(about around the size of a regular rifle magazine in size), and if a battery pack is applied then 100 MW - 500 MW. I am going by the lowest end that I can think of so it could honestly be around in the GW range instead of the MW range.

[@segascotty]

100% head canon, I've always imagined the recoil as being a large relay "clicking" to charge a capacitor for the next shot. eg: the Capactior is charged, when gaurdsman pulls the trigger the capacitor discharges powering the las-bolt, the relay is trigered and there's a breaker like switch that re-routes power to recharge the capactior. Oiling the gun would be maintaning the bearing on the switch attached to the relay.

[@jasonhemphill8525]

Exactly what I was thinking

[@Liethen]

i always figured any laser weapon that has an open barrel will boil the air inside leading to some thrust as the air is expelled as a jet of superheated plasma. thus if you have such a barrel you should give it holes to vent the gas inside evenly every direction to cancel out recoil.

[@dylanmontgomery5450]

@@Liethen would explain why some have recoil and some don't dubbing the barrels type a (no slited barrle high recoil) Type b ( mild slited mild recoil tho less range and higher visibility) And type c (aggressive slits in the barrel no recoil cheapest to manufacture resource wise less range and higher visibility compared to type b) The range difference is minimal yet noticeable as the longer ranged shots lose more energy

[@tsoliot5913]

@@Liethen that was my thought as well. Superheated gasses become plasma in some kind of resonating chamber and are funneled by the barrel.

[@darkstar2480]

@@tsoliot5913So something like current tech HEAT rounds without the explosive? We would just need to duplicate that process minus the weapon destroying itself to use. Or could you focus a beam of light to reproduce a HEAT rounds plasma jet? Or something like an EFP (Explosively Formed Projectile) but with light instead of explosives? Possible that the knowledge they learn from Fusion power leads to las weapons? We already understand the projectile needed (shaped charge). We just need to figure how to do it without explosives. But with magnets and lasers. The USAF have working prototypes of lasers powerful enough to destroy an incoming missile and be small enough to fit on a plane. So the tech isn’t that far off. But can you miniaturize it enough without breaking the laws of known physics?

[@alexbrowning4281]

This is the most “Luetin” video I’ve ever seen, only Luetin could get me so giddy to watch an hour of fictional laser gun pedantry

[@alexbrowning4281]

Thought for the Day: Depleted Deuterium is Hydrogen, bolt shells are filled with the same stuff that floated the Hindenburg.

[@ChoonMa]

Ditto, man. Ditto.

[@MattyRlufc]

The best kind of pedantry

[@noahquintin3013]

In regards to the Krieg Laaguns. They're known to be a "Bolt Action" type lasgun with more firepower but weaker rate of fire. That could've been why in Krieg, the book mentions recoil.

[@deerhawk7788]

Semi-auto would be a better description than bolt action as they don't have to actuate it so

[@Joseph-mw2rl]

What the hell you on about? Bolt action rifles without a bolt?

[@thesyndrome43]

In regards to "stripping and oiling" the lasgun, this could be in reference to the trigger or magazine/battery slide (as those are the only "moving parts" I can think of), or alternatively it could be blessed oils to appease the machine spirit and keep it free of corruption from chaos taint, I think the latter is more likely but have no actual source or proof

[@xdean816]

My thoughts as well. General trigger group and magazine well and release. The outside of the weapon to reduce rusting. Maybe joining parts like barrel to the weapon and such. Hell of it's a hard light or kinetic plasma or some such it could have moving parts to oil. Or to create heat resistants on certain points.

[@darkindy]

Cleaning and maintaining equipment can almost be meditative and create a bond between the user. It is soothing. Something that may provide some copping mechanism in war. It could just be "tradition." This is what military has done for centuries, we continue without knowing why. So we clean, strip, and oil things that do not need it; because this is how it has always been done.

[@efirizaki6457]

WD 40.....

[@iglidor]

I remember from one of novels (not sure which one, maybe First and Only? Or maybe one of the Krieg novels?) that those lasguns with recoil have that recoil due to fast ejection of gasses to compensate for build-up heat in the rifle (which ties to another issue of lasguns - them starting to melt if you fire constantly). Could the simpliest explenation be that just like practicaly everything in Imperium, there is not a single type of lasgun? That there are patterns that are more advanced, that do not require any gas ejection to work and thus are without recoil while other lasgun patterns are less capable and require gas cooling? Also about maintanance - Lasguns have adjustable lenses that needs to be maintained. So it is not only trigger mechanism that require stripping and oiling.

[@billyteflon1322]

@@darkindy I'll give you a thumbs up on this. Coming out of a former US Military mind set. I played with a lot of former Soviet weapons. The biggest difference is with Soviet weapons,.you clean them out and put two dobbs of oil in the weapon on the rails, action it several times and you're ok. With other weapons you clean them to prevent misfire. *Edit -. You bond with weapons different.

[@5chr4pn3ll]

A technique I've found to be very good when dealing with 40k writing is: Treat the author as an in-verse subjective source. In this way you can explain most things like Astartes abilities and power shifting from book to book, the scale of Titans switching back and forth, because the in-verse author might have only heard about something from someone else that exaggerated some aspect. Or perhaps the author has never seen or handled a lasgun and so would make assumptions based on their experience. This does not always work, but it makes everything more cohesive to me at least.

[@Subject_Keter]

That and seemingly half of them have no chunking idea what they are writing about.

[@MusMasi]

they just need to allow the space smurfs to make more marines, then deploy one ultra marine to each conflict and give him a name and the imperium can never lose.

[@pumellhorne]

All of 40k is fireside tales full of embellishment and inaccuracies, told for effect to wide-eyed listeners.

[@sethheristal9561]

Accounts of 40k are like accounts of ancient history by direct observers or the first historians. You're not gonna find accuracy. And if you didn't realize it yet, it's exactly the same way we tell our own history, in terms especially of political narrative. We don't have the luxury of external, all-knowing narrators in our own reality.

[@baldrickthedungspreader3107]

Very much like when reading real historical accounts, some stuff in historical accounts becomes truly wild and exaggerated, Herodotus for example, describing wild and crazy animal in unknown lands, it's the job of the historian to apply logic to separate actual fact from tales

[@megan00b8]

3:49 fun fact: lasers do cause "explosions" on impact. As a high power laser hits on a material it rapidly heats it up and turns it to plasma. The rapidly expanding material creates in the least the seeming illusion of an explosion and a small crater is left. I believe it was Styropyro who got his hands on a shady used tattoo removal laser and showcased this in a KZbin video some time ago. As such, the description of explosive energy beam with bullet like effects still perfectly suits a laser.

[@psychocomytic9778]

Also, light has mass! It's negligible but I suppose in theory discharging enough energy as light in one direction may cause some negligible recoil.

[@andrzejdyszy7740]

@@psychocomytic9778 no i does not have mass .... it has momentum

[@psychocomytic9778]

@@andrzejdyszy7740 light is made up of photons, which have mass. Everything has mass, regardless of how negligible it might be. Momentum doesn't exist without mass.

[@AureliusEnterprises]

@@psychocomytic9778 This is incorrect. Photons do not have mass. Momentum can exist without mass. Anyone with a physics degree should attest to this.

[@freepplay]

Photos do not have mass that’s why anything with mass travels less than speed of light

[@henry3457]

Ah, the Lasgun. A truly superior choice if you wish to inflict "mild botheration" on the enemy.

[@mikerbrenizer]

It reminds me of the quote in the original Jumangi. "Well, a little rain never hurt anybody. ..Yeah, but a lot can kill you."

[@tcuegonbear]

We're still talking about a weapon that can amputate a limb with a single shot. Armor in the 40k universe is no joke.

[@slymarbo4046]

@@tcuegonbear I read somewhere that the force of the lasgun is equivalent to 50 cal

[@lumberluc]

That's one lasgun. It's a wall of them that's concerning.

[@lumberluc]

@@tcuegonbear Thick laminated armor, thick skin, hardened carapace, reflective armor, shard defraction pieces. They never mess around

[@NornQueenKya]

Favorite thing about the lasgun is that it's in fact NOT a weak weapon, the galaxy is just such a nightmare it often seems that way

[@nickcarroll8565]

It’s kind of a selection bias. The only things that still exist are that which were capable of resisting the lasgun. And even then, the lasgun has efficacy, just not enough to wipe them out.

[@peterclarke7240]

Yep. It's a weapon designed for fighting poorly-armoured humans over relatively short distances, rather than versus heavily armoured or resilient aliens on a battlefield, in much the same way that many militaries in the 21st century still favour the 5.56 nato or 9mm, but armour technology and distance of engagement has created a need for more powerful ammo and guns, which is why the US in Iraq and Afghanistan started using the venerable m14 with it's 7.62 ammo, because it became clear that 5.56 lacked the range and penetration required.

[@bishoppope2921]

@@peterclarke7240 5.56 has better penetration than 7.62 nato my dude. What defeats armor is speed, and 5.56 is hauling ass compared to .308. It's the same reason 9mm penetrates better than .45acp. The m855a2 round has a superior armor penetrator over standard green tips, so we've been using that lately.

[@Bornst3ll3r]

@@bishoppope2921 you’re now using 6.8mm rounds btw

[@bishoppope2921]

@@Bornst3ll3r which many consider a mistake. Heavier gun, less ammo, more recoil etc. We're kind of going back in military doctrine here.

