Phasers - How Soon Until We're Killing Each Other With These Things?

[@Reddotzebra]

The most promising idea for a stun setting isn't a dazzler though, instead it's a two stage energy weapon that uses ultraviolet lasers to set up short lived ionized gas trails that can then be used to deliver an electric shock. So it's like a taser without wires.

[@christianlainesse4281]

aka the electrolaser en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolaser

[@southcoastinventors6583]

I thought this project died like 8 years ago has it picked up yet anyone ?

[@FolkBlue]

@Cannabis Dreams It does sound like something you could pick up at the local CS town.

[@Vaeldarg]

That's how lighting forks form: ionized air. So someone would be able to protect themselves from that effect by just being grounded.

[@petergerdes1094]

I don't really see the advantage. Seems like alot more trouble to make it work and a less effective delivery mechanism. Taser prongs can go through clothing and there seems like less of a chance of unusual effects sending the beams in unintended directions. I mean, some materials including some plasma can reflect even uv lasers and the electricity will be able to follow the reflected path as well.

[@SergeantPsycho]

If you've ever seen District 9 or The Watchmen, when hit with an energy weapon or Doctor Manhattan's energy bolts, people explode into a bloody mess. This is probably more realistic than people expect.

[@scottmantooth8785]

*pretty much...a very nasty mess would result*

[@pakde8002]

One would hope so.

[@f3nixfire]

In reality, this isn't what would happen if someone was shot by a laser measuring in the 100s of kilowatts class. The laser would burn you and set your clothes on fire (depending on what you were wearing). It takes time for the laser to heat up the spot of the target it is aimed at. You would need a significantly more powerful laser to make someone explode from their bodies water content being heated so rapidly that it explosively expands into steam. The only way this could happen is the laser would have to be heating them up to millions of degrees Fahrenheit in an instant. The amount of power the laser would need to be able to do this is a laughably huge number. I remember watching a video on this from Austin on Shoddycast where he actually did the math. The dude is hilarious and I'd highly recommend his videos. Lasers are great, but I think particle beam weapons are the real future of deadly directed energy weapons. A particle beam essentially destroys the molecular bonds of whatever object or person it is firing at causing the materials own atomic matrix to destabilize. It would basically tear you apart at the molecular level. The crazy thing is, these weapons are very realistic, being heavily researched and I believe several prototypes already exist.

[@MichaelEilers]

@@f3nixfire a particle beam has the downside of having a literal subatomic beam width and thus only affecting an incredibly small area. It would be like punching a hole in someone with the world’s thinnest pin. They might not ever notice and would only die of infection. A man stuck his head in a particle accelerator (I believe this was covered by Simon?) and the beam passed right through his head and he survived, and that was a megajoule class accelerator.

[@MichaelEilers]

I agree about the laser, it needs time on target to heat it up and destroy it. It’s not one shot, the laser tracks and puts out a continuous beam or pulsed beam. The person would turn to carbon slowly and that’s a good insulator against heat, so it would do less damage over time with more energy redirected.

[@barryon8706]

For the stun setting: if you create a frequency shifting laser with a strong, channeled sonic emanation, you can distract and blind someone while someone else goes up behind them and hits them with a shovel.

[@tinkerstrade3553]

That is the perfect marriage of high and low tech. 🤣

[@janodefenua4603]

Or just Skip the advanced tech and use what worked even when we were caveman, hit the Fucker with a Branch or a wooden club.

[@astralshore]

Saying that laser weapons have effectively unlimited ammo as long as they have a supply of energy, is like saying conventional guns have effectively unlimited ammo provided they have a supply of bullets.

[@alphagt62]

Very true, laser weapons to shoot down missiles are mounted on ships, because the generator to provide the energy is too big to mount on a truck or tank. They basically build a ship around the weapon.

[@MichaelEilers]

There’s also the problem of cooling, you can imagine just a few shots would heat the lenses and other assemblies to white-hot temperatures, so you need some sort of elaborate cooling or massive heat sinks and heat pumps (or big tank of liquid nitrogen) to cart around as well.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

@@MichaelEilers So assuming we can make portable lasers in the near future its likely man portable ones would be what? One time fired weapons that has a single use battery and possible destruction of the lens used?

