The Terrifying REALITY of Plasma Weapons

[@darkbooger]

The main issue I have with plasma weapons in science fiction is that they are often confused with lasers or particle weapons which are completely different.

[@FrostyShock349]

The beam rifle is a particle beam, the banished shock rifle is theorized to use ionizing beam to conduct the electricity zap we see. We also get the spartan laser

[@darkbooger]

@@FrostyShock349 I know particle and laser-based weaponry exists in Halo, however they are often demonstrated or used incorrectly. Personally I think that lasers would be better as point defense weapons given the short range and the power requirements needed to use them considering that the only damage they do is heat up a small point to eventually cut through material which is more effective against missiles/torpedoes. Although it would probably be smart to augment those lasers with particle or kinetic weapons on the side since the only advantage a laser has over its kinetic and particle counterparts is velocity and it often falls short on damage output against targets with heavy or angled armor.

[@jedispartancoolman]

@@darkbooger lasers are good point defense( they are even being out on fighter planes today) However these are emergent technology. Writers probs couldn't have guessed this type of trch 20 years ago. So we are stuck with manned fighter planes and dumb bombs 100s of years I'm the future

[@cryora]

Plasma are not too different from charge particles. Plasmas are essentially atoms and molecules stripped of their electrons, resulting in separate species of charged particles (electrons and ions). These species can then be fully separated and made independent of their associated ions or electrons, forming ion beams or electron beams. In order to strip atoms of their electrons, you would need either very large electromagnetic fields, or for other atoms or electrons to collide with the atom. It is easier use electromagnetic fields, because those extend all over space, whereas for an atom to collide with another atom is a two-body problem, requiring a high amount of pressure and temperature. Therefore it is not uncommon to have lasers used alongside plasma, either as a way to produce it, accelerate it, or both. Plasma left alone under STP (standard temperature and pressure) conditions on Earth would recombine and become stable atoms and diffuse until the pressure matches atmosphere. Therefore, in order to have a stable plasma projectile travel a certain distance and hit a target, while maintaining its shape, you would need a way to keep the plasma a plasma. One way might be to have an electromagnetic wave copropagating with the plasma (like a laser or microwave or radiowave), but this electromagnetic wave would have to be very intense, and no technology on Earth present day would be able to pack such intensity in a handheld weapon. It might be possible to be done in the lab however. Look up laser wakefield acceleration. Once generated, particle beams still have limited penetrating depth into the atmosphere. Another possibility might be fueling the plasma via a chemical reaction. It would be similar to lighting a flammable projectile on fire and launching it towards the target. The chemical reaction would have to get very hot and last very long, and not be snuffed by air as it travels through it. So it is not without its own technical limitations. Perhaps there might be a combination of electromagnetic waves, chemical reaction, and even nuclear reaction to sustain a plasma projectile, but that is to my knowledge beyond the scope of present day science.

[@darkbooger]

@@cryora When you put it that way particle and plasma weapons aren't all that different, although the explanations about how laser wakefield acceleration works goes over my head. However, as far as I know in the Halo universe they use an electromagnetic field to shape the plasma and to maintain its form so I'm not sure if it's relevant. At least that's what I read in the books.

[@bobbyRC2]

For all its flaws in pretty much everything, the one thing the Halo show gets correct is the way plasma weapons cause parts of the body to dislodge and explode into mist

[@TheBigCabezon]

Such a promising start to a very disappointing experience...

[@brandon_crow1291]

Right?!? The first kills in the show were oddly enough scientifically accurate and brutal as hell.

[@_GenericAmerican]

@@brandon_crow1291 I came to see alien barbarism, not master cheeks!

[@dustinswatsons9150]

Yo the guy that accidentally had his head in in the middle of the beam he did suffer quite a bit

[@rogerc6533]

Funny how we live in a society where even the most emotionally fragile of twitter and reddit dwellers have been utterly desensitized to and even create content featuring hyper violence yet they go into full mental meltdowns when someone contradicts their insane ideologies that even children would be able to call B.S. on.

[@duddude321]

Could modern Earth survive the Covenant? Short answer: No. Long answer: Haha, no.