[@algernonix1925]

I once read a sci-fi book where soldiers had standard issued laser weapons, but they were completely silent and had zero recoil. I remember there was also a part in that same section that talked about how disconcerting it was for someone who wasn't trained with them to switch from a standard force multiplier to a laser weapon because they are expecting all the things that are now absent. This is a long way of saying that my head cannon is that in some sci-fi settings laser weapons are designed on purpose to kick so they give some sort of tactile feedback to the operator.

[@Siliqueath]

This is probably the best explanation: Las weapons are given recoil and visible shots because: 1. You want to see where you're firing and where your shots are landing 2. After centuries, or even millennia of using other projectile weapons, Humanity is so used to at least some measure of recoil, that we include it as a feature to avoid disconcerting the users... Of course... the other option is: Several GW writers have no actual scientific knowledge and are hacks who can only think along terms of modern day ballistics and warfare and want to write a WW1 or WW2 story... in space. And the editors... care less than most people think. Much in the same way that C.S.Goto decided that Marines use Multilasers... because he knew sooooooo much about the 40K setting... and yet, still got published... (nope, no ones salty about he DoW novel... no, not at all...)

[@Theo-ev6yu]

Similar in nature to how car manufacturers have speakers in the car play engine recordings because the drivers would be so unsettled by how quiet modern engines actually are.

[@majormoolah5056]

Lasgun is actually one of the reasons I got into 40K. I remember reading that they are used because they are cheap, durable and easy to use. Given the nature of the Imperium's military, they need to be conscript-proof which they are. The decision to use them makes sense from a real-world perspective which is why 40K is so awesome and makes it easier to swallow the more fantastical elements.

[@reginaldsafety6090]

How insulting to the imperial guard! But uh, remind me again, which direction do I feed the bolt rounds in?

[@firehazardentertainment8381]

@@reginaldsafety6090 pointy bit *towards* the heretics, brother.

[@majormoolah5056]

@@reginaldsafety6090 I remember in Dawn of War 1 the Orks used to remind themselves: "Hold onto the pin. Throw the other part."

[@The_Novu]

@@majormoolah5056 Knowing the orks the pin would explode too.

[@jocosesonata]

@@majormoolah5056 *ROIGHT GOT IT! 'ERE WE GO! THROW DA PIN 'N 'OLD ON TO DA UVVA ONE!*

[@Nacho12396]

A thought on lasgun recoil: if the lasgun has some kind of automatic focusing system, that could result in some kind of recoil (maybe even to a jarring degree) as the spinning gyros/lenses try to focus the beam; although, this would probably be felt more as a rumble or jiggle, as opposed to the "kick" of a traditional firearm. This could actually make for a cool detail in fiction: a veteran guardsman might not feel much recoil because they're so good at keeping the beam on target; meanwhile, the rookies look on in awe as their guns bounce all over the place! (This could also explain why firing the lasgun one-handed would result in recoil--too hard to keep the gun steady.)

[@kaminachos5129]

Was thinking that, or like a rapid cooling system that slides back quickly to vent heat and then snaps back forward. Doesn't cover every plot hole but no headcanon can i think

[@tamlandipper29]

Great idea. Going into our house lore

[@theMyouknow]

A laser weapon should not have recoil, since it fires projected light, and light is well very "Light" this is why they can just massively fire all the time, and why the lasgun is yet weak but feared, together with the hot shot laser gun pack, amped up lasgun, the only thing you would have to worry about is the overheating.

[@dlastkatipunero2185]

@@theMyouknow the others in the comments did mention it

[@theMyouknow]

@@dlastkatipunero2185 yeah saw it I just read the headline and answer before i watch the video lol.

[@heartlessangel1460]

The energy rifles in the Terminator franchise are "plasma rifles". When a bolt of plasma hits the human body, it super-heatd bodily fluids and causes an explosion

[@quagmoe7879]

The Terminator had the coolest energy weapons. That’s forsure. Also they play a prominent role in the game Terminator Resistance. Since T-800 Terminators and beyond are completely bulletproof, but not plasma proof.

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

The OLD joke about 'Emperor's Flashlight,' though... Imagine if that was real. People would freakin' pilgrimage from across the galaxy to bathe in its light. And due to warp shenanigans, it probably would heal the true & burn the heretic in equal measures.

[@jonsweeney4347]

When you think about it, isn't the astronomican literally the emperor's flashlight?

[@lumberluc]

Oh, and to make it worse, those batteries are solar chargeable. Drain the battery, and you save it for reuse. Plus, it's more customizable than today's AK-47 or Glock Pistol.

[@Dovakhin94]

@@jonsweeney4347 wow thats a good thought. You are right its literally his flashlight

[@Kohl293]

Or for extra grimdark, it burns everyone but what remains is purer.

[@neurocidesakiwi]

Let's not talk about the Emperor's Fleshlight. That's a whole other thing altogether.

[@richardtaillon1616]

Luetin, wanted to take the chance to say your videos got this 36 year old back into 40k after almost two decades. Your opinion and tone in discussing this wonderful setting is exemplar. Please keep up the wonderful work. Cheers

[@cascadianrangers728]

I always figured that through out the Imperium and it's long history, there have been enough different lasgun types and designs that they can cover every type of laser imaginable in as many different iterations and delivery systems you can come up with

[@Nob911]

Las-butterknife

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Yup. IMO the biggest flaw of the Imperium is not upgrading every IG mememver with a hell gun. It makes literally zero logical sense from a military, strategic, logistical and resource point of view to train, feed, and use expensive ships and rare astropaths and navigators to use as cannon fodder. If makes sense back in the HH days as there were legions of Astartes. It makes sense to use the cheaper and reliable Lasgun for the PDF. There are millions of them on their planet. Hate how people try to justify it as how it makes sense when it absolutely doesn't. The Imperium is just archaic and dogmatic and too ignorant to change. I mean Laguns sometimes can't take down a regular orc without either being blasted to pieces or shot in the eyes.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

IMO the biggest flaw of the Imperium is not upgrading every IG with a Hell gun. It makes literally zero logical sense from a military, strategic, logistical and resource point of view to train, feed, and use expensive ships and rare astropaths and navigators to use as cannon fodder. You can have all the billions of soldiers you want but if doesn't help if they aren't where you need them. A soldier who actually has a chance to kill the enemy will fight harder and live longer which means more experience and better efficacy. Also less troops needed for any given task freeing up manpower and resources for something else. If made sense back in the HH days as there were legions of Astartes for tougher enemies and to be the spear. It makes sense to use the cheaper, easy to maintain and reliable Lasgun for the PDF. There are millions of them on their planet who might not even see war. Just not for dedicated troops who get sent from one war zone to an other. Hate how people try to justify it as how it makes sense when it absolutely doesn't. The Imperium is just archaic and dogmatic and too ignorant to change and people forget that. I mean Laguns sometimes can't take down a regular orc without either being blasted to pieces or shot in the eyes.

[@lordofutub]

Because in Dutch the word "Lassen" means "to weld" I imagine the lasgun to just be a adjusted welding gun as an improvised weapon during the age of strife. Kind of like how power armour and stuff was meant for mining but is now elite military equipment

[@ls200076]

Pog?

[@lucasnixan7695]

As someone who knows dutch I wonder how I never saw that connection.

[@William-Morey-Baker]

okay... but the 40k universe is English... not Dutch, so, what's your point? by saying its English i mean it was made in England by people from the UK... and it was written in english.... im not trying to suggest you cant enjoy it as a Dutch person or add your own headcannon, but official lore has to make sense in English

[@marclytle644]

@@William-Morey-Baker And yet the language seems to be Latin based. 40k is strange, great lore, and confusing.

[@dirpyturtle69]

While that is cool, I feel like it’s more likely to just be slang that became the official name over hundreds of years. Much much more likely it was literally just called the “laser gun” and then it got shortened to the “lasgun” Lasguns would make terrible welders because of how they function and how they are designed even if they have been retrofitted, it’s pretty obvious based off of function and design that it was always meant to be a weapon

[@digitalhermit8928]

Some 40K designer: "Eh, noones going to really look into this in depth. We can just improv it as we go with Lasguns" Luetin: Hold my beer

[@rileybriggs4731]

I think the best depiction of lasweapons is the scene in the Astartes Project with the mounted cannon shooting down the hallway. Essentially dissolving everything in the way with absurdly rapid high energy pulses. The only recoil is from the snap heating of the air in front of the barrels and the only noise is the whirrring of electrical discharge. You would get knocked back from taking a hit to the armor from a weapon of that kind as the surface of your armor would essentially boil and then explode from the heat getting put into it. Nothing like getting hit with a bullet but its still a factor.

[@chimericfox]

I love the idea that Lasguns are plasma weapons, battery powered, shoots out "bolts" of "light" that's used across the Imperium. And that the fact that they are called Lasguns and shoot "lazers" because the technological distinctions between true lazers, kinetic projectiles, and otherwise have been lost or are otherwise unknown by those who would be handed such a weapon on the front lines.

[@One_Eyed_Man_]

Just what I was thinking. I'm sure these are "laser" weapons in the same sense that "lasers" (in both gun and sword form) are used throughout the Star Wars universe.

[@jart1984]

yeah the men that uses them probably just call them all lasguns for simplicity sake just like how we use the word "rifle" as a general term for a long gun that shoots far and sometimes fast.

[@nicknevco215]

good point could be just found tech that allowed a processes to function and a new term was made for the effect they did not research on their own

[@jimmycarburator2012]

nah, despite the memes the Mars boys have a better understanding of science than out current day humanity, now if they are willing to share it with others is a whole new story...