[@MichaelEilers]

@@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent like the video says the current lasers need an entire nuclear destroyer or big field deployed truck to work. It would need a huge leap forward in battery technology, like an entire power plant in your hand.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

@@MichaelEilers Not that far fetched given how in the last 70 years computers went from machines the size of rooms into literally your phone and or watch. I would imagine battery tech would improve as well and has.

[@jaredkennedy6576]

In Farscape, they used energy weapons that were fueled by a liquid cartridge (the source material harvesting process absolutely devastated the producing planet's ecology, but that's another matter). There was a scene where the five or six shots trope was used, except as 500 or 600 shots, then when John Crichton tests the cartridge by taste, realizes he's out of fuel. As impressive as Winona was, she can't fire without chakan oil. These pulse weapons were also scalable, from pistols to rifles, and possibly larger, but more conventional weapons were used above infantry levels.

[@raven4k998]

yeah who needs a pistol that only kills when a phasor can stun make a force field so on and so forth it has many more uses then just killing people which makes it better then a lamo pistol🤣

[@Chris-jw8vm]

"People mist" My new favourite sentence.

[@danielreuben1058]

People Mist, or perhaps Mist People is either a great name for a punk band, or a horror story waiting to be written. As always, great writing Kevin. (And let's not forget Simon's ego; good reading Simon).

[@ThatWriterKevin]

Thanks!

[@thomasdarnall8912]

Both epic band names!!!

[@usonumabeach300]

If you want to see handheld weapon level lasers, check out styropyro. Dude is the ultimate mad scientist. Backyard Scientist has made fairly powerful handheld portable lasers, but not like styropyro has. I'm surprised DARPA hasn't kidnapped him.

[@garygcrook]

Phaser being a combination/acronym of "Phased Energy Rectification" was superseded by ST: Enterprise. They're now seemingly meant to be a combination of the Phase Modulated Weapons of Humans (seemingly a form of plasma weapon) and the Laser-based directed energy weapons of other members of the Federation, though they actually work in the same way as always.

[@2Potates]

So they're wakefield accelerators? I would honestly be interested to see if those could be weaponized.

[@jenna2720]

The way tech is working, I can see a phaser coming with its open App Store where developers create frequencies that allow ppl to reheat cold coffee and add sound effects. It’ll be like the old Nokia ringtones store or something.

[@stevenscott2136]

"Phaser safety rule 1: do not point your phaser at anything you don't want to destroy! Unless you're heating your coffee... or drying your hair... or removing tranya stains from your uniform... or... well, heck, we didn't put a trigger guard on it anyway."

[@kymberliemcguire6855]

I’m a fan of Whistler KZbin empire, and this channel really nails the mood. It isn’t too intense like Casual Criminalist or into the shadows; but it isn’t silly like decoding the unknown. Like I said i love three tone and mood of this channel.

[@oldeskul]

By your descriptions, the humble lasrifle from the Warhammer 40,000 setting sounds the most plausible for a directed energy weapon. A single lasrifle can blow off limbs, blast fist-sized chunks out of concrete, or near instantaneously melt a dime-sized divot 1 millimeter deep in a plate of hardened, tank armor-grade steel with each shot, and it's the second weakest weapon in the entire setting. The only drawback, because photons have no mass, they deliver no kinetic energy to whatever they hit, only thermal energy. Because it's such a cheap, low maintenance weapon that requires less training than a modern firearm to be effective with, soldiers of the Imperial Guard can quickly be trained on it, and thousands of them can be made for the cost of other much more effective weapons, such as the bolter or the auto-cannon. Not too bad for a grim-dark science-fantasy setting.

[@scottmantooth8785]

*of course there's the exploding kitten grenades that are hinted at but never actually seen being used...guess merely the mention or threat of them being used is enough induce instantaneous panic and grown men throwing their hands up in the air and running away while screaming in a very girly manner*

[@oldeskul]

@@scottmantooth8785 Even chaos isn't that beastly to use them.

[@waynebimmel6784]

The Boltgun is much more realistic because it needs no futuristic energy cells. Just combustibles.