[@ReklessTW]

One super carrier?

[@bigredwolf6]

No but we can be a pain in the ass.

[@xandorian8242]

@@ReklessTW the 29 km (18 mile) long 152 billion tonne CSO class suppercarrier, the one that has shields that can survive several hundred megatons of nukes and keep fighting, the ship that can singlehandedly glass an entire planet given enough time, the ship with over twelve-hundred pulse lasers that are capable of intercepting missiles at orbital velocities?

[@ReklessTW]

@@xandorian8242 I mean you’re not wrong

[@masquerader101]

We would all get turned to glass

[@kaleb.soneal8011]

I think the constant change of how plasma weaponry works especially in space combat could be attributed to the unsc getting their hands on the tech later in the war

[@clan741]

Or as I like to call it 343 retconning

[@FrostyShock349]

It was an ongoing 30 year war after all, frankly its a miracle humanity held off that long

[@kaleb.soneal8011]

@Elijah Aitaok the fact is humanity leaned that the only difference between our weapons and theirs is that they shot slightly faster hotter rocks then we did. The covenant failed to realize they knew that

[@FrostyShock349]

@@kaleb.soneal8011 Forerunners shoot hard light

[@kaleb.soneal8011]

@@FrostyShock349 much hotter small rocks

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

Space Dock recently did a video on realistic partical weapons, which, as an amateur sci-fi writer myself, I found very useful. Realistic partical weapons are almost scarier than what the Covenant has.

[@TheBigCabezon]

I like to write for fun and I wrote a short Sci Fi book and yah, it's really tough trying to establish a world with coherent rules that wouldn't detract from reading.

[@generaljimmies3429]

If I recall Gundam uses Particle Weapons for their Beam Weapons, which outright DESTROY matter which is why anything hit by it violently explodes.

[@kabuki_kitten7129]

i think in that video it describes particle beams where you accelerate a beam of electrons magnetically if you had multiple emitters of theose you could have a similar effect to the glassing beams

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

@@kabuki_kitten7129 not to mention the ionizing radiation.

[@GenesisAria]

They are scarier for space-space context. For planetary bombardment it would be extremely inefficient, because most of your energy would get diffracted, scattered and burned up by the atmosphere etc. There are ways to cohere a plasma beam over vast distances but the mileage will depend. Resonating a coaxial vortex would help greatly in this endeavour, as you should be able to sustain the containment field further by having the beam itself reinforce it. Managing the bloom for effective range will always be a technological challenge. Spacedock's videos on realism of weapons in space truly are magnificent.

[@EnclaveSOC-102]

I do believe that the first Terminator movie showed the effects of plasma weapons when fired from one of the HK Tank drones, during Reese's nightmares that showed a soldier he was working with get incinerated from the inside out upon being struck by the plasma beam.

[@my9thaccount140]

Terminator definitely has the best interpretation of Plasma Rifles in fiction. Everything from the sound to the effects on target is exactly what I’d expect of a gun firing a piece of starlight.

[@cr90captain89]

@@my9thaccount140 actually? it would make the person's entire body turn into an exploding mess of superheated fluid, as the water within our bodies seek to escape from the heat.

[@my9thaccount140]

@@cr90captain89 I didn’t say otherwise.

[@Chuked]

@@cr90captain89sooo.. the goo gun scene from Thor Ragnarok?

[@granudisimo]

@@cr90captain89 Or it could simply be that instead of merely transferring the heat of the ionization reaction onto the target and causing the water to explode, the plasma is so overheated and highly charged that it transfers the ionization reaction of the projectile itself, turning the targets electrons into ions that knock the electrons next to themselves and so on, the cascade reaction's duration depending on the mass of the target and the power of the projectile, this is reflected by the fact that the soldier in T1 didn't explode into a cloud of blood steam, but into a flash of light, like her body's mass was turned into an electric bolt of itself, only remains being smoking bits and pieces of her armor. Then you have phasers which just turn you into background radiation, probably because nadions exert such brutal levels of weak nuclear force that the target's electrons are converted to relatively massless neutrinos, which is I think why the weapon phases enough mass from the target off relativistic space so as to not kill the person standing right next to the victim, whatever happens for the nuclei to decay without making a nuclear explosion being above my proverbial paygrade, but I think everybody who has been anywhere near a phaser disintegration of anyone or anything, should right away be seeing a doctor with a geiger counter tool in their tricorder.