[@filanfyretracker]

@@jimmycarburator2012 its probably executable for a normal person to dare ask how something technological actually works knowing how things go on some 40k worlds.

[@OhYouInternet]

On the subject of oiling a weapon with no moving parts, it could just be that the oil is to protect against corrosion rather than lubricate.

[@Nyctophora]

It also serves the twin purposes of conditioning the Guardsman to follow instructions, and to give them something to do with idle hands.

[@morganlindsay8872]

Its also, most definitely, holy oils. As it is a Machine and this is 40k.

[@Yellowjack17]

Depending on the gun's construction, a laser gun can still have moving parts, especially in a culture that doesn't trust AI or have little understanding of electronics. The guns could be filled with cathodes and mechanical gears as an analogue for microchips or any computing devices.

[@dirpyturtle69]

@@Yellowjack17 they still have microchips and computer bits, they just don’t understand them

[@nonya1366]

The lasgun can be taken apart fully into tiny pieces, presumably you put the oil there because you don't want the gun rubbing against the parts?

[@TheErikWulf]

A battlefield is a very chaotic place. Perhaps the mechanicus put a mechanism in the lasgun that produces a recoil-like feeling to aid the user. If you feel a " recoil " then you know you've fired a shot. Just a thought. I'd like some input on this.

[@SkywalkerWroc]

One interesting thing I found missing in the video: Atmospheric effects. Stuff like a sandstorm would completely block lasers after a meters, while a conventional projectiles (especially the like of APFSDS or flechettes) could go for hundreds of meters. Similarly fog or heavy rain would be detrimental to a light-based lasers, while having far less effects on physical projectiles. And then there's the fact that a high power lasers can literally turn air into plasma for a fraction of a second, disrupting beam (hence the pulse lasers rule ;) ) or otherwise interfering with both: friendly and enemy fire.

[@Shinzon23]

You're also forgetting another issue with Backscatter; if the Backscatter is bad enough that it is blocking the laser beam, it will be bad enough that the reflected light off of the shot will essentially flash back at you and blind you permanently. This issue is also why firing a pulse laser underwater if it's not tuned for wavelengths that will go through the water or in a fog or Worse rain could potentially result in all of the energy in the shot being dumped into the water vapour / fresh or salt water right in front of the muzzle....which usually is equivalent of a few grams to pounds of explosive, and then you experience the end result of why people who write hard sci always ask "what's the difference between the power cell/source for a directed energy weapon and a bomb?"...

[@kristianfagerstrom7011]

Flechettes would be completely useless in a sandstorm.

[@SkywalkerWroc]

@@kristianfagerstrom7011 APDS shells actually do great when penetrating even compacted sand, comparing to conventional shells. So flechettes should similarly do well comparing to conventional bullets. But even conventional bullets are sufficient at the range in which realistically you can see another human being during the sandstorm. By no means they are useless.

[@CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC707]

one way of getting around atomspheric effects are laser within a laser.....

[@bobfromjanitorial2]

"Concentrated light" could be a description of the visial effect, not the actual mechanucs of it. And a guardsman could potentially oil the magazine release and mechanical section of the trigger assembly.

[@sev1120]

They do, in fact, fire photons as their projectile. They are laser weapons that fire concentrated light

[@SablexFlag]

Yeah compressing light doesn’t make any sense to me on a scientific sense from how I understand how light works on a “scientist talked to my physics class about light in high school” level, but that’s a very evocative description

[@mathewfitzpatrick5645]

@High Lord Baron could also be to clean and protect the gun. CLP for real, modern guns stands for Clean, Lube, Protect, and I could definitely see all those things being done to military equipment in a range of hostile alien environments.

[@stardestroyer19]

Honestly the Oil could also very well be just a part of prescribed ritual as well.

[@Rob-bn9ib]

@@mathewfitzpatrick5645 This right here. Any metal tool should be properly cared for, and part of that care is oiling and lubricating. The greatest enemy of any weapon is corrosion, and even things without many moving parts can rust simply by virtue of being made out of metal. A lasgun would still need a layer of oil to prevent rust and corrosion. And as OP said, any moving part within the trigger mechanism, power pack release catch, etc. would also need to be oiled to keep them from seizing.

[@MonsterTomten]

In a index in one of the rulebooks (7th I think) there is a note about how to assess and dress a lasburn. From that text one can come to the conclusion that a lasburn is most of the time a catastrophic injury to a regular human. And another note, in one of Dan abnetts inquisitor books (eisenhorn or ravenor) they mention lasguns can be intently overloaded to cause an explosion. Mostly used as a last resort, to go out in a bang against overwhelming forces

[@dreamingwolf8382]

To the point of stripping and oiling, I'd imagine it's a mechanicus hold-over, more to satisfy the machine spirit than for any actual maintenance reasons.

[@dannylamb456]

Someone else in the comments suggested it could also serve as something along the lines of coolant, but judging by how many variants of lasgun there are out in the galaxy, it might also be a "better safe than sorry" measure enforced by Mechanicus liasons. Who knows if Guardsman John 355 has a slightly different issued variant than the other Guardsman Johns? Tell them all to lube the things anyways, just in case, of course.

[@dreamingwolf8382]

@@dannylamb456 When in doubt, use more lube, lol. love it.

[@fulgrimventris8506]

Likely to prevent rust, as well

[@MegaMrscorpion]

Its probably just a ritual to satisfy the machine spirit

[@mikas2051]

What would the men spend their evening time doing if they did not need to strip and oil their weapons? I say they added some extra parts just so that there would not be too many idle hands :p

[@dathore]

I wonder if what we see is another case of "star wars laser" mix up, like how in the SW universe, the weapons are called "turbo lasers" but instead are basically plasma guns, also we have to take into account that, there's a million and a half variants of lasguns, so, what if the inconsistent recoil comes from the gun itself? like what if some models are closer to proper lasers, while others are more like, low power, low yield plasma guns, like the star wars blasters.

[@terminator572]

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case given the sheer number of Patterns across the Imperium. They vary not just by outward design, but by bolt color, power settings, powerpacks, and the list goes on. Maybe some work like small gauss rifles, maybe others are just high powered lasers. Who knows, and frankly, who cares.

[@WolfeSaber]

It maybe light itself just in a quantum physics form like hard light. This stuff has solid matter properties even when it is still made of the photons of light. In Halo, the Forerunners use it a lot.

[@lordtrashcan6225]

this is exactly what I was thinking

[@Andaius20]

I seem to recall at one point seeing that the tubrolasers and blasters of the star wars universe actually using lasers in a continment chamber that actually excite the Tibana gas into it's plasma state.

[@dathore]

@@Andaius20 I kind of remember that too, I think it was the clone basters that worked like that, though I was mostly talking about the ones you see in the OG trilogy, that instead of a beam of light, where actual shaped bolts of energy.

[@mattd.3418]

"The battles aren't big enough to be believable" I love the heresy of this.

[@daniellewis3330]

49:58 While it is certainly true that a colored surface reflects the wavelength of the light...of far greater importance is the surface roughness and the intensity of the incoming photons (power per unit area). Smooth surfaces have greater reflectivity, and in this context "smooth" should be considered at the molecular scale, on the order of nanometers. And unless you are a materials science researcher, you have never experienced a surface that is that smooth, they don't exist in common life; even surfaces that feel smooth are incredibly rough on a molecular scale. And "rough" surfaces don't reflect incoming electromagnetic energy directly, it gets kind of bounced around at all the weird angles and dissipates its energy unevenly (this is also why white cloth doesn't look like a mirror). Also, reflection of EM radiation (remember that light is also an electromagnetic wave) is not absolute, and although light has no mass, it does have momentum, and it passes this momentum onto its target. It's an effect called radiation pressure, and it is how solar sails work (alternatively, look up the video "how much does a shadow weigh?" from vsauce). EM reflection isn't absolute, and some of the energy is passed on to the target, which is why we can do laser-cutting of highly-reflective (shiny!) metals without refracting the beam around and destroying the workshop (but some of it certainly *is* reflected, which is part of why the cutting point looks like a bright spark that you're not supposed to look at without the goggles on...most of that is the metal melting, but not all of it). But yeah, wearing red armor is not going to protect you to any useful degree from a red laser that has enough power behind it unless your red armor is *also* polished to be atomically-smooth, which just isn't practical. Fun fact: since most mirrors are made with an aldehyde mixed with an ammonia complex of silver that reduces to silver metal, the actual reflective surface of a mirror *is* molecular-level smooth (because it's the silver doing the work, not the glass, the glass just holds it in place). So armor made of mirrors would absolutely work for shutting down laser weapons unless their power output was so off-the-charts that it made new charts and then was off those, and even then the armor would still do *something*. Fun fact 2: the color of a laser is thanks to the material that's being excited to generate the coherent photons, plus any additional frequency steppers and focusing lenses (which all must be precisely aligned). The color gives you an idea of the power of *individual photons* in the laser beam (red or IR being low, green is higher, purple and UV even higher, and so on), but the total power of the laser from the total number of photons delivered, which is based on its construction and power cycling. So you cannot change the color of a laser without physically swapping out elements of its construction. There's simply no such thing as turning a red laser into a blue one by "increasing the power!" as any good sci-fi engineer would shout over the comm. But I could imagine doing such a thing by pulling a cartridge out of a gun frame and putting a new one in, assuming the whole assembly could be manufactured with tight enough tolerances. Probably best to assume lasguns would be red, since red requires the least amount of actual *stuff* to make a functional laser (anyone with a cat can attest to how tiny a red laser pointer can be). 50:30 So the "pump" medium is whatever material is being excited via the input power in order to emit the photons of the desired wavelength. The mechanism is called stimulated emission, and the wikipedia pages on that mechanism, or just on lasers, offer great explanations. And when you put power in, not all of that power is used up creating photons, some of it is wasted as heat. Some of it is *always* wasted as heat, there simply is no such thing as 100% efficiency. And so if you need more power out (to 'splode an ork skull), you need more power in, and more power in means more heat. The pump medium just gets hot. And when things get hot they tend to expand (something melting and getting smaller is not what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the space between the atoms or molecules of whatever it is). And that expansion stresses it, and then when it cools it stresses the other way (think about how roads crack between the summer and winter and back again over the years). The pump medium isn't exactly *ammunition* that gets "used up" per se, but if the stresses are bad enough, for long enough, it could develop cracks over time, and those cracks are interference sites that reduce its ability to form coherent laser light. In real life systems that have high laser power, they also have sophisticated cooling systems and internal regulators that keep the laser from operating too long at a time or too frequently (though usually the limitation is on the order of microseconds). But maybe the lasgun is just cheap enough to not bother with that, and has just enough thermal regulation to keep from burning a guardsman's fingers when he pulls the trigger but nothing more than that. So yeah, absolutely the pump medium could require some kind of regular maintenance if it's constantly being subjected to the kind of power flux that would allow the resultant laser beam to carry the kind of energy necessary to melt metal. Source: I have a BS, MS, and working on Ph.D. all in electrical engineering

