Radiation Weapons in Science Fiction

[@Spacedock]

Try #TheSojourn for FREE until the end of October 2024 here: kzbin.info/aero/PLLnNVFgDJ3vUXh15EHrNut5hHR9fxW-c3

[@Cyanfox3006]

Hi! There was also interesting take on radiation weaponry in C&C series, specifically Red Alert2 - Desolator unit. Instantly melting infantry and quickly destroying vehicles by concentrated beam OR just shooting it into the ground, contaminating ground and making it effectively impassable for the most infantry and light vehicles, while destroying tanks at much slower rate albeit faster closer they are to deployed Desolator

[@johnathan651]

Please make a ship breakdown video on the Archangel from Gundam SEED!

[@bryan8259]

Are there any purchase options of The Sojourn that lets me actually download the files onto my pc? I understand the piracy avoidance but I dislike having a middleman ap or website keeping me from something I paid for.

[@jamesstevenson9056]

I'm trying to think of a radiation weapon from Doctor Who and I'm annoyed that I cant. (I'm really just hoping for a DW reference or two from Spacedock.)

[@Spacedock]

@@bryan8259 Yes. If you go to the website there's a "Buy/Rent" option that allows this, and Patreon also allows you to download the files and keep them even after your pledge has expired.

[@ussenterprisecv6805]

Fun fact. Technically the wave motion gun from space battleship Yamato is a radiation weapon as are the asteroid bombs used in the series. I believe the wave motion gun is said to non-euclidian radiation or something similar from black holes. I would have to rewatch it to check.

[@RamdomView]

It uses Calabi-Yau manifolds to generate micro-black holes which in turn spew Hawking Radiation.

[@khoipham8303]

It’s said to be Hawking Radiation, but yes the WMG is incredibly powerful to the point of wiping fleets with a single blast.

[@PaHDoMNblu_4ell]

Wasn't wave energy be something like a "energy of live"?

[@khoipham8303]

@@PaHDoMNblu_4ell yes, but the gun itself is a human design that harnesses wave motion energy and coverts it to radiation to fire at the enemy.

[@spartantraveler7251]

​@@khoipham8303 do you know how the beam fking curves and splits and stuff? Magnetic fields? Handwavium?

[@twelfthknight]

I'll always remember that scene in the Expanse where Holden and Miller get a heavy dose of radiation. There's just a few seconds of nothing happening and then suddenly they're dead men walking.

[@ham_the_spam4423]

*Gets lit by a purple light for a couple seconds* Miller : How much radiation was that? *Holden looks at handheld device* Holden : we're dead...

[@michaelspencer8024]

​@@ham_the_spam4423 **credits start**

[@George-zj9rr]

I wonder how future medical technology could actually save them if most of their cells lost the ability to reproduce. Later on they have these implants in their skin that keeps them alive but they're sterile.

[@TheGenericavatar]

Radiation doesn't give super powers?!? O_O!! There's a reason NASA uses 3 separate computers to control everything. At least 2 of the computers have to agree before the action is deemed legit on the assumption that the 3rd computer has been temporarily or permanently compromised.

[@Fillyfishyy]

plus the boards have mega sized traces and are generally physically heartier to stand up to cosmic rays

[@vipvip-tf9rw]

All critical data systems used 3 or more for quorum, ideally it would 5-6, and NASA has a bit of problem, they can't really fix their spacecrafts in space

[@andyf4292]

just like the Berzerkers.....< suspicion rises>

[@UNSCPILOT]

3 is the bare minimum, no joke, a SpaceX Falcon 9 has something like 100 onboard computers, with several controlling each engine, even the multicore proccessors they use are set up in a redundancy mode that makes sure no "bit flipped" commands or calculations get threw, though that might be on the extreme end since the rocket is ment to be recovered and making sure it doesn't slam into something from a glitch is major. Ironically older, simplier hardware is often easier to radiation harden as it's more difficult for the radiation to cause a meaningful effect on thick, low density parts, whereas mordern parts are full of thin high density connections that are more easily overloaded or damaged. Long term space exploration may make use of revisiting older simplier hardware with modern twists as current tech simply doesn't have the best longevity. Look at the Voyagers, launched in 1977 and still working remarkably well with noone present to do direct servicing and upkeep... the biggest problem is the slowly dieing Radioisotope Thermal electric generators that are decaying at a known and expected rate, gradually cutting power to the whole spacecraft, even the tape drive that was used to save pictures from the camera worked wonderfully until they had to shut it and the Camera down to save power, some sensors have even had their heaters shut off but are still providing useful data. But on the flupside Voyager's computers probably cannot handle the task of propulsively landing a rocket, on a precice location, while accounting for atmospheric conditions so some degree of comprimise is likely necessary

[@derekbrunette222]

You're confusing nasa with the government in minority report

[@chiaeagle6720]

Bro made a whole ass video, just to petition Arrowhead for more helldivers stuff. I can respect that

[@jacobbarlow6098]

For Helldivers 2, Radiation weapons could be used to lower enemies' armor rating; in refence to radiation making materials more brittle.

[@EvelynNdenial]

make it the crazy status effect gun, armor reduction, DoT to the bugs, confusion to bots, disabling shields when they get added.

[@BorisTheRussian17798]

Funfact. we're getting rad rounds in the weapon attachment update.

[@davidsiepel6774]

@@BorisTheRussian17798 funner fact, none of that is confirmed and we have no idea when that will be

[@Mark-in8ju]

Yes! That is the perfect addition to the game! It allows more types of gameplay and would promote teamwork since one single weapon is unable to excel at everything.

[@JerichoDeath]

Make a radiation missile launcher that functions like a MIRV, dropping mini nukes over an area, kinda like Fallout.