[@kolinmartz]

Plasma in atmosphere would loose alot of heat instantaneously as soon as the magnetic containment is gone. At most it’s just gonna be a super high tech long range Molotov cocktail when used in atmosphere.

[@FrostyShock349]

I think that's the doctrine of the Covenant, they use wave tactics and overwhelming numbers. Their small arms have the range and velocity of muskets (save for the beam rifle and other ballistic weapons)

[@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272]

Which is still nothing to sniff at

[@senatorstevenarmstrong6703]

Which still burns

[@theminerboy5694]

Which would suck to be hit by.

[@arnowisp6244]

That can still melt metal.

[@Falloutgamer347]

5:23 that little turn the ccs does here is so cool, i love that they included them in this mission

[@soverxigniv8850]

“Bright blue donut of hate”, I love imaging a blue plasma ring speeding at you and having comically angry face on it lol

[@PBST_RAIDZ]

Surprisingly the halo tv show actually had realistic plasma which was shown completely blowing off limbs installation 00 did a video on it

[@FrostyShock349]

Well a broken clock is right twice a day

[@PBST_RAIDZ]

@@FrostyShock349 never heard that expression before but its a good one

[@FrostyShock349]

@@PBST_RAIDZ its a pretty old expression, I'm genuinely surprised you haven't heard it until now

[@icyknightmare4592]

Plasma Rifle vs NATO standard infantryman: Let's assume a Covenant soldier shoots the infantryman center mass with a Type-25 plasma rifle. A modern ballistic plate would stop the plasma bolt. Clothing at and around the impact site will ignite, and rounds carried on a chest rig will start cooking off in their magazines from the extreme heat. The soldier's face, arms, and hands will be seriously burned as the plasma bolt splashes on his armor, loses coherence, and rapidly blooms out to dissipate. Probably not fatal, but he's definitely out of the fight. Plasma strikes on non-protected body parts would immediately ignite any clothing around the impact site, cause extreme burns, flash vaporize bodily fluids, and cause secondary traumatic effects as the target's flesh is ripped apart by micro steam explosions at and under the impact site. He could probably survive one or two hits to extremities with immediate medical care, but that level of damage would be immediately incapacitating.

[@PBST_RAIDZ]

Plasma has been shown to go through mark lV spartan armor in the movie "halo the fall of reach" where it burns a hole through sams suit.

[@BarbecueBaconBurger0]

Not even true lmao. Plasma bolts can rip through concrete barriers like nothing and can rip through spartan armor which is beyond anything we have today. Weapons today would stand no chance against covenant armor or elite shielding lmao. There is no if or what if that, the covenant would wipe all of humanity out on the ground, air anywhere.

[@uwesca6263]

Even if the armor would stop the bolt from getting through it would still heat the plate to an extreme temperatur (probably melting) and this would fry a marine inside his armor. (That why i liled the original CE marine design those thick plates looked usefull against covenant armor)

[@voidtempering8700]

Plasma routinely melts right through Marine armor, even near misses can give a soldier 3rs degree burns.

[@tristanbackup2536]

That's why we see armour like in Halo 3. It's designed to take a hit & replace immediately without sacrificing mobility & risking themselves from heated plates. Unlike the pre-war gear design to handle their own ballistics & colonial firearms we see in Reach.

[@scelonferdi]

For plasma beams relativity is on your side. If you get them close enough to c their own timeframe will be much slower, preventing (quick) expansion.

[@BlueSkyCountry]

The flamethrowers we have now are a basic type of plasma weapon, think about it.

[@floseatyard8063]

@@BlueSkyCountry it basically shoots burning gas to kill enemies but its by incineration and fire is nowhere near hot enough to be considered plasma so not really.

[@dsdy1205]

At that point you basically have a particle beam weapon, where the kinetic energy of the particle cloud matters a lot more than its thermal motion.