[@muhammadabdulrehman1540]

Bro you just wrote a wall of text about electromagnetism and the physics behind light on a wh40k video. You have my respect man. Good luck with your PhD. My knowledge of photons ends at: They don't have momentum. They have "momentum".

[@daniellewis3330]

@@muhammadabdulrehman1540 Thanks man 😀

[@Gorgonas]

Good flow and sublime analysis. Kudos and good luck with your PhD! 🙂 P.S. Did my PhD is molecular spectroscopy and X-Ray Crystallography so I enjoyed reading this 😋

[@daniellewis3330]

@@Gorgonas Nice!

[@azmiraclegirl441]

If i licked one of those molecularly smooth surfaces would I feel different than a normal smooth surface?

[@Kerbtree]

re: reducing power every shot - there's a nice analogy with this for air rifles and pistols - they've got a regulator that stops the shots being as powerful as they could, but also keeps shots in a fairly tight range of power until your air tank goes under the regulator's base pressure.

[@darkwatcher9031]

Hey Luetin, loving the content. I like to think that deep in ancient history some scientist published a paper on “The Application of Directed Energy Bolt Generation Theory to Modern Weapon Design” and had a name like “Lazenkinov”. The first weapons made using this work would be called a Lazenkinov Rifle. This would soon be shortened to Laz Rifle, and later morf into Lasgun. Over the millennia, the name would stick and the original source of the name would be forgotten. People would conflate Las and Laser and, not knowing how the weapon operate anyway, assume that it was a contraction of laser gun.

[@shadowrobot7708]

Oh god its Arkand Land all over again.

[@kalyambamhango4548]

The whole "If it is fired without focus/accuracy" seems somewhat accurate to the Lasgun, in that one Lasgun can do nothing to a tank, but a focused fire team/army of guardsmen can melt through armor plating on a tank or even space marine. Realized this while playing Dawn of War

[@johnkonig865]

In other words, throwing enough garbage at the enemy actually works for the Imperium, I always knew that the Guard was underrated. :D

[@sev1120]

Dawn of war and dawn of war 2 I found a good tactic with the guard was to spam guardsmen, and in dow 1 I'd have them supported by sentinels for the true guardsman experience.

[@lukeluck13]

I thought guardsmen were the optimal spam unit, and then I went into a mission against the AI using Eldar and they swarmed me with their basic infantry and oh boy, did I get my ass kicked that day

[@fenriders7008]

@@lukeluck13 guard squads with maximum amounts of GL out-trade any other basic inf in the game iirc.

[@czolgistta]

@@lukeluck13 Just add a comissar and keep shooting guards in the head. Those puny Eldar will get erased in a few seconds.

[@MSpotatoes]

The only 40k games I've ever played is the original Dawn of War RTS games, I have them all. My brother has a massive chaos army which is what peaked my interest in 40k, and your channel is the definitive go-to for specific lore, as my brother and I often discuss the world of 40k after finishing the latest book.

[@biostemm]

Isn't this kind of like how we colloquially calls any long gun a "rifle", whether or not its barrel actually has any rifling? I also think it's like how Star Wars has "turbo lasers", which clearly don't behave like lasers, and are in-universe described more like plasma or particle weapons...

[@Tibbyvc-rb7od]

I mean any long gun we call a rifle most certainly has a rifled barrel, but the point stands.

[@logosofgame4273]

My favorite quote about Lasguns. A sister of battle is stranded alone with only an ax she looted from a dead cultist to protect her. Finds a Lasgun "Oh great (heavy sarcasm), (on Vox) Rosa I found a Lasgun." Rosa: "May the Emperor protect you, because that thing won't."

[@Toneill029]

I too heard this quote, and I am still salty about it. She doesn’t realize that those things are in the hands of the people that actually protect the imperium, doing the job she thinks she’s so much better at doing.

[@lolroflroflcakes]

And now you know why Caiphas Cain usually looks at most sisters with a level of disdain normal reserved for the most incompetent of PDF troopers.

[@patrickbo2045]

I'm surprised Rosa didn't reply with "Okay, keep the axe instead!"

[@Toneill029]

@@lolroflroflcakes That is why he is the hero of the imperium!

[@AsbestosMuffins]

@@lolroflroflcakes that and he just asks himself (and the audience) why they won't wear a damn helmet with their power armor, mostly jealously too because as a commisar he's not allowed the option for such protection

[@ThisNameIsBanned]

A good detail for "laser" guns might be a focusing crystal that acts like a capacitor, so you dont need much energy, but it gets multiplied into a semi projectiles, so instead of a stream of photons, you get like a projectile of photons and shoot that. Makes overall more sense if some pseudo magic crystal could do that, and if you can produce these crystals easily, you have all you need to make a weapon mass produce cheap.

[@redjive_industries3760]

With 40k’s lasrifles, I’ve always felt that there’s two fairly straightforward explanations for the two major issues: Firstly, the inconsistency. Untold trillions or quadrillions of these things, in hundreds of patterns across thousands of forge worlds are manufactured. Even assuming there are only, say, 20 major patterns, each individual pattern could very well be an almost entirely different weapon to the ‘standard’ Kantrael pattern (and even individual Kantrael patterns could potentially differ significant, in the same way that external appearance has little to do with the internals of individual Ork weapons. Just because it looks the same does not mean it is built exactly the same.) Thus, it is safe to assume that the inconsistency can be explained by the individual quirks of a given weapon in the hands of a given unit supplied by a specific forge world or manufactorum. As for whether they qualify as ‘lasers’, as stated, the term lasrifle could easily be the application of a misunderstood and ancient word to an entirely different type of technology, and I’ve always personally believed lasrifles are a type of directed energy weapon, like a much weaker Tau pulse rifle (I.E. it fires some form of energy with actual mass) thus explaining recoil etc. etc. As for ‘beam’ type lasrifles, you could perhaps apply the existing technology of ‘hyperfire’ weapons such as the AN-94 or G11 which fire a burst so fast it appears to be a single shot in each trigger pull. Weapons such as the Krieger Lucius-Pattern rifle, for example, described as being significantly more powerful but firing strictly in semi-automatic fire, could actually be firing a shitload of ‘shots’ that appears to be one powerful shot. Does this make sense scientifically? No! Does it have to? Of course not! However, I feel, given the concept that lasrifles might not be understood at all by the Imperium and could easily be entirely different from actual laser weapons, you could easily lump them in the same category as Meltas or Plasma weapons in that they can simply be explained as ‘the mechanisms of the internals aren’t fully understood but if we build it like this it shoots this and that’s all that matters’

[@redchief94]

I thought I read somewhere that it was a particle packet of some sorts traveling along the laser. Kind of like a solar sail crossed with a railroad

[@stephenchurch1784]

When you turn on a flashlight there is recoil. Not noticeable recoil but it's there. They apparently use compressed light (which is a real thing that we have today) which means there's some pressure in addition the momentum the photons hold. That makes a lasgun kicking like an ak a plausible stretch of modern science

[@infiniumintegration6429]

The g11 is terrifying and absurd. When you get more than one bullet travelling down the barrel at the same time, in a single recoil impulse,.. lol

[@tsoliot5913]

@@redchief94 that's actually a clever solution for combining the laser/mass propelling problem. The energy creates a path and propellant for the mass.

[@ZeroFocu5]

I imagine them as ion engines. Highly energized beams of protons or electrons. Although the "ammunition" is almost practically endless, it does have a material component. Tl;dr why not both?

[@DrewskiTheRed]

As my professor used to say, Light behaves like particles and waves

[@Sue_Me_Too]

A high powered laser rifle should fire in pulsed bursts at like 60htz - 1 second per trigger pull. It wouldn't recoil in the traditional sense but the effort of holding it as steady as possible during its *tragically long* 1 second burst so as much of the beam lands on the Plague Marine as possible would certainly cause physical and psychological fatigue.