[@joemck74]

Imagine anthropologists of the future examining this video and pondering why we seem do damn excited about the development of ever more horrific handheld weaponry. With the narrator gushing over 'area denial' and 'sterilisation of personnel'. They'll have nightmares about us. As I already do....

[@longiusaescius2537]

@joemck74 nice avatar

[@Ice4smaster]

I mean that's fair, not so different from saying our view or actual true medieval combat or pillaging.

[@INSANESUICIDE]

Biological and chemical warfare, flamethrowers, expanding munitions, mines(literally made to maim rather than kill) the list goes on..

[@marsar1775]

so many delightful ways to solve all your problems!

[@michaelspencer8024]

Then wtf are you doing here if you don't like weapons? Do you also complain about nudity on porn sites?

[@Csp499]

See also: Brigador's "Black Hand" Gamma emitter. To quote its Acquisitions entry, "Against an unshielded target, single ignitions can inflict 3rd degree burns and a guarantee of cancer at 100 yards, and within 50 you begin to see 4th degree burns and spontaneous contracture. Exposure at 25 yards is a death sentence even when protected behind several inches of armor plating; liquefaction of the dermis and internal organs is common, and even if a target somehow survives exposure at that range they are permanently incapacitated."

[@pant0sand0hat]

Came here to mention this. Cheers!

[@Metacore91]

Turboslav spotted in the wild

[@inquisitorbenediktanders3142]

Ah yes, the cancer cannon.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Inb4 starting an international conflict

[@fritzophrenia3146]

"I have seen the aftermath of its use firsthand. It is a cruel and terrible weapon"

[@copaceticetal]

I loved the 'cancer ray' from the Harley Quinn animated show. Presumably its just a carcinogenic dose of radiation.

[@joshuahadams]

A gamma ray laser or something like that.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

​@@joshuahadamsa gamma rayser a gayser

[@SkippertheBart]

Plot Twist: it actually cures cancer. The labeling needed clarification.

[@INSANESUICIDE]

I think there was a white supremacist that designed a "cancer ray" to target "non whites" and the FBI got the guy, some cartoon tier villainy.

[@clancykohl]

@@Flesh_Wizard one term is XASER, you know with X-Ray instead of light, just like MASER with microwaves

[@jakobrandel8105]

Armored Core 4 and 4 Answer had something similar for their mech shields. Your Ac's could use this particle field to protect themselves from, most incoming fire, but it was highly radioactive/toxic to life and so battlefields became uninhabitable.

[@KarlArty]

*insert obligatory Kojima Particle meme here*

[@CMTechnica]

Kojima Particles were a fun thing to choose to use.

[@CptJistuce]

Thereby proving AC fans right, that energy shields were dumb and shouldn't have been added to ACs.

[@corporategunner5972]

​@@KarlArty *whrrrrrrrrr (microwave noises)* -An Argryos after hitting a rip from the fattest looking blunt an AC could hold & killing the Unicorn Gundam through sheer radiation, Power-scalers when the power doesn't scale

[@thomasp506]

TORUS specialized in making Kojima-based weapons as well, which would likely have similar effects to what's in the video

[@turtleman1466]

The radium rifle didn't originate in Fallout 76, but Fallout 4's Far Harbor DLC.

[@benjlung]

Engery loss of charged particles is described by the Bethe-Bloch formula. More energy means deeper penetration, as more mass per charge. Thus, electron beams penetrate less deep compared to proton beams, and heavy ion beams penetrate even deeper (the opposite of what is stated in the video).

[@nekotrashwillnyanforcash]

Yeah, like isn't the whole appeal of particle beams that they are functionally lasers with better penetration at the cost of being more complex and requiring more energy? Also I didn't particularly like the random suggestions for balancing changes in games that got thrown into this one, seems out of place.

[@aninsidejoke7172]

The electron's very small mass means that for the same energy, the electrons go much, much faster. This also means that they repulse each other very strongly, so in order for an electron beam to be a useful weapon it has to be at relativistic energies where time dilation slows down their spread. This also means that they deposit energy differently and penetrate much more than would be expected and create cascades of radiation. Also, from the little I know, I've heard that heavy ions penetrate the least because they interact and stop much quicker.

[@somedumbguy0]

No, the opposite, stoping distance is governed by the Bragg equation. Heavies, like alphas (He nuclei), stop sooner than betas ( electrons)

[@nekotrashwillnyanforcash]

@@somedumbguy0 In terms of destruction though, I guess I'm talking about the beams ability to remove material? Idk what the word for that is.

[@raideurng2508]

All this just reinforces why WH40k's Adeptus Mechanicus' radiation weapons are absurd beyond belief, perfect for the setting and especially the faction.

[@me67galaxylife]

40k buttermilkers trying not to flail their arms and scream about how 40k is the greatest thing to have ever existed in the multiverse for two minutes challenge !IMPOSSIBLE!

[@aaronsouthard8366]

​@@me67galaxylifenot our fault that our default setting is 11

[@owenyin3316]

⁠@@me67galaxylifey’all asshats who run around malding at any mention of 40k are infinitely more annoying, lol. this is also literally a discussion of sci fi weapons that mentions the Mechanicus and they’re talking about sci fi weapons from the mechanicus, whereas you’re just here to whine.

[@ligma6992]

​@@me67galaxylifeL + chaotic taint

[@davidsiepel6774]

tell me more about women being Custodies now, simp

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

I love the idea of sci-fi horror monsters that give off enough EM or ionizing radiation to mess with electronics. (something that I am definitely stealing A Quiet Place for my own writing)

[@svankensen]

Not quite the same, but Blindsight is close enough that it may satisty some of that itch.

[@BurtonHohman]

Didn’t that happen in the expanse?