[@davidsirmons]

So, Plasma.....the closest thing to it in reality is 'ball lightning'. The lightning-spawned phenomenon has been sighted more in the last few years and posted on YT. 2 chinese physicists theorized it could happen when lightning occurs, by creating a spheroid of 'relativistic' electrons (spherical 'container') which have a strange attribute of containing microwave energy for a few seconds. These microwaves can be incredibly intense, upwards of 10k F. Historical sightings and accounts of ball lightning range from a floating object wandering until it hits something, then exploding and sometimes just burning the hit object, or sometimes shattering it. Other accounts describe an object moving very fast until it diminishes and disappears with a pop. So....if we can reproduce it in a lab one day, we might be able to weaponize it. Close range, huge damage, fast rate of fire.

[@AleksandrPodyachev]

Nikola Tesla was able to make ball lightning

[@prompthorizon_12]

Halo games - marine gets shot by grunt with a plasma pistol, doesn't flinch and proceeds to turn grunt into corpse Halo lore - Marine gets shot by grunt with a plasma pistol, torse gets melted off while armor boils into skin and muscle.

[@JoshAllenberg]

Lore - Spartans are superhuman ninjas, move like Doomguy or Quake Games - MC moves like a geriatric's last adrenaline rush

[@ShaimingLong]

In lore Johnson took a plasma shot and survived. Granted, with a severely painful disorder as a side effect. But, hey, it made him immune to Flood infection!

[@prompthorizon_12]

@@ShaimingLong This story is partly true yes Johnson did survive a plasma bolt but it didn't make him immune to the flood. This was just the story that O.N.I sensors came up with to hide the orian project and the fact that Johnson was a spartan 1. Just look at what he was diagnosed with "Borens Syndrome" it literally has an acronym of B.S

[@spookzie4208]

@@ShaimingLong wasn't it a plasma grenade?

[@ShaimingLong]

@@spookzie4208 It's been so long since I read that book, I honestly can't remember the majority of the details anymore. For quite a while I've had it in my head that it was a plasma pistol, but I would say that with very little confidence. A grenade seems a bit powerful, but it is Johnson, so it's believable!

[@TheBigCabezon]

Hello friends, I apologize for the later release and sounding congested, I fell sick this past week! Santa (read: Amazon) was kind to me, and I did make several audio upgrades. Please let me know what you think!

[@danielsgames8810]

It's not as hard to understand as you make it out to be

[@evanseeley9650]

^

[@jamespaguip5913]

But you forgot to mention the energy sword

[@jamespaguip5913]

@Cabez Hydrogen can become plasma right?

[@eternal7912]

Tbh, I don't think we know whether covenant style plasma weapons are possible or not. They certainly aren't with today's technology, but what about for a civilization 1000+ years ahead of us that makes our scientific knowledge look like stuff you'd teach in elementary school?

[@Wizard_Pepsi]

3:08 This made me think of the discs in Tron. Imagine having the power to turn someone into a red mist contained in a frisbee.

[@waynemacleod3416]

IF the plasma beam had a light megnetizable particle carrier component its plausable the plasma would adhere to it producing a beam. mind you this would make quite the terrifying hybrid weapon. something you might find interesting is there is research into reducing blooming. one such method if phase correcting the laser. I went and looked cuz of your video.😁

[@TheBigCabezon]

I thought of something similar, a small 'bullet' that's magnetic that keeps the plasma coherent, I also didn't mention it in the video, but Project MARAUDER never ended. Eventually it was classified in the mid 90s with no further public releases but no formal project end.

[@nicktitus4374]

This is a magnificent concept! I'm taking notes.

[@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272]

@@TheBigCabezon kinda scary to think about 0.o

[@josesanchezrodriguez1783]

I belive that's how plasma torpedoes work, originally they were pure balls of magentically guided plasma but Warfleet retconned them into having a physical component which was enveloped in plasma siphoned from the ship's fusion reactor

[@tristanbackup2536]

@@josesanchezrodriguez1783 I'm fine with that, it's sound more feasible than just a ball of gas being controlled unknowingly, a physical component to hold the magnetic field while having mechanisms on the component to move around like a proper torpedo would.