[@Gutenbergler]

As over the top as 40k is, many of the sci-fi weapons such as their version of plasma gun are much more realistic and viable than most other settings

[@LordInquisitor701]

Warhammer 40 K it’s not something I want for the future

[@PassiveSmoking]

After re-reading War of the Worlds recently, I was struck by how much Welles' description of the Martians' heat rays sounded like an infra-red laser.

[@CartoonHero1986]

It's been sometime since I've rewatched TNG and what not... but didn't they mention that disruptors are way more gruesome as they are designed not only to kill and destroy; but also make it hurt the whole time. Phasers on kill and vaporise are supposed to be more "humane."

[@southcoastinventors6583]

In most cases being dead in Star Trek is a one way streak especially if your not friends with Q or wear a red shirt.

[@Albert_Wesker_1969]

There's nothing humane about any weapon that can kill you just levels of pain and torture you experience before actually dying. Unless a weapon can put you into a state of deep sleep and it then in essence shuts off your entire nervous system like turning off permanently the energy to the electrical wiring to a room it wouldn't be humane in the least imo. As they say the best way to die is while you sleep because you simply never wake up. Any other way you'll experience varying degrees of pain and torture from said pain until you'd actually die.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@Albert_Wesker_1969 Maybe when you die time slows down and stops at that last final moment, so you feel pain FOREVER. Just a thought.

[@petergerdes1094]

@@RCAvhstapeIve been terrified about that possibility for a long time. I mean think about it. The evidence we have is that each time our brain changes state our experience changes as well. MAYBE that means once the brain stops so does experience...but an empirically equivalent (to the living) theory is that without a new brain state the last experience never ends.

[@petergerdes1094]

And I can't remember if that was all disruptors or specifically the ones the Klingons or someone else used.

[@KlodFather]

There is a stun weapon which consists of two UV lasers which ionize the air and electrical charge can be sent down the two beams completing the circuit on the target. Its quite effective like a tazer but no wires with unlimited shots till the battery runs out. It would probably leave a couple nice round burns also but be quite effective even at quite a distance. I believe there are working prototypes of this as another engineer told me he was working on this tech. We are closer than you think.

[@tinkerstrade3553]

"Beats the Hell out of bear spray." 🤣

[@CubanWriter]

The nonlethal aspect of phasers has always intrigued me the most. It would revolutionize self-defense and policework if you could reliably stun a target, not be tethered to them, and have many shots at your disposal.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

Plus civilian models might omit the “ kill” setting entirely as a civilian cc holder is not trying to kill somebody but simply end the fight. I had a road rage incident ( for which I’m serving 2 years probation for) had they had a device that would have dazzled or temporarily incapacitated the person attempting to corner me then I could have used it to end the fight and allowed me to leave. The fight was ended and I was able to flee without hurting anyone

[@tmikesecrist3]

I think what intrigued me was the phaser's Utility as a tool. I nearly always carry a pocket knife not because it is useful as a weapon, Most pocket knifes kind of suck as weapons, but because the are incredibly handy as tools in your daily life, how many times have you had to look for a knife to open a package. then we see the phaser, Which can be used as a saw, a carving laser, a cutting torch, or a tool to heat up rocks, I am sure it could even be used as an emergency medical tool as well such as to cauterize a wound or amputate a limb. I mean think about a firefighter being able to cut open a locked or metal door to get to people trapped on the side? or cut away parts of the bonded metal of an accident to get to people trapped inside.

[@tmikesecrist3]

@@matthewcaughey8898 interesting idea, but I do think it would limit its usefulness as a tool, and keep in mind a phaser even on its lowest setting at close range or with someone in poor health is not a non-lethal weapon. it is at best less than lethal as they can kill. But I do think those models will also be available.

[@BabyMakR]

Except in America, it would be demanded that the non-lethal option was removed.

[@tmikesecrist3]

@@BabyMakR less than lethal has there uses, there are more tasers and pepper spray or bear mace sold in the US than firearms, And I am sure that a setting that would let you cut some one out of a car wreck would be a lethal setting if you shoot some with it. are you saying you would not want it because it can kill?