[@RequiemWraith]

Ion engines don't produce highly energized beams. They emit ions continually to produce very slow, but constant acceleration. They're being designed to allow vast distances to be traveled for very little energy expenditure.

[@ZeroFocu5]

@@RequiemWraith Yes, but it's not difficult to see how a high power variant producing a focused 'jet' would produce an impuls similar to recoil.

[@Prich319]

I'm guessing that lasguns are actually a miniaturized Particle Beam weapon, it's about the only type of energy weapon that resembles the descriptions of a lasgun. For starters, particle beams would have recoil, as they do have some mass, and since the beam is accelerated to near lightspeed, it would have both a kinetic as well as a thermal aspect. There is a story about a soviet physicist named Anatoli Burgorski who was shot through the head in an accident involving a particle accelerator. Though he survived, the damage that the beam did is well documented, and proves it could be weaponized. In particular, when the beam fired, he described it as a flash of light. Also, the "ignition rings" in a lasgun sound an awful lot like the kind of electromagnets you would find in a particle accelerator.

[@MeepChangeling]

They are almost certainly PBWs, yea... But lasers have mass to. Photons are functionally massless, not ACTUALY massless. Their mass is just so stupid tiny it dosnt' matter for most calculations... BUT they still do have mass, so they DO have recoil, albeit an imperceptible tiny amount.

[@custink22]

Im late, but thats what i was coming to say. Particle Beam Weapon fits the descriptions we see, and it would make sense to call it "laser" because the laymen (and the mechanicum now) just dont have a better way to describe it to anyone else.

[@raideurng2508]

Everything points to the lasgun being a Plasma weapon, believe it or not. However, it is definitely not the fusion-based "Plasma weaponry" we know and hope don't explode. The lasgun may just be a low yield plasma bolt weapon that uses laser energy to excite and project said bolts. This fits with the weapons having recoil, having "bolts" of "light" and still using power packs. Concerning the complete gauntlet of effects on target, this is 40k. Every pattern, and even the same patterns will vary wildly in their specifics with any baseline long having been lost. After hearing everything you stated and all the strange accounts of it's operation, for me, it was pretty clear this wasn't a laser weapon, but an energy bolt weapon that likely uses lasers in some form.

[@Mourningstar-kc7ft]

Everything points to the authors of the books contradicting each other

[@vothbetilia4862]

Can't the Lasgun penetrate through metal?

[@shaymizz]

pLASmaGUN. Being a low yield variant of plasma, it doesn't get the full name. (Blame the hatchet job of the name on the imperium marketing department)

[@vothbetilia4862]

@Communists are Gross for example like 20mm steel plates or just metal reinforcement.

[@TheStargateNerd]

When you mention "laser shells", my thoughts go to the microfusion cells of the Fallout games. I.e small, concentrated energi cartridges which are consumed after one or a few shots and replaced by a fresh one. They might be more equivalent to the power packs of lasguns. However, while you'd think that most vehicle-mounted las weapons would be fed by cables (which is usually how they're shown on models), I don't think it's unreasonable that some patterns of larger las weapons are fed by traditional ammunition/power packs/charges/cartridges and reloaded after firing. 40k does love to draw on WW1/WW2 aesthetics or mechanics at times.

[@DarkZodiacZZ]

If they are chemical lasers those cartridges makes a lot of sense.

[@saeyabor]

In Battletech, the normal balance between ballistic and energy weapons is that autocannons generate the least heat but are obviously ammo-dependent, while lasers have infinite ammo but generate the most heat. They also have opposite relationships between range and damage: as they get bigger, ACs trade range for damage but lasers gain both. And then you have mech-mounted chemical lasers: where normal lasers induce and channel a surge from the mech's reactor, a "chemlas" generates less heat-per-size but uses limited battery-ammo. I cannot for the life of me figure out the point of this on a mech (if I wanted to spend ammo for the damage of 4 medium lasers at max range, I'd fire the largest AC one time), but it makes perfect sense for small-arms.

[@TheEldritchGod]

I thought laser shells were for Laslocs. Single shot lasguns that were easier to create on lower tech worlds.

[@realityshotgun]

But we already know this is not how lasguns work. They need no ammunition, just to recharge.

[@TheStargateNerd]

@@realityshotgun I mean, yes, but that's a matter of semantics. The batteries/charge packs/whatever need to be recharged, but when dry or low they can be replaced by a fresh one, and recharge them when time allows.

[@blackdragonxtra]

I wonder if the reason lasguns are so variable is that there are dozens of mechanically different infantry weapons that take the same standardized power pack, and thus are labeled as the same thing by the manufacturers.

[@edwardwestmoreland-caunter6128]

When the Lore Master presents us with an hour long video dedicated to Lasguns, we all know the Emperor has blessed us once again

[@thesponge836]

Luetin is a vessel for the Emperor's light.

[@edwardwestmoreland-caunter6128]

@@thesponge836 Undeniably

[@thomasnance6465]

Hey luet, had an idea, so especially in the case of larger Las weaponry, the "shells" are probably more like batteries. And after the energy in them is used they need new ones. But depending on the battery tech used and the energy required per shot, it may be more cost effective to use this small battery "shell" idea vs. One solid magazine style battery, which would be heavier. As far as the recoil, it's not from the actual firing of the weapon, but from the automated ejection of the used battery "shell". Borrowing a small amount of power from the next "shell", to clear the chamber of the spent battery amd slide the new one end. This would allow the last shot to be fired but not ejected. Idk it kinda works. And bolts of lasgun fire like bolts of lightning. Just a metaphor.

[@Wertsir]

Lasguns were developed as DAoT-Era Laser-Tag guns, most frequently used against Men of Iron opponents. The recoil was added to better simulate the feeling of “real” guns.

[@gileskangaroo2209]

Just off the top of my head, since every Imperial Guard army has a different style of rifle the term "Lasgun" has just become a synonym like "Assault Rifle". So some might use systems that produce recoil and some don't. Maybe there was a uniform "Laser Gun" way back but things deviated from the original design over time.

[@SittingOnEdgeman]

My favorite headcanon is one I saw on another video - the Dark Age of Technology versions had recoil simulators to train troops (or hunters) used to ballistic weapons, and the Adeptus Mechanicus keeps putting them in because it's part of the holy ritual of waking the machine spirit of the lasgun.

[@tcuegonbear]

However they actually 'work,' the way they end up being depicted in Darktide will probably become my offical 'head cannon' from that point on.

[@54Kaaaa]

I've been an IG/AM-player for 20 years, and I've never thought of that. I reckon that some guardsmen fake the recoil, because it looks cool. Great video, found your channel just recently, I love it!

[@fluffywolfo3663]

The thing I've always found pretty funny is that lasguns are actually pretty great as a weapon. It's got amazing stopping power compared to modern assault rifles, it's a logistical wet dream, it can blow off limbs with ease. It's just that this is 40k, so it's hilariously outclassed.

[@vattmann1387]

It's soft capabilities are amazing. Imagine being able to re-arm your platoon by just plugging in the batteries to a a field generator as well as having hardly any moving parts to get gummed up with crap like ~chocolate and rations, personal experience as an ex NCO in the British army training recruits~ :D

[@fluffywolfo3663]

@@vattmann1387 and you don’t have to include a bottle opener so the soldiers stop ruining magazine feed lips by using them to open root beer bottles! (This really happened)

[@vattmann1387]

@@fluffywolfo3663 lol true

[@colinkillian9265]

@@fluffywolfo3663 Wasn't it Switzerland who did this with one of their early Stg rifles..I wanna say it was the Stg 54 but I may be mistaken..

[@TheMylittletony]

@@colinkillian9265 The Galil had a bottle opener added to it.

[@Vortex-295]

The oil might be like a WD 40 kind of thing where it’s mostly used to keep dirt, Debris, and fluids out of the more delicate parts of the mechanism

[@ieuanhunt552]

It might also refer to coolant rather than lubrication.

[@fhistleb]

It could lube up condensers or a slide that helps eject heat as you would brass casings.

[@deusexaethera]

WD40 doesn't do any of those things. WD40 = "Water Dispersant formula #40". It was invented to quickly and easily waterproof rocket parts during the Space Race. It consists of a tiny amount of very light oil mixed with solvents (basically kerosene). When sprayed on metal surfaces, the solvents spread the oil into a molecular film on the surface of the metal, waterproofing the metal. The amount of oil is not sufficient to provide lubrication, but it _is_ enough to make the metal ever-so-slightly sticky so dirt and dust will stick to it. So it doesn't lubricate and it doesn't repel dirt either. But that doesn't stop people from using it for a million inappropriate purposes anyway. I suppose that does make it pretty similar to most WH40K tech, though.

[@fulgrimventris8506]

The contacts where the charge-pack interfaces with the gun are components that will corrode over time without care

[@bishoppope2921]

Ask any gun owner, oil attracts dirt and dust

[@sydneycardew1923]

re: The oiling, The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer contains a full description of how to strip, clean and re-assemble a standard lasgun, and it makes it clear that the oiling and cleaning, like a lot of things about Imperial tech, is at least partly religious in nature. The lasgun maintenance kit contains a 'sacred oil of lubrication' and a 'sacred unguent of cleaning', and there are proscribed litanies that must be uttered at each stage of the process. The primary purpose is described as keeping the lasgun's machine spirit appeased. As for practicalities, there are definitely some mechanical parts (the trigger mechanism, the fire selector, the catch for the power packs) but mostly it seems to be about protecting the lasgun from corrosion.