[@Betito1171]

I hate that it’s the show that has the “realistic” damage effects Papa Microsoft isn’t letting 343 be violent and I know they wanna get violent

[@uwesca6263]

Well the balance of the game would go downhill if nearly every weapon is an instakill. A round to the guts will fuck up your day a plasma bolt would just end it.

[@Betito1171]

@@uwesca6263 I’m not talking about the actual amount of damage points in game

[@uwesca6263]

@@Betito1171 you mean that normal enemys would explode like the flood or like deadspace?

[@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272]

I hate how by this comment it sounds like your watching that awful show

[@Betito1171]

@@uwesca6263 yes

[@bencowles2105]

the biggest problem with plasma-based weapons is that they only work inside an atmosphere and the dissipate incredibly fast in the vacuum of space. lasers have a lot of problems inside an atmosphere due to the blooming effect you mentioned. In space however lasers are more effective, but the power dissipates at extreme long range. good for opening the hull of a ship like a can opener at five miles but at a thousand miles or three thousand miles they will have difficulty unless they have a truly massive power source. Mass drivers, gauss cannons, and rail guns are very effective both in space and in atmosphere. With a really good targeting system the range of a mass driver, gauss cannon, or rail gun is near infinite once the projectile is moving. It will keep going until it hits something. The biggest problem with those weapons is recoil. used in space thrusters would have to be fired to keep the ship from being pushed out of position depending on mass and the speed of the projectile being fired. missiles would also be a viable weapon in space. Yes, plasma cannons look flashy in the movies but in reality, they are limited and typically do not look like anything you see in games of movies. a missile with a plasma charge could be effective in space because basically your goal is to poke holes in your enemy's ship without having one blown in yours. Sudden depressurization would be the number one way of taking out an enemy ship. That or taking out their fuel source or primary propulsion which could be quite explosive. great video. have a good one

[@peterhacke6317]

Warning, graphic description!: You don't even need to turn people into red steam using plasma/heat based weaponry. You can just turn a small part of them into steam, which will rapidly expand and cause a steam explosion, tearing the rest of them into bloody, half cooked pieces.

[@brokenlightning]

There is something in Mass Effect where Reaper beams were particles that were continuously being heated and accelerated through a"Mass Effect field". The Convenient has access to Forerunner slipspace tech. Maybe they do something similar with a contained tube of a Slipspace field.

[@JackDaniels-ex9mf]

It might be possible but it would work differently from the mass effect fields. Mass effect fields are generated by element zero and essentially allow you to alter the amount of mass in that field. Slipspace is more like an extra dimension. ships inside of slipspace actually have to use their physical engines to accelerate, and there seems to be a level of navigation that is required as well. So maybe if you were able to calculate a firing solution through slipspace that could meet your target then slipspace weaponry could work. There are also the forerunners though, and i believe they had the technological prowess to manipulate slipspace in a manner more similar to what mass effect fields do

[@josesanchezrodriguez1783]

Eric Nylund (author of The Fall of Reach) did once mention in a blog that glassing involved slipsace so there may be a bit of truth in your theory

[@Penultimeat]

I’m pretty sure Mass Effect fields are actually how all gun work in that universe. Even the small arms. It’s how they use batteries, not ammo. They’re just shooting atoms at a significant portion of lightspeed

[@brokenlightning]

@@Penultimeat That is true. I was commenting on how the Reapers specifically use materials in that field to create a beam effect and comparing it to the tech I understood to be in the Halo universe.

[@JackDaniels-ex9mf]

@@Penultimeat yea the guns have a block of metal inside that gets a tiny fragment shaved off and then mass effect go pew

[@bneil4059]

The Romulan’s were pretty good with plasma torpedoes back in the 1960’s. Phasers were used to disrupt the plasma magnetic container to dissipate the warhead strength. On a side note one can create plasma in a microwave oven using two grapes.

[@chornk64]

That's one of the fun things about Science Fiction, the fiction part. This is where the imagination can go wild. It doesn't have to be accurate or realistic. It is after all, Fiction.