[@SMunro]

I would suggest using the tractor beam version. By moving particles that make up the target back and forth at faster than the speed of sound a sonic boom shockwave of sound can be induced against the target,

[@surferdude4487]

That weapon is what they call a disruptor in Star Trek lor.

[@Sir_Scrumpalicious]

Well electric cars have a sound generator for safety reasons and Borla has created an "exhaust system" for the Mustang Mach E that can create the sound of different engines. So I'm sure there will be an aftermarket for custom lazer weapon sounds. lol

[@scottmantooth8785]

*but it's much more fun to make the sounds yourself by running around saying PewPewPew*

[@Delgen1951]

@@scottmantooth8785 rather than the weapon start to play the theme to Star Wars as it fires.

[@midnightrambler8866]

But is there a Jetsons car sound? That would be my go to.

[@tomhenry897]

Why There’s a reason people buy silencers

[@GameHammerCG]

I’m happy to not have the “vapourise a dude” function on a phaser if I can have the “heat up a rock so you don’t freeze to death” function instead.

[@RCAvhstape]

That can also be used as a "heat up a dude until he cooks to death" function.

[@GameHammerCG]

@@RCAvhstape Hmm… might come in useful, depending on how long you’re likely to be stranded…

[@stevenscott2136]

@@GameHammerCG "Okay, Gordon Ramsey says 'Set phaser to "marinate" and apply to target for 1 minute. Then set phaser to "roast" for 30 minutes, turning target every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking."

[@Delgen1951]

Now using the US army as an example, the setting would not be Vaporize a dude, but more like just Vaporize, or Point toward enemy ONLY!!

[@brickbunny9686]

Wow, surprisingly well informed. FINALLY! People are able to make sense of all that stuff, both the ST fiction and the differences and reasonable expectations of Reallife. About the only critique I would have is the whole water boiling thing causing water vaporization too 1600 the space when turned into gas... Well despite the fictional nature of Nadeons, if such a customized particle was to be manufactured for the ST intended purpose, you wouldn't actually end up having the 1600 times expansion issue when "Vaporizing" anything as the Nadeons are suppose to be simply annihilating the particles in comes into contact with, when used as a weapon. The fictional Nadeon particles are suppose to be a step up from Antimatter Weapons. Instead of merely boiling a body or object to a crisp, the Nadeon particles are doing a more refined job of particle annihilation then raw antimatter weapons would. A strait antimatter weapon would likely suffer the 1600 vaporization expansion issues you mentioned, cause you would be firing unrefined particles with simply the opposite spin and trying to blunt the body or object with those particles. Since the antimatter annihilation requires the anti particle counter parts to connect with the familiar protons neutrons and electrons, there is ore room for that 1600 vaporization to take place. But with the fictional Nadeons, they are suppose to be purpose built to annihilate particles altogether, so no need for proton on anti-proton annihilation. The risk of the 1600 gaseous expansion risk that could exist with raw Antimatter weapons would almost entirely be eliminated with the refined custom made Nadeon artificial particles, since they can be programmed to annihilate any particle it touches. The artificial and programmable nature of the fictional Nadeon particles is what allows it too be both, used as a kill/destroy everything weapon as well as be a non-lethal, stun only, with no permanent damage tool, or welding device, or rock heater campfire starter, or power supply for a shield emitter. But that ability to make such a customized artificial quantum energy particle is a long ways off. We still need to master making nano-scale materials and robots first, then become able to make quantum energy controlling devices, before we can have a reasonable chance at even trying to make something akin to the fictional Nadeon Particles. We can't make the quantum controllers without mastering nano-tech mass-production. I still can't even manage to mass produce carbon nanotubes, let alone mass produce any sort of nano-scale material or device, outside of a computer chip manufacturing using ultra violate lithography. And sadly ultra violate lithograph is more of a subtractive ablation method being routed threw various screens to cut away things to make the stationary chips. Mastering nano-tech mass-production requires a great deal more abilities to shape, form, add material and flexibility arrange things in ways that ultra violate lithography doesn't come close too doing.

[@tsbrownie]

Lasers / phasers are not silent, nor would they be. Suddenly heating the air creates a shock wave i.e. sound. It would be many times louder when it hit a person or other solid object.