[@CMTechnica]

⁠@@BurtonHohmannot quite. The protomolecule feeds off radiation. Tbf, if it’s different in the novels I wouldn’t remember, but in the show it just feeds on radiation.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

In games, it can kinda act as a "spooky detector", which is kinda what a Geiger counter is anyways, since radiation is pretty fuckin' spooky. That in mind, I reckon the spooky detector works better when you can't normally perceive the monster.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

@GmodPlusWoW I'm thinking more along the lines of it completely frys any electronics if it gets close enough.

[@brianreddeman951]

Fallout Bethesda bombs are so destructive that it creates all kinds of bugs in your game.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Ha! Good joke that "just works"!

[@janhornak5739]

@@MonkeyJedi99 And they tear the earth into "milion worlds"

[@Hyperionv2]

There is also the black hand weapon from Brigador, its quite spicy. "The Black Hand is a gamma emitter used almost exclusively by Spacers; fielding the weapon alone is sufficient for war crimes charges, but the few militaries with means to pursue action against the Spacers are also the ones who employ them. Against an unshielded target, single ignitions can inflict 3rd degree burns and a guarantee of cancer at 100 yards, and within 50 you begin to see 4th degree burns and spontaneous contracture. Exposure at 25 yards is a death sentence even when protected behind several inches of armor plating; liquefaction of the dermis and internal organs is common, and even if a target somehow survives exposure at that range they are permanently incapacitated."

[@tba113]

Ahh, Brigador. A fellow man of culture, I see.

[@davidromeroblaya7920]

The "Degenesis" TTRPG has a radiation gun with a "fun" description. When you fire it, you don't see anything. You only know the weapon hit the target thanks to an electronic "DING!" made by the gun, like the one from a microwave. In a couple of hours, the enemy will die horribly by a lethal dosis of radiation.

[@DZ-1987]

An Assassin's weapon, I take it.

[@comet.x]

that's fucking horrifying I love it

[@AsbestosMuffins]

going off of what I remember from fatal radiation exposure incidents, if thats the case these people would probably become incapacitated in a few minutes, death in a few days

[@ashleyhamman]

I read a fair number of stories on the HFY subreddit, and I think an excellent use of radiation weapons is the Zhadersil capital ship in "The Human Disaster" storyline from the Jenkinsverse. It leaks a beam of radiation from the reactor, through a gun of sorts, to render an approaching ship dead in the water, with no crew to use it. The reactor can also be overloaded as a radiation bomb in the face of an overwhelming invasion force in order to deny the ship to the enemy, with a couple spare secondary reactors around so cleanup crews have power to get going in the far future.

[@trekkie1701c]

Radiation can have a 'color' and be visible under the right circumstances, and I just bring it up because it's really really cool. Basically there's a bunch of materials - like water - where the speed light travels is slower than the speed of causality (or light speed in a vacuum). If you fire a high energy particle through these mediums what can happen is that it can actually travel faster than light can (in that medium) and you get the light equivalent of a sonic boom - Cherenkov radiation, which gives off this really beautiful blue glow. So you could absolutely have a beam of high energy radiation visible if you shot it at the right thing. ...Also you could totally see the high energy radiation if it was shot at you, since your eyes are mostly water but if you *do* see it (beyond the odd flash of a cosmic ray hitting your eyes that astronauts report sometimes) then you've probably been dosed enough that it's probably a good idea to get your affairs in order. As I think about it though, it's also possible to see radiation in the form of clouds and such, which is how a vapor chamber works. I'm not sure how well it'd work in atmosphere at high radiation levels (since this is overshadowed by the air becoming a high energy plasma, see nuclear fireballs) but you can totally pick up radiation sources with some dry ice and isopropyl alcohol. So there's a few ways at least to visually see radiation.

[@sargon6000]

There was an episode of Sliders, where one of the main characters gets shot by a Kromagg energy weapon, and even though the injury wasn't severe, he's slowly dying from the injury. It's then revealed that the weapon was a particle beam weapon using nobelium as source of particles, which is highly radioactive (longest living isotope has a half-life of 58 minutes, easiest to synthesize only 3 minutes), so even a grazing shot will give you a lethal dose of radiation. While it might appear a scary and effective weapon, such a weapon would scatter highly radioactive isotopes everywhere, and while nobelium might have an extremely short lifespan, its daughter nuclides do not, so all it might be good for is turning the battlefield into a mini Chernobyl exclusion zone.

[@connormilam5829]

Theres this relatively obscure race (no models) in 40k That use almost exclusivly radiation weaponry As in so much they litteraly melt people Edit: the Rak'gol

[@pougetguillaume4632]

Probably not ye ones you're thinking about but the rak'gol have a habit of irradiating the planets they dwell in for some reason, use basic fission nuclear reactors and have radiation beam weapons

[@DGneoseeker1]

If you mean the rad weapon using imperial troopers that is.

[@connormilam5829]

@@DGneoseeker1 I said race As in xenos

[@jhonnoilcringeincarnato8593]

What's their name?

[@anonymouspersonthefake]

and you're not gonna name them??

[@barbarossarotbart]

Well, one very popular radiation weapon is missing: the graser. It is a variant of the laser but instead of visible light it uses gamma rays. The main energy weapons in the Honor Harrington novels are grasers.

[@spike1269]

Not quite a gamma ray, but still ionizing, the fortresses in LOGH have fleet killing x-ray cannons.

[@joshuahadams]

It’s one of the more convenient upgrades for laser weapons in Fallouts 4 & 76. Interestingly they do _burning_ damage instead of the radiation damage that you’d expect. I’d assume it’s because the laser is at such a high power output it’s doing both the standard “energy” damage and fire damage.

[@NHOrus]

Well, half of background visuals was a shot from GENESIS, a gamma ray cannon...