[@Petr75661]

The large hadron collider dumps its powerful particle beam into a massive graphite block wedged deeply in the rock. I say they should instead divert the beam into a steerable turret and use it for... experiments.

[@Christianos_Theophile]

A plasma weapon called "Marauder" was developed and tested very successfully in the 80s before quietly disappearing on paper and never being mentioned again.

[@ivanjason1863]

Ah yes the plasma railgun and its also classified

[@riteplaceritetime007]

I find this very interesting as to how Sci fi weapons would work in real world physics and how to defend against them

[@CloneCommander5929]

The halo TV series shows how human flesh reacts to plasma. Safe to say the covenant hate kids.

[@MrHurst-lb1rn]

But kids are more succulent.

[@senatorstevenarmstrong6703]

But kids are used for target practice

[@CloneCommander5929]

@@senatorstevenarmstrong6703 I use kids for target practice.

[@CloneCommander5929]

Human kids

[@senatorstevenarmstrong6703]

@@CloneCommander5929 yes. They are used as practice for the covenant in the show

[@aleksandarrudic3694]

It would be interesting to see a neutron-based directed energy weapon in some sci-fi setting. For example with Covenant - their ships are using fusion as a power source, and the most pronounced (and, in some fusion reactor designs, unwanted) byproduct of the fusion is massive amount of relativistic (near light speed) neutrons - these neutrons could be diverted and used as a source for the weapon. The nasty thing with neutrons is - they are very difficult to stop, they can penetrate very deep through metal, and they have the ability to turn ordinary material into a highly radioactive and very unstable substance, in addition to delivering large amount of kinetic energy (neutron is a massive particle). Creating a focused beam of neutrons is a challenge (neutron reflectors exist, so there is some theoretical feasibility), but once properly focused and concentrated, a beam of neutrons is very difficult to defend against, as it does not interact with electric and magnetic field, and it would easily pass through a few meters of ship's armor plating. It would work extremely good for glassing as well.

[@LennoxParsec]

Did you know Cabezón in spanish literally means "Someone with a big head"?

[@TheBigCabezon]

I did, it's how I got the nickname. I unironically look like an Eastern Island Statue.

[@quarol732]

@@TheBigCabezon 🗿

[@lrballistics]

I imagine that the Covenant have found a way to project a magnetic field in the form of a straw surrounding the plasma. At least for their ship-based energy projectors. Maybe for small arms, they found a way to "pinch off" a magnetic field like its clay or something to encase the plasma?

[@tyrecea_z]

Yeah they did

[@N-MethamphetamineSynthesizer]

a real plasma rifle could work by having an electric arc, accelerating it to high speeds using electrostatic repulsion

[@ObsidionshadowX]

So based on the science, the covenant probably fully glass planets to make them barren, so nobody can use it, a reminder of what happens to those who defy the covenant. At least, that's what makes sense to me. Lol

[@GhassanTheBomb]

One that I’m curious on is UNSC Small arms. Modern firearms enthusiast and I’m wondering on the feasibility of those weapons and real life analogs to them. Love the work you’re doing 😎

[@diabeticmonkey]

As in case less ammo?

[@superman28607]

One thing I think is worth pointing out is plasma bolts will not be huge enough to explode a human with pressure. To prove this, simply put a red hot needle or a small amount of molten steel through a thin layer of water, the entire water won't vaporize. It may cause minor explosion upon contact, creating a relatively large flesh wound, but that's about it. Such a tiny bolt can't create enough pressure to blast bones like a 9mm can blast your arm in half. On top of that, kinetic weapons can either create an entry and exit wound or leave the projectile in you which can be modified (ie depleted uranium bullets) for damage over time. Plasma can't or will struggle to make exit wound due to water cooling down the plasma air and it can't be modified to do other types of damage like bullets. Plasmas are still more dangerous as anti armor because they are not as restricted by kinetic energy as projectiles, as long as the temperature is high enough, it theoretically can melt through infinitely thick armor. Final point, modern humanity can't beat covenant now that is sure, but if we fast forward to 2552 and have humans not all be high on cocaine and invent shitty armaments like the ma5 AR series or the scorpion, it is still winnable.