[@anamkarajoy]

Well done, Kevin. I remember how stoked you were writing this to make Simon say _“Pew! Pew!”_ 🤣

[@jasterthefathyena1843]

"breathing in people mist" ..... now that's fuckin' metal

[@irrationalgeographic9953]

The biggest question is, have we the technology to make the "Pew Pew" sound when they are fired.

[@XenHat]

I think Simon is going after a Guiness Record for the most channels hosted by a single person. *subscribes*

[@paulherman5822]

Single person? It's done with replicants and mirrors. Allegedly. 😁

[@ThatWriterKevin]

I think he needs one more to hit the record for most channels with 100K subscribers or more.

[@mattdemo6387]

Laser guns might not make noise, but the person firing them is definitely going to say "pew pew" 😉👌🏽

[@joshm3484]

I just want to ride my hoverboard while shooting my phaser rifle with lightsaber bayonet.

[@edwardpate6128]

Captain Ron Tracy can hardly wait! He loves to phaser people!

[@gamereditor59ner22]

Interesting topic you presented and keep it up!

[@hoodoo2001]

In one episode of the original star trek a starship captain said he used up all their phaser's power and powerpacks against a horde of opponents so they were not unlimited.

[@PitboyHarmony1]

I can only imagine the gut driven desire experienced by the editor while shooting Simon in the chest at about 1+ minute. ... ohh the glee.

[@KEN-qr1dd]

YEAH, THEY ALREADY TRIED KILLING ME WITH THESE "DANCE HALL DAYS" DIRECT ENERGY WEAPONRY 4 TIMES IN NYC

[@christopherbrown6891]

I’m already liking the lightsaber Vs phaser numbers.🤣

[@JaredLS10]

Guess Simon never watched StarTrek Enterprise, that show took place in the mid 22nd century and phasers had just started being used.

[@ausbare140]

I now know to stand at least 50 meters away from my target. Thank you for that handy tip.

[@randybentley2633]

A Stargate weapons examination would be an interesting follow on subject...

[@harryc1971]

For what its worth i remember Buck Rodgers stating their weapons distrupted nervous systems

[@stevenscott2136]

A shotgun will disrupt a nervous system, too! 🤯

[@jimgallagher8029]

The Star Trek image I can’t get out of my mind is Dr. Crusher using her deadly Type II phaser to light a candle.

[@chuckoneill2023]

Per some fan-written techno-babble, The disintegration function of phasers was accomplished by disassembling the target at a sub-atomic level. So, a human doesn't produce a cloud of steam, but rather a bunch of harmless quarks which don't expand into a messy cloud. Maybe this is accomplished by neutralizing the gluons (gluons also being the source of much of our mass)?

[@5R47CH1NGP057M4T4D0R]

Hey! Before I forget I have a suggestion for a video! I watched a PBS video about a new hypothesis as an answer to the Fermi Paradox. It’s called the Grabby Aliens Hypothesis, and I think it’s definitely up the alley of this channel. Thanks for all your hard work Simon and Co.! Cheers!

[@LaserFur]

A phaser is a laser at a wavelength where the Air absorbs the laser energy. This was demonstrated at a university a long time ago using a really short duration high power laser beam. The result is a growing plasma that could be conductive and therefore if you have two beams you could make a stun weapon by applying a high voltage between the two beams.

[@andyf4292]

UV laser

[@AllknowingUnknown]

Never underestimate the power of a board with a nail in it. You do that and you invite destruction onto yourself and your whole kingdom

[@GC-ee1ct]

If we went from a computer that could fit into a large room to hand held ones far more powerful in only 40-50 years. I don’t think we will have to wait 200-300 years to have phaser type weapons

[@Dank-gb6jn]

I’d like to see a video on the feasibility of a plane like you can see (crashed, unfortunately) in Fallout 4. I think it’s called the “Skylanes Jetliner”.

[@Overly_Hydrated]

I think he’s done like 3 of those

[@Dank-gb6jn]

@@Overly_Hydrated I’ve never seen that on this particular channel, which is where I’d expect to see it. The design itself is beyond whacky imo.