[@peasant8246]

In order to disable the crew of a spaceship in a reasonable length of time (hours to minutes) using ionizing radiation, one would need to detonate a nuclear bomb in space (even a neutron bomb) so close that the short wave EM radiation energy absorbed by it's hull would likely raise its internal temperature to the levels that a biological crew cannot survive. Because any ship traveling in deep space will have the critical areas, like the bridge, shielded from radiation anyway, reducing the amount that gets in by a factor of at least 100.

[@Bird_Dog00]

I imagine neutron activation would play hell with the enemy's plans to keep using the ship after the battle. Plus it would be quite the psychological factor. I have toyed with the idea of using a casaba howitzer to irradiate a target from afar. And while the interior can be shielded - though how much mass can be devoted to this will depend on the setting - not everything that is important to a ship's opperation can be placed under shielding. A large enough dose might do a number on communication, sensors or even weapon systems.

[@Gravemindefiler]

A irradiated railgun seems like the best and worst of a weapon. Long range and not only piercing potential but radioactive fallout in a confined space such as the inside of a tank, mecha or spaceship to cook the pilot and or crew. Scary stuff tbh how humanity keeps creating kool ways to unalive each other.

[@jhonnoilcringeincarnato8593]

Soo basically a railgun that shoots dirty bombs

[@Gravemindefiler]

@jhonnoilcringeincarnato8593 essentially but with railguns you fire a slug of some type so it merely could be a rod of irradiated isotope or even a low range barrel of toxic waste. Either way the pilots would be done for unless they had defective armor along with high dose radiation insulation.

[@Nexusgamer8472]

I found an error when you were talking about radiations weapons in the two most recent Fallout games, you stated that Radium Rifles were added in Fallout 76 but they were added in Fallout 4's Far Harbor expansion, which released a full 2 years before Fallout 76

[@captainmatthew661]

was about to comment this lol

[@Del_S]

It also exists as a legendary effect at random on any possible weapon in FO4 before FH launched. The Radium Rifle merely has the legendary effect built in. And can result in the rather redundant Irradiated Radium Rifle since 100 rads isn't really much better than 50 against most enemies anyway

[@maxcorrice9499]

Also black isle made the radiation last so long, Bethesda just followed up, idk why people seem to think fallout 3 is set so far after fallout 2

[@Del_S]

@@maxcorrice9499 Yep, FO2 happens a whopping 36 years before 3. That's about half the time between 1 and 2. 76 is the combo breaker by going backwards, Bethesda Fallouts actually leave really short times between events. Even the TV show is what, ten years after 4?

[@Gonzogonzip]

A little sad the "Black Hand" energy weapon from Brigador wasn't mentioned, as it's probably the most flavourful weapon in the game. Most weapons in that game are machine guns, cannons, artillery, and building-melting lasers. Enemy mechs, tanks and hovercraft can quickly overwhelm you, so you need to use the destructible environment to your advantage when maneuvering your chosen vehicle through the recently-civil war-embroiled streets and districts of Solo Nobre. The Black Hand on the other hand, is a short-range weapon with limited ammo that does minimal environmental damage, but will absolutely *cook* an unprotected target. Just going to copy-paste the flavor text from the game's Wiki: The Black Hand is a gamma emitter used almost exclusively by Spacers; fielding the weapon alone is sufficient for war crimes charges, but the few militaries with means to pursue action against the Spacers are also the ones who employ them. Against an unshielded target, single ignitions can inflict 3rd degree burns and a guarantee of cancer at 100 yards, and within 50 you begin to see 4th degree burns and spontaneous contracture. Exposure at 25 yards is a death sentence even when protected behind several inches of armor plating; liquefaction of the dermis and internal organs is common, and even if a target somehow survives exposure at that range they are permanently incapacitated. Given the efficacy of hardshields against gamma emitters, I'm convinced the widespread deployment of this weapon by Spacers serves a more psychological than directly combat related role. The sound of its hissing crackle is enough to panic even seasoned soldiers, and from what I've seen of Spacers in combat, particularly amongst their light mech spears, I suspect this weapon is also used as form of counting coup. Regardless, I have seen the aftermath of its use firsthand. It is a cruel and terrible weapon. -Efi

[@Jawmax]

For Deep Rock Galactic there is the Fat Boy Overclock for the Deepcore 40mm PGL and the Colette Wave Cooker.

[@Internetzspacezshipz]

Ah yes, the fatboy overclock. My favourite way to "accidentally" sterilize my team mates :p

[@Monody512]

The Wave Cooker even has an overclock( or is it an upgrade?) that afflicts targets with the irradiated status effect.

[@GurenPlasma]

Kojima Particle weapons in Armored Core For Answer are my favorite

[@jacobbronsky464]

*Exaggerated gasp* Fool ! The radium rifle was added by Far Harbour, not Fallout 76 ! Also I've been called a nerd in the train the other day. Was that nonsense or were they maybe kind of onto something ?

[@left4deadian]

1:04 is basically a giant gamma ray laser cannon.

[@beskamir5977]

The Sojourn is actually really cool! I'm impatiently waiting for the full release of season 2 before I get it so that I can listen to it in one go, but season 1 was great.

[@emperortethysusdacertified8175]

Supposedly in the HD2 files, there's radiation rounds for ARs that inflict a debuff that has both a DoT and slowing effect.

[@fakezombeyy]

I was having a really terrible day today, I needed this. Thanks, Hooj.

[@griffinmartin6356]

space ship computers are hardened against radiation but they cannot withstand a radiation attack unless specifically designed for it and most certainly could not withstand any prolonged attack. you can see some about it with the NASA clipper mission as it has to survive a large amount of radiation which is about on the tip of what current radiation shielding can survive

[@Evie-or9bn]

I interpreted the radiation effects from Warframe as sensors, optics and especially IFF systems getting temporarily scrambled. That even works for the Infested (messing with the nano-bots)... though it makes no sense for bare-headed enemies, of course.