[@KJ_VFX]

currently my favourite halo youtuber rn, other people like hiddenxperia 🤮 are really annoying

[@mattmc9812]

Check out installation 00

[@Stretchwreckedem469]

I should say that the guy who had a particle accelerator go through his skull had a bunch of medical problems throughout the remainder of his life after the event that severely affected him, so while it might not cause a lot of damage immediately, there will still be many long term effects following exposure.

[@SaiaArt]

Real plasma weaponry technically exists; albeit not in weaponized form. A plasma cutting torn is a miniaturized plasma plume emitter. The Soviets built and tested one back in the late 1970s. I read the debrief on the test myself, although it was long ago. I do not recall what type of generator they employed. There are a few different feed methods. The result, on simulated personnel, was like a flamethrower kicked up. They didn’t explode into mist. Liquids (fluids and fats) vaporized, but stranded tissue (muscle, brain, skin etc) melted like candle wax in a microwave oven. On hardware equipment such as a T-72 it peeled paint, caught exterior lubrication/residues on fire, and made metal surfaces untouchable until they cooled. But no structural damage occurred unless the plasma temperature exceeded 5500 degrees F. So it was noted as an anti-personnel weapon. However due to the set up time, the cost, and technical complexity even in a non combat zone, it was deemed impractical. They did not test it further, nor continue funding.

[@NukeMan1993]

bright blue donut of hate, my favorite description ever

[@MrHurst-lb1rn]

Getting your insides (and outsides) turned to superheated steam is bad for your health

[@maurreese]

Great content and maybe you can find sponsors aligned with your videos that teach science and technology.

[@JunoTheJackalope]

A video based upon a covenant invasion of modern day earth would be cool to see.

[@ecosystemdestroyer3426]

hell yeah, glad to hear you mention the ronald ray gun

[@andrewreynolds912]

Ship based plasma weaponry is possible like plasma torpedoes or torpedos that have a sort of plasma warhead that could melt away hull plating etc, stuff like using plasma beams that are sort of like particle beams but the thing is that they are plasma being accelerated like that of a particle beam against ships (which would work much better than trying to hit or melt the surface of a planet) and the only other weapon for plasma weapons is using plasma weapons that use the shape of a toroidal and could be used for short range Close in weapon systems or point defense turrets would be the thing as far as i know i would likely see them being used but a bolt of plasma for ship to ship weaponry wouldn't work very well unlike that of plasma torpedoes or plasma missiles and plasma beams against ships would be very likely to be used

[@soccergoku24]

So, from my understanding is that the Covenant is 1,000 years ahead of Humanity in technology. Then the Forerunners are over 100,000 years ahead of Humanity and the Covenant. With that said it has never made any kind of sense to have Bullets stronger than Plasma, Hardlight, and Energy weapons. But for some strange reason, the creators of the Halo games keep on making this a reality.

[@beanother1an690]

Balance, they do it to give the player a reason to use human guns.

[@nharlow_4303]

The answer for how to create a plasma beam rather than a projectile or ring is shown clearly at 8:20: a spinning electromagnetic field.

[@BlueSkyCountry]

We have been using plasma weaponry since the Classical period. The Byzantine Greek Fire projectors, both ship mounted and backpack carried, as well as the incendiary arrows used by hit and run raiders, are all plasma weapons. Fire is a form of plasma.

[@suruxstrawde8322]

Yeahhh- unfortunately the way plasma works it can’t be turned into a heavy beam. But you can create a line of it via IR radiation and shoot essentially lightning through it. Now technically, you ~could~ make a plasma torch, which btw (fire is plasma) you could make an arcing plasmafied blade but it’d be a flashy and unnecessary glowing electric sword. Really rail guns and radiation guns would be much more efficient. Especially rail guns- you can shoot a penny through a skyscraper with enough electricity via magnetic accelerators.

[@TheBigCabezon]

The follow on video to this, I actually talk about how the Covenant's glassing beams could realistically be done through the use of nuclear pumped lasers to cause the exact atmospheric bloom you're talking about, then a large bank of capacitors to discharge a ton of energy into the surface. It's all speculation, but I imagine it would be quite devastating.