[@Dank-gb6jn]

@Gerald H I think so...the staggered front view windows with like two clusters of engines, one on each side.

[@Overly_Hydrated]

@@Dank-gb6jn sorry I didn’t mean he’s done that particular plane. But he has done a few videos on the possibility of giant planes. Which is almost the same concept.

[@Dank-gb6jn]

@@Overly_Hydrated ahh, my bad. Well, I’ve seen some of his Megaprojects on giant planes, and while I will agree with you that, “yeah...kinda the same concept”; I’ll push back and say that the Skylanes plane is an interesting mashup of sci-fi design and concepts so I think it *could* fit here.

[@bradabar2012]

Oh c'mon, I've been dreaming of this since was 10yo! "How dare you??? You've stolen my childhood!!!"

[@KeithZim]

I think focused sound waves at the resonant frequency of a human skull to crack it open at a distance will happen before phasers.. This probably exists already...

[@I.am.Sarah.]

If the laser or phaser doesn't have the "pew pew" sound then I don't want it 😾

[@Enjoymentboy]

Many years ago when I used to play various RPGs we had a Star Trek campaign weekend. One of the things we insisted on was literally accuracy and on one occasion when I used a phaser to vaporise an enemy our DM took it literally and did a rough calculation based primarily on the amount of water in the victim. He multiplied the volume by 1700 and was very pleased to tell us all that we were ALL dead, enemies included, because of the massive blast wave of super-heated steam that had been generated as it ripped through the walls sending shrapnel everywhere. We all began to use the stun setting a LOT more in the next game.

[@HyperactiveNeuron]

Breathing in people mist LMFAO! I almost fell off my couch 🤣

[@ruoazquara6070]

I’m always finding new channels I’m starting to think this cloning project is a success

[@pontuzz560]

The major hindrance i see for any sort of portable energy weapon is the energy source. Even as it stands our current battery technology is lagging behind almost all other tech

[@Braddeman]

Set your phaser to gamma rays. Set your setting to cancer in 30 years. Now we play the waiting game.

[@antonisautos8704]

Laser light may not make noise but the weapon would probably still make noise. Degaussers use electro magnets to wipe hard drives. Magnets are silent but the device charges up then releases a Hugh amount of current to create the field and then wipe the drive. That process creates a very loud pop noise. Something similar may happen with laser rifles

[@ThatWriterKevin]

Oof, one glaring correction I need to make thanks to an awkwardly worded sentence: Yes, the strong nuclear force absolutely exists. We've talked about it in several videos on this channel. However, magically striping away the strong nuclear force from matter is not a thing that exists. That's totally my bad for how I worded it.

[@RaderizDorret]

There is one major disadvantage to directed energy weapons: they are line of sight only. So any targets behind cover or over the horizon can't be targeted. So indirect fire is going to very much reamain a thing.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

That's why you keep missiles around.

[@Sardatfk]

The future is less Star Trek Phasers and more 40k Lasguns

[@FlowConsciously]

Have you done a video on ion implanter’s? Ion in planners are primarily used in the manufacture of semi conductors these days - that’s computer chips… But from what I understand their origin was space-based particle accelerators to blow ICBMs out of the air. May be a cool video, especially the way you were riders, right! Great job!!

[@devindiaz1085]

pretty sure the image they used for the directed energy weapons heading was a 25mm airbursting grenade launcher prototype. That'll certainly direct some energy for you. He didn't mention a microwave beam intended to be used to disperse crowds by making them uncomfortably warm, and the sonic weapon used to defeat pirates by that cruise ship in '05 because they're not lasers or laser like but darn if I don't feel like they deserved honorable mention...

[@terrancechilds3049]

We're working on particle beam weapons technology right now don't worry someday we'll have a handheld version

[@A_Haunted_Pancake]

2:25 - The big TNG Phaser was so good, Picard only had to aim in the general direction of the target 🤣

[@PushingThroughThePain]

You had me convinced at 12:34 "you'd still be left breathing in people mist as little fleshy chunks rain down on you" 🤢🤮

[@nitroxide17]

One big advantage of laser weapon is almost zero recoil. That’ll improve accuracy dramatically.