[@CoolSmoovie]

Read in a 30k book once that a squad/squads of guardsmen were able to kill multiple Night Lords by shooting their eye lenses out with their lasguns, and then used a heavy bolter emplacement to finish their blind targets off.

[@markomalmi7989]

30k was a lot different. Pre-heresy crusade was probably the most golden age Imperium of Man would experience, and their technology represented the age. Take this with a grain of salt since its a lot of hearsay, but from various sources I've gathered that weapons and armor of 30k was a lot more powerful, and during the next ten millenia it went worse and worse, so it could be possible to snipe eye lenses off of a spacemarine with lasguns, since they are, most likely just some reinforced glass. Space marines often use heavy bolters so using those to eliminate space marines seems smart choise. Only thing I question in your book is that guardsmen were able to see the night lords before being totally annihilated. But since it's from a book, it has more credibility than my comment. Which book was it if I may inquire?

[@CoolSmoovie]

@@markomalmi7989 It’s been a while, but This Imperial Fist and Iron Warrior were working together to keep this Eldar artifact running. The artifact could teleport people, but it’s main purpose was to act as a beacon so space craft could use to navigate the warp storm. It teleported The Lion and Guilliman away from a collapsing building in a previous book. The Imperial guard were hiding in a cliff looking down on the Night Lords. Dunno how the guardsmen saw them in the dark, but they killed a good few. All I remember is that the gunner on the heavy bolter got taken out by rocks displaced by bolter fire, and the surviving Guardsmen were all captured and tortured to death.

[@kerrynetusil2485]

Your thinking the Pharos beacon in the unremebered empire I think

[@CoolSmoovie]

@@kerrynetusil2485 Sounds familiar. Yeah Night Lords captured it or blew it up or then started killing each other at the end or something. I remember it had a cool Dark Angel moment

[@colinkillian9265]

The book was Pharos and the squad was lead by Guardsman Merica, who had his squad attack a squad of Nigh Lords who had invaded as part of a larger force, he had his squad set an ambush, his sniper was the only one to shoot and kill a space marine through their eye lense, the other marines where killed by krack grenades and a strategically placed heavy bolter.. Later in the book Mericas decided to make a stand against a very large force of Night Lord's to give the space Marines from the Ultra Marines enough time to get back inside their base inside the Mountain that held the Pharos device and warn the other marines to repel the incoming attack, even after being told he couldn't hope to win the fight and being offered the chance to retreat he refused. They ended up killing three or four of the Night Lord's before being captured, where Mericas would be flayed alive and tortured for information that he died without giving..his squad was then executed after one divulged information and was gutted and left in misery because of his he was a coward.. Fucking amazing book one of my absolute favorites..

[@mhbjarkistef]

Whenever a new Luetin video comes out an internal struggle starts: - Do I watch it right away because I'm so excited, or - Do I hold off watching until I have perfect me-time, with a pillow, blanket, my good headphones and some snacks. 😇 Sometimes, they wait for the opportunity for the second option can be absolutely excruciating 😂

[@NipplWizard]

Astro Militarum: Should everyone have Bolters? Also Militarum: No, give them microwaves with triggers. Also you can reload by tossing your mags in a fire. Seriously though, maybe it's called 'laser" for its appearance of the muzzle emissions, but it could be in fact an LAER. Laser being an acronym for Light amplified SIMULATED emission of radiation, it could be that humanities understanding has dwindled with it's tech advancement as well and the lasguns are actually emitting light amplified EMISSIONS of radiation, no simulated emission at all. Which would in fact be VERY lethal. The power of which to do so at rapid fire would be enormous, like every power pack is a nuclear reactor enormous. Recoil COULD in theory be simulated by trigger pull connecting the power pack to a device within the weapon the projects the energy forward in a concentrated beam. Think about how many watts it would take to make that connection safely enough to halt a meltdown but powerful enough to force out a literal death star beam and then contain said beam within the dimensions of the barrel of the weapon. A sudden JOLT of pure energy wouldn't be insignificant and perhaps within the timeframe of now and then we've figured out some dampening solutions for saving the shoulders of the soldiers operating these platforms, thus making lasguns a more sensible kit option than 20mm shells with secondary gyrojet propulsion round firing weapons that specifically should be mounted in place or in the hands of a T-90/M1A2 Abrams offspring on legs.

[@DeviousDumplin]

Any sufficiently powerful laser pulse would absolutely produce recoil on the shooter. There is a concept in physics called 'radiation pressure.' This force acts on all objects in contact with energetic electromagnetic radiation. This means that the energy input to a laser system applies a pressure to both the emitter and the object struck by the beam. This concept was famously used to develop prototypes for high-speed 'beam riding' spacecraft that would be 'pushed' by Earth based laser beams to very high speeds. The reason people are under the false impression that lasers, or light, do not apply any mechanical pressure is because we do not interact with very energetic lasers or lights. The amount of joules released by even a commercial sintering laser is nothing compared to the amount of joules released by the detonation of a rifle cartridge. If you were to develop a pulsed laser rifle with the same amount of input energy as a rifle cartridge it would absolutely produce similar recoil to a traditional projectile rifle. The shorter the period of the rifles pulse the more pronounced that recoil would be. So, 40k accidentally developed one of the most realistic depictions of a real-life laser rifle because they decided to give lasguns a realistic level of recoil.

[@muhammadabdulrehman1540]

The irony is palpable. They weren't even going for realism. They were looking for copper and found gold.

[@MarcusHelius]

I beg to differ, the example you give of the laser propelled spacecraft occurs because of ablative combustion producing a blast of gas from the surface struck by the laser. The diode emitting laser light experiences no forces on it.

[@John-ec5hz]

@@MarcusHelius I beg to differ differ, TS is correct. While ablation would be a much more effective way of creating force from a surface struck with a lase, especially when propelling a small spacecraft to high speed. An object that emits light will still experience radiation pressure and this pressure can be described by the equation P(pressure) = Intensity of light emitted(w/m^2)/c(speed of light). Light pressure is a well documented phenomenon that has been proven multiple ways and has even been used by spacecraft for propulsion in the form of solar sails.

[@stormycatmink]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the energy levels we're talking about on lasguns is way beyond most any laser we've seen. At that level, it would start to look like a lightning beam as it ionizes the air with the density of photons. And that amount of energy would not only have the energy behind the laser, but the plasma column following it into the target. Not to mention, the moment it hits a target, the energy gradient would cause an explosive amount of vaporized material. Think about the energy gradient of a nuclear explosion, but on the scale of centimeters. So actually, yes, lasers do have actual kinetic energy, and with enough power in the beam, a recoil you would feel. (How you would get such power into a hand held weapon is a whole nother can of worms.) Not to mention, the most powerful lasers right now are compressed into pulses that would indeed look more like a bolt than a beam. This is much easier on the electronics, mechanics and optics than a continuous beam. Also the effects of that much energy moving through an atmosphere and touching a material would indeed be explosive and very easy to see, and likely almost blindingly bright. It's all a question of magnitude of the power into a lasgun bolt. Not to mention, another big investigation into real world energy weapons is that using chemical cells and superconducting capacitors together as a disposable cartridge to power a laser pulse. So there's plenty of ways to have believable technology behind the descriptions. If only the descriptions were actually consistent. WH40k doesn't really do a good job with any sort of consistency between each story, almost intentionally. It simulates the 'information fog of the grimdark future'. So yes, high school physics - beam doesn't have a recoil. Get into post-grad engineering and high energy physics? Haha of course it does, at THAT power level. Good luck on not having the cable or battery vaporize when it's fired.

[@MrShoeler]

Very well said. All light is going to carry some kinetic energy, due to it being a wave and a particle. It's just that you will never notice it unless you go super high power or super high magnification to see it.

[@screamingcactus1753]

The lack of consistency is kind of on purpose. 40K has always had a loose relationship with the concept of "canon". Contradicting facts can be equally true and it's on you to choose which you prefer. The setting is held together more by themes and aesthetic than anything else. If it "feels" like 40K, it's 40K.

[@garryfromwallmart4263]

Love your commentaries. 90% of my lore knowledge comes from you. If theres anything I kinda miss, it's extra mags on Marines. They're using magasines, but never carry extras.. In models or the movie...

[@razor1uk610]

...shush... Marine bolter replenishment allegedly could be via regula monkish rituals of observancies, of meditating marines, manifesting ammunition from an Emperor's empowered hexagramatical 'spell' akin to the Ork's religion of self-generating some of their ammo into existence Dakka Dakka...

[@danieladams553]

Hear me out here, the mechanicus builds artificial recoil into lasguns in order to reassure the troops. Earlier versions didn't have recoil (because they are lasers and that's how lasers work) and while they were more effective, the lack of recoil made soldiers equipped with them feel as though they couldn't be trusted or weren't effective. In order to counter this, the mechanicus added a simple piston in order to give every shot the correct feeling of power.

[@BoisegangGaming]

That sounds like tech-heresy :)

[@sphyre1196]

But any soldier not completely retarded would evaluate the effectiveness of a weapon by what it does to the target fired at.... Not by what it does to your arm, hand or shoulder when the trigger is pulled. It's not like kickback is a desirable effect to begin with.