[@Dragnfly_mynamewastaken]

LOL that cut at 6:44. intentional or not, it's great

[@robinporter8481]

My sci-fi introduces you to mostly physical ship guns, like cannons, and even a railgun, but an enemy is introduced who has an array of laser and radiation weapons. Outside of normal lasers. They have special lasers that take longer to charge that slice ships through. Once a ship has been disabled, they have emitters that completely destroy living cells and bone. The tech is introduced in the first chapter, but to dispose of bodies at funerals.

[@theishiopian68]

One of the driller's sidearms in deep Rock galactic is kind of this. While by default it shoots microwaves, you can tune it to fire all sorts of exotic radiation with all sorts of delightful and not always physically realistic effects!

[@rotteegher39]

In RPG Fantasy setting having someone who can use radiation magic and kill anybody with invisible radiation beams is insanely OP.

[@Ezberron]

Necrotic damage. Or life drain. Both are nasty...

[@josephburchanowski4636]

But it can make quite the interesting environment. As depending on the type of radiation, some magic might be useful against. For instance neutron radiation will penetrate and scatter right through most dense material; but it dumps much of its energy and gets captured when going through material with hydrogen. IE, it will go through a thick metal wall but then stop inside your flesh doing a lot of damage. However, you will be partially shielding the person behind you. However if someone was using water magic, a water shield would be quite effective at blocking the neutron radiation (as well as all other forms of radiation since mass alone is a big factor in shielding from radiation; water is quite a lot of mass). Also Earth magic would have different effectiveness depending on how much hydrate is in it for protection against neutron radiation.

[@rotteegher39]

@@josephburchanowski4636 Valid point, but if your opponent has no idea of this radiation even existing (maybe because of a medieval setting and low technology), because it is invisible, it would have devastating consequences in a long term battle. Just imagine a battle where all the mage is doing is just dodging attack while actually what is happening is he is bombarding his opponent with radiation that would kill him like a poison later on, but invisible and hard to detect.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

I'd imagine that nearly all radiation spells would be AOE or have splash damage due to the nature of radiation. It would be a high risk high reward type of magic

[@josephburchanowski4636]

@@rotteegher39 Probably just depends on whether it is a high magic or low magic setting. If someone uses it enough, other mages will learn about it, even if they just consider it to be a poison energy beam. Should be noted that once understood, radiation is easier to detect than say chemical poisons. It is relatively simple to make something that detects ionization. Whether that be a saturated cloud chamber; or a crude Kearny Fallout Meter.

[@therecklesswarlock6439]

nice seeing the gundam seed at the beginning, and warframe too.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

Adeptus Mechanicus: Where flesh fails the omnissiah's blessed machinery replaces

[@byron2FZ]

God the Gamma Emission by Nuclear Explosion Stimulate Inducing System was such a cool and brutal superweapon. It was really cool to see what it ( and the Cyclops microwave weapon) does to the people in it's trajectory.

[@DmitriVanderbilt]

How could you have overlooked the radiation sterilization scene from the Expanse S1?? 😞 not a deliverate weapon but definitely a unique implementation. Scifi gas chambers.

[@GarfieldofBorg]

Phasers are not the same as lasers, mainly because phasers are significantly more powerful than lasers. Phasers also have a variety of functions that lasers do not have, including disintegrate and overload (which essentially turns handheld phasers into instant grenade like bombs when no other alternative options are available). I also don't think that phasers even fall into the category of particle beam weapons, either. I think that that phasers are more like what you would get if you could harness the power of lightning, itself, into the form of a beam weapon, or a pulse energy projectile gun. After all, the word "phaser" stands for "PHASed Energy Refraction, and lightning is a form of energy.

[@zamfir2005]

I would suggest studying physics and basic chemistry.

[@CptJistuce]

The power of lightning into a beam weapon? I'm pretty sure phasers aren't electron beams.

[@GarfieldofBorg]

@@zamfir2005 What does that have to do with a fictional weapon that no one really knows how it truly works?

[@GarfieldofBorg]

@@CptJistuce I didn't say that they were. I said the power of lightning, I didn't necessarily mean lightning itself. A single lightning bolt can reach temperatures hotter than the Sun.

[@CptJistuce]

@@GarfieldofBorg So you're saying phasers use one point twenty-one jiggawatts of power?

[@rhodes3983]

Also, since beta radiation is emission of electrons through radioactive decay, couldn't you also technically label an electron beam weapon as a beta-ray gun?

[@chrisbingley]

Essentially yes. Though beta radiation comes in both β+ (positron) and β− (electron) forms.

[@jakeaurod]

This sounds like the same issue with X-rays and Gamma Rays, where some define the distinction not by frequency but by source of emission, electron shell vs nucleus.

[@JustABalrog]

You have a truly unique channel here. I love it and all it's sci-fi pop culture references, there's something for everyone here, and even if there isn't you still make excellent, well-educated, and entertaining videos!

[@LuoSon312_G8]

Gundam Seed's microwave weapons are the stuff of nightmares. saturates area with microwave radiation; cooks everything in its path until they pop or explode. then they evolved to Microwave Cannons namely the Genesis and the Momento Mori; firing a focused beam of the same microwave style radiation in a cone to kill large swaths

[@quentinking4351]

Kat was detecting a Beta radiation spike from electrons freed by the glasing beam, which is essentially fusion-drive temperature plasma being shunted out the ship's ventral beam. As that multi-million degree material moved through the air, it created more plasma that was freed of electrons, which were emitted at high enough temperature to be detected as Beta radiation. I think.

[@TheHaighus]

Yeah. Plus glassing produces radiation because the plasma is radioactive. Nuclear fusion does produce radioactive isotopes in the vast majority of known reactions.