[@Glitch_Online]

Pew Pew noise should be mandatory on all laser weapons.

[@derekstein6193]

One step closer to the invention of the trusty lasgun.

[@theidahotraveler]

i think the part with the Lasers from Akira is a really good depiction of how they might work.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

So the lasers in Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" were accurate to a degree...the water in us would boil away and we'd become gray bone dust 🤔

[@lmpeters]

In the original book by H.G. Wells, the Martian weaponry was specifically described as directed beams of heat, which could set fire to any people or structures that stood in the way. Which does make it one of the more scientifically plausible energy weapons in science fiction.

[@davidrobertson5700]

Grey

[@ericthompson3982]

A beam of light that can travel through glass?!?! Outrageous!!!

[@Revan2908]

The official setting that they refer to as vaporize is actually called "dematerialize," where it actually breaks down the bonds between molecules or even possibly between individual atoms. Which obviously makes more sense when the effect is actually demonstrated.

[@grahamokeefe9406]

In addition to being silent and possibly invisible, there'd be no recoil, making them more accurate as well.

[@Hobbes4ever]

soon there will be a National Ray-Gun Association 😅

[@davidslate2005]

Simon, I'm surprised that you didn't bring up the phasers on Stargate. Shot once, you're stunned, shot twice you vaporize.

[@atlanteean]

shoot one time: stun shoot twice: dead shoot third time: vaporize

[@davidslate2005]

@@atlanteean thanks. Been awhe since I've watched them.

[@davidrobertson5700]

It's called a zat nicketel or zat for short, not a phaser

[@scotthorneland8742]

in an rpg i used to play , Rifts, they explained that lasers did make a pew sound, and had recoil, because they sold better. The logic was people belived the damage was greater when they heard the shot and felt the recoil, which is all generated by the gun seperately

[@Echo_419]

11:16 I love the inclusion of some Kyle Hill footage, even though it was from his pre-Facility days, back when he was trapped in the Void.

[@TheCoffeeFiend]

Yep, I strongly suggest a crossover episode. 😁

[@Phase52012]

I always had this question about phasers. In the early shows whenever a living creature was hit by a phaser set to "kill" they would glow and disappear. However nothing in their immediate area would. Why? If the energy blast destroyed the creature and clothes and shoes why not large sections of floor? Same question about transporters beaming people from point to point. So how close to the floor is the bottom of your shoe when it's beamed, with you in it, anywhere. And you have to be beamed from where you are, say in orbit travelling at speed X, onto the surface of a planet travelling at speed Y. How do they deal with all that. And the machines doing it have to map ever particle in your being, as you breathe in, and your heart pumps blood, and you sway a little, and copy you, take you apart, then beam all those particle across space and reassemble you EXACTLY at your destination. (Did you die during beaming, and are you now a copy of the original you?). What if there is a 1% degradation in the beam signal, or computer processing? What happens if just a small part of you is put back together wrong?

[@DarkSnideoftheRainbow]

3:40 I felt the need to comment here but there is actually an energy weapon can do just that. Known as a pulsed energy projectile (PEP for short) it was a type of less than lethal directed energy weapon experimented with by the United States Army in the early 2000s. It was reportedly capable of causing intense pain as well as sensations such as cold burns and even temporarily paralyzing someone's nervous system by sending shockwaves through their body. And it could do all this without leaving any physical trauma behind whatsoever.

[@ThatWriterKevin]

This didn't come up in my research but I'll definitely look ino it cause that sounds really cool

[@Corsuwey]

Hey! Digital cameras have the "click" sound... So why not add the "pew-pew" sound to all laser?!?

[@johnbainbridge9034]

I'll be that guy: light *is* subject to gravity. It changes the geodesic that it follows, and gravitational lensing is a thing. But you're probably not going to be firing around a black hole, so you're making a good approximation.