[@ryanotte6737]

This sounds just ridiculous enough for the 40k universe. 🤣

[@Serbobiv123]

It could just be that, by doctrine, the standard weapon of a guardsman is a "Lasgun". It Doesn't matter if said "Lasgun" is a slugthrower, a laser rifle, or a low-powered plasma gun, they are all called "lasgun" because they are used by guardsmen and fall within a certain range of weapon effect.

[@davidoftheforest]

I agree

[@AJ-ni3vc]

Luetin, gotta say love your work. I'm 55 min in and you're talking about how las weapons don't seem to lose power per shot as the battery drains. In First and Only, looking for the STC on menazoid epsilon. Gaunt and a team are walking underground and the chaos base appears to be draining their las packs. Gaunt is almost executed by a laspistol which does no damage as the pack has been drained by the environment. I think he received a superficial burn. Again mate love your work. Keep it up

[@moltrazahn2279]

One could consider that perhaps the "recoil" would be some sort of heat-vent somewhere on the rifle, and the expulsion of said heat is strong enough to create the effects of recoil. Think in the same manner as gas being blasted from a direction. The shot itself may be a typical "laser" but the gun's manner of dealing with the superheated gas of said blast is then vented from the gun, creating a "recoil". Again, trying to make reason of something that has no clear answer.

[@nonya1366]

And one that can vary in answer too.

[@gregorybrouckaert3858]

Whoop whoop misclicked my phone and landed on a new lore video 23 seconds after upload! Truly I am blessed by the emperor!

[@mikee9464]

Dude. These videos are the best 40k videos ever. I absolutely love them. Especially these philosophical and theory crafting ones. I love how you cover the weapons and armours in detail with graphics. Thanks so much for all your hard work my friend!

[@TheFaroe]

Hah! The weapon chucking before death happens in one of the short stories in Honour Imperialis. Krieg vs. Necron. The gauss blasts were destroying melta and plasma guns. Colonel 182 ordered his men to throw the guns if they thought they were about to be shot.

[@Luetin09]

thats the one :D

[@TheFaroe]

@@Luetin09 Honestly that is the book that made me scared of the kriegers. Practically more undead than the necrons.

[@Squawk-tr7py]

Just some food for thought: light does in fact have momentum (thus you would expect recoil). The 'momentum equals mass times velocity' taught in high school is not the whole story (see the Wikipedia page 'Energy-momentum relation' , especially the section on massless particles (don't want to post the link because KZbin can be funny about those)). That said I did a rough calculation to see what wavelength of light would yield a momentum roughly equal to that of a modern day rifle bullet and it was far smaller than even the highest energy gamma rays so a lasgun would need to be pretty ridiculous to get any noticeable recoil.

[@brandonhughes4571]

How ridiculous are we talking about??

[@Squawk-tr7py]

@@brandonhughes4571 Well, the highest energy gamma rays ever detected (likely from a gamma ray burst from a supernova) had a momentum around a trillion times smaller than what is needed, so it'd need to be able to output photons with a lot more energy than those produced by some of the highest energy events in the universe. The problem is the energy and momentum of a photon are related via the speed of light (which is quite large obviously) so even a photon with a relatviely large amount energy doesn't have much momentum. This is also just considering one photon at a time.

[@DrEhrfurchtgebietend]

But that calculation would be per photon. We are likely shooting billions of them. Do the math for the number of photons coming out of a flashlight per second.

[@deusexaethera]

@@brandonhughes4571 : Ridiculous enough that the blast of photons would have a projectile-like impact on the target, so...basically like firing the entire output of the sun at the target for a split second.

[@brandonhughes4571]

@@deusexaethera that is probably the most reasonable lore thing in the entire setting

[@arieshausdorff3396]

Recoil: Option 1: Internal Laser diodes => turn air inside a chamber into plasma => secondary laser ionized line to the target => Plasma follows ionized path. Also: Has Ignition rings! Mechanical parts: Valves / Vents for plasma-chamber Difference to Plasma weapon: Small charge, lasers for making the pathway. Plasma transfers energy to everything in its bath, which is initially the rifles bore. Option 2: Massive amounts of photons. Consider that the Deathstar would have a recoil strong enough to turn its crew into red paste due to the recoil. Option 3: Kugelblitz Black Holes. Generated via a laser sink, and then accelerated via magnetic, electrostatic or gravitic means. Also, ignition rings as the initial accelerator makes sense. Accelerating this would produce recoil. Option 4: If not exactly photons, it can be other particles that do have mass, thus firing the particle packs would directly have recoil. Option 5: The Lasgun is one of the many things from the dark age of Technology. It might actually be nanites being involved and using the energy from the powerpack to generate the ammunition from the air. The oiling suddenly also makes sense, as it provides materials the nanites need to regenerate themselves. As for the Lasers Energy: Thats what we have voltage / current transformators for! The current and voltage remain stable over the whole discharge cycle. Thats why good LED lamps keep the brightness until they fail completely.

[@Vollification]

Love the lasgun :) Lore: Every shot makes the sound of a broken bone. Every shot is basically a 50 cal round. You can reload your mags by dumping them in a fire. Game: "Stand still for an hour and my flashlight might annoy you!"

[@WhichDoctor1]

I'm not super up to date on the game rules, but I thought everyone was getting in a tizzy recently about lasguns suddenly turning out to be super effective antitank weapons :p

[@deathkorpswatchmaster2414]

@@WhichDoctor1 that's because now lasguns wound automatically on 6s. So for every 6 you roll whatever you no matter what takes damage. In theory if you hit guilliman with 9 sixes from a lasgun hes just dead

[@notahi6341]

@@deathkorpswatchmaster2414 Is that how that’s supposed to work? I thought it meant they just didn’t have to make a wound roll. So like everything can still save but the Guardsmen just don’t have to roll a 5 or 6 to wound

[@haitien6166]

@@deathkorpswatchmaster2414 damn imagine being the one to slay a primarch with a flashtorch

[@Sue_Me_Too]

Funky stuff happens when you get hit by a high powered laser: first your skin boils, then it burns. Then the steam and smoke from your skin actually starts to shield you from getting more burned, then *they* burn. After that you kinda just get crispy and the burn gets deeper and spreads out as heat diffuses through your skin and flesh. Industrial laser and plasma cutting tools combine heat with either a high current electrical arc or a bigass pulsed laser and a jet of compressed inert gas like Argon or CO2 to blow molten metal out of the channel of the cut - and *that* means they can't cut at long range.

[@kaades_]

This is your daily reminder soldiers to always keep your lasguns in clean and pristine conditions. The Emperor Protects!

[@davidreeves2146]

I'm a laser engineer, you were relatively successful in your description, particularly of a solid state laser system and your description of ultra short pulsed lasers. The powers listed in the 100s of megawatts are instantaneous powers or pulsed systems. More realistic handheld weapons are fiber or direct diode systems. The focusing problem is both more and less difficult than you think

[@MarcLombart]

"Jarring like lasguns having kinetic energy" Well, light DOES have kinetic energy despite having no mass. Check the physics. K=mv^2 is not the complete formula for kinetic energy. For light it involves the Planck constant the speed of light, the wavelength of the incident photon. How else do you think light sails work?

[@youtubeuser8232]

You are correct, the video is wrong on this. Light has momentum and kinetic energy.

[@michaelbrock6255]

Except he said it with a text on the video

[@JohnDoe-jp4em]

Well, but the energy delivered would have to be insane to produce any actualy notable impact feeling (that's not from material being evaporated away in a jet). To produce 1 Newton of force on a given area, you need 3 Gigawatts of radiation pressure. Since the impact of a bullet imparts momentum on an object in just a millisecond or so, a lasgun shot would have to deliver Terrawatts of power for a millisecond or so to even get a light push on a target. At that point the total energy delivered would be equivalent to a small nuke, and every soldier would hold enough stored energy in his hand in the form of ammo to cause their own mini-exterminatus.

[@kyotahellbound1780]

52:57 using a battery to charge a capacitor before firing the burst/pulse/whatever would give uniform shots. One thing you mentioned that few people understand is that a battery is a bomb designed to discharge energy slowly... something mobile phone owners are experiencing from time to time.

[@ZombieLicorice]

Lol get what you're saying about the bomb thing, but perhaps it's more correct to say both bombs and batteries rely on basic exothermic reactions, the difference is the rate of reaction. Interestingly enough, batteries (and fat cells for that matter) are way more energy dense than most bombs

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

Anyone who's experienced "spicy pillow syndrome" can empathize.

[@absolutechaos13]

In modern lithium batteries the problem isn't the power density it is the electrolyte in it, which is very flammable. In the event of a cook-off it both vaporizes and reaches its ignition temp. The blast of a lasgun battery is probably closer to arc flash due to the energy density required. Look up videos of arc flash if you want to be scared of your breaker box...

[@johanmetreus1268]

Indeed, as that is how the working gauss-guns being sold now operates, as they too relies on high impulse energy transfer. Forgotten Weapons-channel have videos of both models, clearly showing off the capacitor banks.

[@jasonaustin2103]

I think the best way to imagine a lasgun is just a fallout laser rifle. I think if you took a fallout laser rifle, slapped some durable armor on it, and gave it a rechargeable battery pack you have a lasgun.

[@gabe-hk6eo]

fun fact: light does actually have mass, ex. when you turn on a flashlight in space , or zero gravity , you will move. Though very slowly and the bigger and brighter the light the more you will move.

[@gandalf8216]

The word you're looking for is energy density, which behaves just like mass because mass is just an energy density that's high enough.