[@TotallyDapper]

I think the reason Warframe has radiation causing friendly fire is because it messes with IFF systems. There are multiple Warframes that can mind-control, resurrect, or otherwise turn enemies upon their comrades, so them firing on each other if their IFF gets turned off or scrambled isn’t too far-fetched.

[@sonwig5186]

Correct me if I'm misunderstanding but isn't any electromagentic radiation a radiation weapon? If so I think your assortment of grazers, xasers, lasers and microwave beams are probably more useful in a space battle than like a dirty bomb launcher. But it's a cool idea, especially against organic ships, again realistically 'organic' spacecraft would be as radiation resistant as any other ship but it would work in a story that isn't worrying about it so much. Electron guns are awesome too and they would work a lot better in space.

[@josephburchanowski4636]

You are correct. I presume he means the difference between Ionizing radiation vs non-ionizing radiation. Lasers and microwave beams are non-ionizing radiation. They already have episodes on those I think, so they probably wanted to limited it to the ionizing kind; but they really should have specified that they meant ionizing radiation weapons.

[@mnxs]

Colloqially, "radiation" refers to the inherently dangerous "ionising radiation" - which is really anything from hard UV and up in the electromagnetic spectrum, plus of course particle emissions. And from context, it's clear that what they're talking about is ionising radiation. Interestingly, there actually do exist non-ionising radiation weapons. And I mean things that do tangible damage; not merely things like jammers. The US military (who else) have developed microwave emitters whose frequency is tuned such that their energy is absorbed by the very first few millimeters of biological solid matter... the effect is a very intense and powerful burning sensation, and it's apparently very effective as a crowd-control weapon.

[@HammondOfTexas]

Every time i watch a video with the Sojourn as sponsor i'm literally filled with joy for Daniel and that it took off as it did.

[@potatoheadpokemario1931]

actually the radium riffle was introduced in fallout 4 far harbor

[@jec1ny]

Two of the scariest movies I ever saw were "Threads" and "The Day After." Both are nuke themed and as of this comment, both have been uploaded on KZbin.

[@sirmemealot1839]

The radium rifle was added in fallout 4's Far Harbor DLC before Fallout 76

[@The1stImmortal]

2:33 Is that Defcon? I didn't realize there was a 3D variant!

[@Vinemaple]

The original XCOM secret base was deep beneath a mountain, safe from the effects of most nuclear radiation. Vibin' to that music!

[@johannhawk8471]

helldivers 2 did have radiation as a meta-campaign effect. 1st with the deployment of a nuclear weapon on Tien Kwan so the mech introduction event lasted longer and the lingering radiation on X-45 subsiding. There's of course the mini-nukes and hellbombs. Helldivers 1 had more toxin weapons and even a man-portable mortar that can be upgraded to shoot toxin shells but nothing radioactive besides the stratagem bomb weapons and maaaybe the UXO clearing mission type. -- warning. datamined info beyond this line -- some datamining in helldivers 2 found radiation icons in an icon set of different bullet types which does imply a weapon customization system that lets you use radiation-type bullets.

[@michaelspencer8024]

Not gonna mention the ultra relativistic electron beam? That thing can sterilize planets

[@ImperatorZor]

Radiation is scary. Fire, intense light, lightning, kinetic impacts, we all have some idea about what those are and we can sense them to some degree. Radiation can kill you just as dead in many interesting and horrible ways, but you'll never know what got you just by your primary senses.

[@sonwig5186]

I don't think radiation is scarier than anything else. If you boil it down radiation is scary in two ways: as a poison or as a blast of energy. Poison isn't something we're unfamiliar with, you can tell when someone has radiation sickness like poison and when someone is poisoned or has been afflicted by venom they don't instantly die either. The slow death of radiation sickness is overstated because usually if you die its going to be slow anyway (not saying it's not absolutely horrible but so are any number of things). Then the energy blast side of it isn't really scarier than a laser, it's the same stuff just in a bigger magnitude. Lasers are also invisible in space and all electromagnetic radiation can be picked up by a spaceship so it's hardly more invisible. Even your body can detect it, from what I've heard from people exposed to a lot of radiation is that they did see it with their eyes, and I think you can even feel it with your skin, or at least the energy imparted to your skin.

[@Molikai]

also, two fun versions from fiction: In the Bobiverse, one of the alien races uses big ships to bombard planets with extremely high does of gamma radiation, t okill all life (T obe harvested for food) In The alice Long series by E William Brown, there's a variety of 'spicy' payloads for persona lweapons: This includes californium rounds, which can be shot at such a high velocity that the impact is enough to initiate a tiny nuclear charge.

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

One thing to remember about radiation. Shielding is very effective. For every 2 inches of lead, 4 inches of steel, 11 inches of concrete, or 24 inches of water, you can remove a zero from the radiation getting thru. Interestingly enough Hydrogen is the best shielding material we have. Simply because the Hydrogen atom is about the same size as Alpha and Neutron particles. So a high pressure tank of Hydrogen between you and the radiation source does a lot to stop any getting to you.

[@ashtonmiller-z1n]

also makes nuclear fusion reactors in real life and sci fi far far far less dangrous if you get it runing for a long entough time. this is beascue in nuclear fusion the fuel is also the same stuff that is also if compacted and dense entoguh also works for the best kind of self regernating radation shelding for the reactor core walls from the nuclaer fusion reactor plasma from shooting all teh aplha and neutions from pepering the wall to death if done properly. this is bescue you know hydrogen fuel in a nucaler fusion reactor also bascly is the same stuff the does most of the most if not all of the shelding of the reactor walls in a sustanble chain reaction. this is bescue nuclear fsuion reactor use hydogen as the fuel AND SEHLDING in a very very very hot and dense plasma. so bacly it shelds itself with its own fuel like how a cemcal rocket engine uses the fuel for coolling the roekct nozzle from the heat of teh chemcal reaction. but in a nuclaer thermal fusion rocket the fuel also is used for the shealding of the reactor walls and rocket from all teh aplha and nueutons at the same time. this is why nuclear fusion reactor tech is being resarched bescue if done properly wodulnt need that much shealding if done right in itself bescue it would bacly sheald itself inside out with its own fuel being so dense that little to no radtaion would beable to get past the very hot and dense hydrogen plasma feild powering itself.