[@Gutenbergler]

One thing I’ll say for the sci-fi writers here: do some good research on modern weapons technology and you’ll have some good sci-fi weapons. Modern weapons are modular with various rail mounting systems which people use to mount optics, grips, flashlights, lasers, and other things. There are also countless other advancements such as adjustable or folding stocks, one point slings, and the constantly advancing ergonomics technology. I can’t think of a reason a sci fi weapon would become any less modular or move backwards in those areas. Take that into consideration in your work if you want some realistic and convincing sci-fi, especially military sci-fi

[@jimgillespie6109]

I prefer the term "disintegrated" to "vaporized." Whenever something or someone was disintegrated by a phaser, they were effectively converted to energy with near 100% efficiency, and that links the phaser technology to transporter technology. It's most... logical, don't you think? 🖖

[@StreetPreacherr]

And Gas taking up more space than the liquid is also how steam engines work!

[@nathan22211]

I recall seeing something on a large energy weapon the US government has on some of their ships, they also mentioned that handheld energy weapons are against the current geneva conventions so you'd pretty much have to rewrite war rules before even getting this far

[@ottovonnekpunch1268]

Dude, I will be referring your vid regarding the after-effects of "smoking" a person with phaser-fire from this point forward! To think, vaporizing a person with phaser-fire, would create an explosive event, would literally change the Star Trek combat arc tremendously !

[@robertmwilliams]

The most ghastly futuristic handheld weapon I can think of is a Sandman’s pistol from Logan’s Run. IIRC it fired a phosphorus pellet through a water chamber fast enough to delay the reaction until it hit the target. Nasty that.

[@fsj197811]

That was cool. I think I've found a new channel to watch. Thanks for sharing. :)

[@allenlovell1604]

I remember seeing something recently on " Plasma Weaponry ." Devastating effective in Sci-Fi movies ; however, I also read that the USN recently tested a Laser weapon to take down a target drone , and DARPA is working on Microwave Weapon for crowd control ; or to fry a missles guidance systems ? We should be careful what we ask for , we just might get it !

[@eikdgreat8300]

Its cool that the first gunpowder weapon is a canon from the 12 th century and today we have laser weapons on truck's (lasercanons)

[@originalbadboy32]

When I get my first Dazzler, I'm going to call it Bobby.

[@frankus54]

"Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines!"

[@jamesmacleod9382]

I always thought of phasers as the business end of a transporter without the "pattern buffer". At least there's no messy clean up after your shooting spree.

[@peterstrong772]

People who vape will be looking for the next craze "people mist"

[@robertbeaman5761]

A couple 9 volt batteries, couple of mirrors, 3 lenses and carbonized plasma crystals. All in a nice little handheld directed energy rifle.

[@contessa.adella]

The main reason firearms are not more effective up to medium range is recoil throwing off the aim and in long range, gravity pulling the bullet down and side wind pushing it off target. Imagine a weapon with zero movement upon firing it and zero drop or windage. Bonus plus: a time to target of milliseconds. You almost couldn’t miss…Despite Star Wars Stormtroopers not hitting anything!😂

[@davidponseigo8811]

We do have laser guided handheld weapons but the laser is just for targeting not creating the damage but it's still pretty cool when whatever your laser is pointed at is destroyed by a projectile.

[@ferdinandsiegel8967]

Can you imagine the gun control when a real phaser shows up. No bodies.

[@STB-jh7od]

Around 2000, DARPA reportedly had been working on Plasma based weapons.

[@AvB.83]

"...you'd still be breathing in people-mist while little fleshy chunks rain down on you" sounds a lot more like Warhammer 40k than Star Trek 😅

[@battleboat12]

Considering a phaser is just an extremely sophisticated laser and we use lasers to guide missiles, bombs, and bullets we technically already are.

[@kevinolver39]

A quote from the book, (Naked in Death) by the character Roark, “Progression without progress”

[@Globovoyeur]

The Star Trek production teams wrestled with this. They couldn't show anything like realistic effects of vaporizing someone without running afoul of the Broadcast Standards department. The famous scene where Picard and Riker explode the head of the "mother creature" in Conspiracy crosses the line, but only a little.

[@marklavoine8502]

Yes But Riker an Pecared were using the phazer 1 not as powerful as the phazer 2 that's why the Man bug was not veperized.!!

[@marklavoine8502]

Yes But Riker an Pecared were using phazer 1 not as powerful as the phazer 2 so it could not vaporize the big man bug .!!!