[@anilin6353]

That movement is from the engery from the photons. Photons themselves do not have mass

[@lorddeathofmurdermountain76]

Could you imagine if the gaurd discovered that the laz guns functions how they believe it would if that was the case.

[@DespairingDeidre]

So I would say the best way to think of the Lasgun I have found that it is best to consider that it likely has half a dozen STL templates in every system. The variety of descriptions reflecting the vast variety of STLs that the Mechanicus would use based on the location they are at.

[@ShahbazBokhari]

“Las weapons” has always translated to me, as ubiquitous weaponry available to the armies of man, en masse. Las =/= Laser imo. The weapons themselves are most likely miniature participle accelerators functional via the longest lasting piece of golden age tech humanity held on to as “the light in the dark”. So many marks. So many makes. Tens of thousands of years of discovery, loss, mystery and so on. The ignition rings “ignite” the miniature particle accelerators within and that’s where the recoil comes from. But, we always have our flashlights. Fact is, the humble Las gun, by itself, would represent such a massive leap of human technology, that it’s the single greatest example of the satire and scale of 40K.

[@kestutisvaiciunas8663]

Oh ffs, i'm surprised how many people think "Lasgun" is an exclusive GW invention. It's not, it's based on the Dune Lasgun, which is literally a Fusion powered lasergun that has such a huge power that it causes the surrounding air to explode. You know, like any sufficinetly powerful laser would? If you get a super powered laser, one that could be used as a weapon on today's earth - it would probably eliminate everything in front and in the back of it, because the oxygen around it *would literally catch fire* The "lasers = light = no recoil" is such a 4th grade level way of looking at it.

[@WozWozEre]

Lasguns are lasers. No ambiguity, no argument. It's explicitly stated in the lore. The problem here is hack BL authors writing inconsistently and going for dramatic effect over anything else.

[@tdalrius5512]

"Oiling their weapon" Probably not for moving parts as much as their company's Enginseer telling them its part of the rituals for the machine spirit or something.

[@fookinaye8277]

oil will help keep it from corroding

[@User__Not__Found]

L.A.S.E.R. or Light Amplified Stimulated Emission of Radiation is indeed a powerful, focused beam of energy. The amount of force that Lasers give off is minimal (to the point of needing seriously expensive, specialized equipment to measure super small forces), in spite of the destructive potential they possess. You will not feel recoil, nor knock someone off of their feet with a laser. Directed Energy Weapon is indeed a better description. Second point, If you've ever heard the concept of a Joule Thief (Correct me if I'm wrong), you know it doesn't pulse its energy unless it has enough energy to beat the resistance holding it in a loop (even with constant inputs of inconsistent energy). This could mean that Las-weapons have an equivalent that fires a small, concentrated pulse with consistent amounts of firepower behind it (because it won't release the energy unless it is at adequate levels of energy).

[@Gizmomaster]

The strangest thing is that if “Lasguns” are “lasers” there is no need for a barrel. Unless the “barrel” is like a sci-fi focuser thing that lights up. But the 40k Lasguns just look like guns. The point of a barrel is to provide a direction for the explosive energy of gunpowder being burned to propel a projectile and then stabilize that projectile. The design of these Lasguns just doesn’t make much sense really with these big long barrels unless they were some kind of kinetic projectile type weapon.

[@FinPete82]

Easier to aim for long distances with long barrel? Does that laser shot produce high heat from exit? Barrel moves that away from shooter, me thinks

[@casey9439]

The barrel is to protect the user. The air hit by the bolt gets superheated by it. The barrel focuses this explosion of plasma forward and away from the face. You don't want to melt your own face off. The puff of plasma also causes recoil.

[@GarioTheRock]

I'm an essayist, and I'm deeply considering writing a 40k lore book titled: "IDIOTS' GUIDE TO WHY LASGUNS HAVE NO RECOIL AND DON'T LET ANY MECHANICUS TELL YOU OTHERWISE" This was great, as always Luetin :) Perhaps the lasgun "lazer bullets" are little perfect mirrors in the shape of a bullet. You'd very likely only need >0.1 mm of the perfect mirror texture to contain the las-blast within a bullet shaped capsule. So it could very likely be the case that lasguns shoot via the use of pill-like light-bullets which just really need to get pierced or poked with enough rigidity in order to release their stored energy. But the striking hammer would have to hit the bullets from the front, exactly like on a gyrojet gun.

[@deusexaethera]

Of course lasguns have recoil. Photons carry momentum, and sufficient photons to cause instantaneous projectile-like damage to a target will also carry sufficient momentum to cause recoil. Additionally, 40K, like all sci-fi universes where faster-than-light travel is possible, has laws of physics causing photons to have mass, hence why the speed of light isn't the fastest possible speed. That mass means photons will carry _even more_ momentum and cause _even more_ recoil than they do in our universe.

[@MrKronikDeception]

After listening to this video, the simplest answer is there are likely several models under the umbrella of "lasgun." Some are lasers, some are more like microwave weapons, some are shooting some type of mass.

[@cascadianrangers728]

A weapons grade laser, hitting a mostly water person, would instantly superheat all water from a solid to a vapor, causing an explosion in addition to the thermal effect By the time we could power a laser with batteries, we would have enough technology to automatically range and adjust the lens/focal length, many thousands of times per second

[@MrAngryThing13]

Perhaps there are different “patterns” of las-gun? Some are bolts, others beams? The universe is vast after all and different planets with have different environmental requirements for their weapons.

[@vikocho123]

I don't disagree with this. I use this justification to explain why some artists illustrates lasguns as deliberately boring and blocky, while some artists draw them with a little bit more 'tacticool' details. I like both approach. Sometimes a certain approach works better in a certain depiction.

[@DGneoseeker1]

Maybe one with bolts is simply a pulse laser. Those are more effective and cause small explosions on the target rather than simply burning a hole.

[@goaway3717]

I haven't read any of the books and only played the PC video games but I love that Audible sponsors you. I've been on Audible since before they were bought by Amazon when I started wanting to use audio books for cross country drives. 785 books later Audible has easily become my primary form of entertainment.

[@gutz166]

To me, the recoil from the lasgun, comes from the "micro explosion" that happened inside the gun because of the sudden expansion of air when the heat of the directed photon blast through the barrel and lenses. And since the temperature of the laser would reach astronomically high, to prevent breakage and melting, there's instant cooling mechanism that would activates every time the trigger is pulled. Since the metallurgy of the 41st millennium are so advanced, metal and plastic (plasteel?) of the future in the lasgun can withstand sudden rapid heating and cooling.

[@truetheternal2314]

A laser of significant energy hitting soft tissue with a high-water content will cause instant boiling of the water with explosive results. this would account for the descriptions of the laser exploding on impact. the recoil could be caused by a reaction of the coolant system but could be the discharge effect especially if some for or amplifier is used.

[@gutz166]

@@truetheternal2314 Nice take on that, I agree . The recoil can be a combination of the coolant and the expansion of very hot air within the gun plus the discharge effect from amplifiers

[@vattmann1387]

Maybe it's the internal venting system to stop the las weapon cooking itself? Like circulating air etc being vented

[@gutz166]

@@vattmann1387 Yes, that's basically what I and truth eternal was saying

[@markuswierer1755]

Depending on the heat theory, you could also make a point regarding the oiling of the weapons, even though they have almost no moving parts: In Project Orion (a real life study to propel an interstellar rocket through timed nuclear explosions behind a giant plate, "pushing" the rocket forward), scientists found, that a bumper plate would slowly be eroded away, micron by micron, even by the heat and plasma of conventional explosions and energy sources. Until, by chance, they found that a thin coating of oil could serve as a "renewable" ablative layer, protecting the metal beneath it. So, there you go, another puzzle piece to explain fictional technology and somewhat "inconsistent" writing. 😉

[@backwards7]

Could 'lasgun' be a broad term describing a durable, low-maintenance energy weapon, albeit one with regional differences in so far as how the energy is delivered, the kind of damage that it is capable of delivering, and the manner in which it is constructed.

[@bigchunk1]

8:01 That guy on the far right pointing at that huge monster is giving the craziest order ever.

[@wustenfuchsgaming1226]

I think the Ignition Rings are kinetic Capacitors, charged by the Batterie, delivering a little kick like Recoil by fireing.

[@deusexaethera]

Of course lasguns have recoil. Photons carry momentum, and sufficient photons to cause instantaneous projectile-like damage to a target will also carry sufficient momentum to cause recoil. Additionally, 40K, like all sci-fi universes where faster-than-light travel is possible, has laws of physics causing photons to have mass, hence why the speed of light isn't the fastest possible speed. That mass means photons will carry _even more_ momentum and cause _even more_ recoil than they do in our universe.

[@sev1120]

However, FTL travel in 40k isn't accomplished by actually moving faster than light It's accomplished by taking a shortcut through hell

[@rankcolour8780]

There is technically recoil but you would not feel it from a lasgun. You would need approx' 1GW beamed for a full second to create recoil equivalent to a small 9mm handgun. That's like 2-3 tonnes of explosives worth of power.

[@WolfeSaber]

Or Hard Light.

[@dogf421]

i get the feeling lasguns work differently on the inside depending on where they are from (like there are actually thousands of different mini templates for them or something) but use the same kind of ammo and look the same from the outside so they can work interchangeably, converting the magic "energy" into their specific display of force.

[@Arkantos117]

Clearly lasguns fire a form of warp energy and the powerpack is just there to facility the energy transfer. The Imperium calls them lasguns because the grunts aren't allowed to know about the warp.