[@rfletch62]

Still fondly recall the N waste launching "Goo Gun" from Unreal.

[@jakeaurod]

That gun was all but NSFW.

[@DarthSpock1]

I love the intro/outro theme music selection. Good memories man!

[@Onyx-qd9tl]

I had a short story about a culture descended from asteroid miners, whose deep ore scanning equipment evolved into microwave weaponry. It was pretty insidious since people didn’t know when they were actually under fire, and they had a nasty habit of flooding the battlefield with intense radiation. The wielders wore ceramic armor with metallic mesh underneath, so when fighting each other it basically devolves into a melee over who could crack the other person‘s armor with physical blows first. The faction was nicknamed the Rock Crabs, thanks to their general fighting style and the appearance of the armor, but that radiation tech really couldn’t be overstated. The majority of Battlefield casualties actually occurred over the following few days, since even glancing blows led to intense irradiation for victims.

[@Fantastic_Mr_Fox]

Radiation is already announced for Helldivers 2, but as an ammo modification. Basically less upfront damage but more damage overall due to damage over time. Basically like an incendiary, although I suppose there will be some differences

[@PascalDragon]

Loved the (visual) mention of Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets. I quite enjoyed that mock documentary / Sci-fi movie back when it came out 🥰

[@thedragondemands]

It’s a sick joke that Stone Burners aren’t technically banned.

[@tankj0ck3y]

Synthetik and Synthetik 2 have a small host of radiation weapons that carry small radioactive payloads in their ammunition. Ingame it tends to function as a small splash damage hit that ignores armor, or a lingering aoe that again, ignores armor. They're among the more niche damage types with very few representatives, and there's no enemies that inflict radiation either.

[@Keemperor40K]

Lasers are also radiation weapons, but not many people remember this. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emitted Radiation (L.A.S.E.R), same with the Phaser, but change light to Phase (whatever that means). On the topic of Radiation weapons, SEED has a large number of these in the Genesis, Requiem, Cyclops, Neutron Stampeder and more, out of the Gundam franchises its the one that uses the weapon type the most and probably has the best visual representation of it (though in reality they would all be invisible, except for their effects). The thing about radiation weapons is that it is very difficult to separate them from beam weapons and technically all high energy beam weapons are at their core directed radiation weapons of a type or another.

[@TheSaneHatter]

I’m glad to hear this being talked about again, because when I was a kid (growing up in the 1980s), radiation weapons, like the neutron bomb, which would supposedly kill people without damaging the buildings inside them, were constantly being billed to members of the general public as the inevitable next step, and what warfare would look like in the future. However, since the 1990s, I haven’t heard anything about any of these old ideas, and it’s baffling.

[@bloodraven8020]

hearing music from battle zone 2 in your intro makes me smile.

[@shadpeel7326]

Thank you for this I was trying to look up something similar from my story thank you again

[@Robocopnik]

In a sense, all Mobile Suits in the Universal Century 'Gundam' stories (MSG, Zeta, ZZ, CCA, Unicorn, Victory, etc) would kind of count as this sort of thing, given Minovsky Particles' effect on unshielded electronics. Also, the Last Shooting is always a welcome inclusion!

[@Lohengramm999]

Make an episode dedicated to logh. We want this to happen!

[@TheArtilleryman]

Same! We see it featured a lot on this channel for background footage or examples, but I'd want a ship breakdown at least!

[@mkohlhorst]

Minor correction, The Radium Rifle wasn't introduced in 76. Fallout 4's Far Harbor DLC introduced it.

[@joshuahadams]

Covenant plasma lances are tapping ionized plasma off of the main reactor, before compressing and accelerating it with magnets and gravity fields. The main reactor of most Covenant warships fuse deuterium and tritium in what amounts to an artificial stellar core. It’s basically a lens system for a very hot, very energetic beam of the ionized fusion products of a small star.

[@ilejovcevski79]

Radioactive ammunition, especially bullets, are probably the most lose-lose tool for the user/wielder one can imagine. Let's say the philosophy behind it's use is, you got me, but i got you by proxy as well..... so what? You are still dead, and the radiation in your bullets didn't help you not be dead or get undead. On the other hand, let's you managed to kill the baddy, but after enough use you got dead still, either from radiation burns or terminal cancer. Again, you end up dead. And that's not what guns and bullets are for. The entire idea behind them is make others dead. For everything else you have strategic MAD solutions.

[@phalanx3803]

particle beams have a cool tick to them if used like we do IRL. depending particle used, energy imparted on said particle and the material/s its being used on one can find where the particle stops and dumps a good chunk of its energy this is know as stopping power or the Bragg curve this is how radiation therapy works. just imagine if one where to master this you could target individual people on a ship and remove them like a tumor leaving the ship intact.

[@captainnutzlos3816]

That xcom1 background music 😊

[@HailHydra27]

1:30 is that graphite??

[@mrhotdog468]

No it isn't

[@jasilvacook]

you could add the Particle Projection Canon (PPC) from Mechwarrior lore to plasma radiation weapons. it really screws up electronics and makes people sizzle and pop

[@jackielinde7568]

The Radium guns sound like the Depleted Uranium Shells some tanks fire. Uranium used in these shells is mostly spent and not really fissile, but it still has some radiation being emitted. But the point of that ammo isn't the radiation, but that Uranium is a rather hard metal perfect for piercing armor. In the 1990s there were reports of increased cancer incidents among soldiers exposed to DUP shells. And, as the riffling carved groves into the shells to spin them down the barrel, I'd imagine that the crews firing them were also exposed to the radioactive material being carved off the rounds.

[@MareTranquil]

The radiation of depleted uranium is so low that, if you get exposed to such dust like the tank crews, you would probably die from uranium poisoning (it is a heavy metal, after all) long before the radiation becomes a problem.

[@beingsactual]

Were DU rounds used with rifled guns though? Most tank cannons are smoothbore, firing sub-caliber shells with fin-stabilized submunitions. The US does field some rifled cannons IIRC with their Stryker MGS (or did before they discontinued those), but it's a niche exception to the norm.

[@CptJistuce]

DU penetrators were fired in sabots out of smoothbore cannons. Rifling would have a very hard time engraving onto DU projectile, since the barrel needs to be harder than the projectile.

[@joshuahadams]

With the Fallout radium rifle, it’s a Volksturmgewehr with a bunch of electronics bolted to it, and some of the upgrades includes a coaxial dish on the barrel, similar to the gamma gun, a purely radiation weapon. I’d assume it’s a beam of ionizing radiation in concert with the actual submachine gun firing standard leaden bullets.

[@davidsiepel6774]

>The Radium guns sound like the Depleted Uranium Shells some tanks fire. the most smooth brain understanding of two completely different things

[@dadab22]

There's a fantastic exert from one book if I remember right of skitarii cohorts in a mess hall, and in one corner is a bunch of skitarii vanguards that are just sitting there, not eating anything. Turns out they were part of the radium weapons team, and had absorbed so much passive radiation from their weapons that they had hours to live at best. So they're refusing to eat so that the rest of the cohort has more food.

[@Nogeri]

Nuclear Shape charges are a thing in Ian M Banks and Alastair Reynolds books

[@Internetzspacezshipz]

Iain M Banks mentioned, the Culture series is seriously some top-tier reading.

[@bunter6]

As part of first contact, A Kzin ship tried to cook the crew of the Angel's Pencil with radiation heat inductor and thus started the Man Kzin Wars.

[@martylawson1638]

I always figured that was a giant space version of an induction cook stove.

[@StarScapesOG]

In my sci-fi universe, they use gamma radiation beams for close quarters space combat. Many of the ballistic rounds used by ships have a fusion or fission warhead that is detonated on impact.

[@95DarkFire]

Radiation damage for Helldivers is an amazing idea! We will reach levels of teamkilling nobody thought possible before!

[@scambroselauntrellus3681]

Have you done a video on exotic materials, like adamantine or neutronium? That might be cool.

[@TheVeritas1]

Good idea.

[@oldeskul]

In Rifts RPG, they have weapons that player characters and NPCs can use that use radiation, ion weapons and particle beam weapons. They both work the same way but with slightly different principles, destroying a target by breaking molecules apart. Ion weapons fire a stream of electrons, P-beam guns fire a stream of heavier sub-atomic particles. There is a faction called the New German Republic(NGR) has special uranium rounds that can be used in their high-powered ballistic weapons. U-rounds are especially effective against most supernatural and extra-dimensional enemies as it causes their regenerative abilities to temporarily shut down. Of course Rifts is a mega-damage setting, so if you shoot a normal person who isn't wearing mega-damage capacity armor or breach their armor, you're going to turn them into bologna mist.

[@Wingnut00-zero]

Iraqi Desolator: "Here comes the sun!"

[@SampoPaalanen]

I couldn't find anything but the confusion/friendly fire effect could be explained by the radiation frying the target's brain (or equivalent) which is something real life radiation can do, symptoms being the victim starts behaving erratic which could be represented by the confusion/friendly fire effect (granted at that point the victim is often so far gone they're effectively a "dead person walking" and probably are gonna die soon).

[@Technobabylon]

Battlestar Galactica has a degree of radiation protection by keeping its water supply in the outer hull - water is very good at blocking it, hence why they keep nuclear waste in pools

[@Lordrocky24]

One of my favorite uses of radiation weapons if the one Thrawn uses in the Outbound Flight book. Just a massive neutron payload that instantly kills every living thing on board.

[@spikmaster18]

6:44 what an amazing transition 😂

[@hellsfirefreedomtube6984]

3:53 Fallout 4 added the Radium rifle in the Far Harbor DLC

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

A Particle Beam is effectively an Electron/ION weapon so it's beams should have a colour similar to a Lightning Bolt or Welding Arc... The only time a LASER beam should resemble a Particle Beam is if both are using energy frequencies outside the Visible Spectrum and are powerful enough to literally burn the atoms of the atmosphere as they travel through it causing the air to scintillate/ionize along the beam path creating an effect we can see with the naked eye...that would also be the only time you'd actually be able to hear the beam (if you're fairly close to it) as it travels as the air will make a sizzling sound as the beam burns through it...

[@topaznuggets6767]

4:02 literally listening to this while building my Adeptus Mechanicus army lol

[@mfsoab]

My favorite are clearly the space junkers in that one Andromeda episode, who just shoot projectiles full of the nastiest, most poisonous and radioactive waste at their enemies. What a fun bunch of people to hang around with

[@Jay-ln1co]

In 40k there's also rad grenades and rad missiles, which work like dirty bombs and scatter a target with radioactive particles to make them sick and weaker. Upgrades like rad furnace weaken models in proximity to the model. In general Imperium's rad weapons are used more like chemical weapons to purge areas, rather than to deal heavy damage directly. Tau ion weapons use a radioactive source as ammo and is also deadly to the user.

[@frankpurvis9189]

Fun fact Radiation is responsible for a speed run that will probably never be beat.