[@DSlyde]

Really enjoying watching each video improve in quality from the last. Deserves a sneaky comment for the algorithm. Happy new year.

[@TheBigCabezon]

Thanks amigo! You too!

[@jasonwisniewski6880]

"How does Plasma kill" Idk dude, but the idea of being shot in the chest or face with the heat of the sun, probably sounds like it hits harder than than my brother shining a flashlight in my eye at 3AM.

[@danielfleck8065]

"Bleeding edge technology" - Proceeds to state its been in development since the 80s

[@d00mch1ld]

This type of quick thinking is why he is an astronaut.

[@imperialresolution]

Blackholes, Consist of Supercharged Particles Being Ejected.. With Such Powerful Jets, That May Be Considered A Alternative To Plasma Bombing on World-Wide Scale by The Covenant

[@rhorynotmylastname7781]

Idk, I feel like with most thermal based weapons they would be inherently less scary than conventional guns. To burn a hole in someone you need like 1,000 times the energy than you would need to just punch a hole in someone with a gunshot. Like look at the US' own plasma weapon, it does the damage of a 5in naval gun (although realistically it would probably do less) except it needs a building sized assembly. Realistic plasma weapons would probably be things like Casaba-howizters.

[@coopersly38]

You are literally describing the evolution of kinetic based weapons , do you know how big a gun would it take for it back in the early days to archieved the power of a single handgun today ?? a literral rifle or musket if you want to be technical in 1200s is less penetrative and accurate than a 38 caliber revolver , and dont even get me started on the size of attillery to get the same effect as a 1945 howitzer let alone a mordern 105mm ??? It took us 600 years to scale down and improve the concept of putting shit in a tube and make the tube explode and here you are arguing the fesability of energy based weapons because it requires a building to fire one ? A tech that barely 30 years old compare to literral 600 plus years to perfect the simple concept of lighting shit on fire in a tube so shit could kill ??

[@rhorynotmylastname7781]

​@@coopersly38 That's very different; there are fundamental things that make plasma weapons less desirable for destroying things than kinetics. It generally takes more energy to melt / vaporizing something than to punch a hole through it even though it pretty much achieves the same effect. Plasma weapons like the MARAUDER may be good for point defense since the projectiles move at hypersonic speeds and scramble electronics, but the fact of the matter is you get more bang for your buck by slamming something into something at highspeeds than by trying to melt it. Hell you could protect a tank from the MARAUDER by putting water tanks around it due to water's high specific heat. Edit: Moreover, early gunpowder weapons were immediately useful in battlefield contexts like during the hundred year's war which began only 60 years after the earliest mention of gunpowder in Europe.

[@lcsvlone2811]

Subbed my friend keep making these great videos

[@vonherebroadsword3263]

I just found you videos and I love them. Keep up the good work

[@TheBigCabezon]

Thank you! Will do!

[@CallsignYukiMizuki]

A cultured individual in this commumity who is aware about SDI and Proj MARAUDER?! BASED?!

[@tails18boy]

"Thickest, most humid, nice and soupy"

[@Arkie80]

One variety of plasma weapons technically exist and are relatively common. We never want them to be used because it'll spell doomsday. They're called hydrogen bombs and when they detonate they create miniature stars. Hence they're also called plasma bombs.

[@anticarrrot]

For the ship weapons... Think less 'plasma gun' and more 'fusion rocket', with beam containment provided by inertial confinement. AKA: The exhaust is moving at 1/10th C or higher, and it simply doesn't have time to spread out before hitting something a few thousand miles away. The reason our experimental plasma rockets don't work that way? We don't have 'magic' thermal containment systems so we can only get them so hot and power dense. The covenant have force shields, so that's presumably not a problem for them.

[@galacticalliance4801]

I have some insight on the incident where the dude stuck his head into a particle accelerator, his name was anatoly burgoski and the reason he didnt suffer extensive injury from the beam is because the beam was travelling so fast that the high energy protons didnt really have time to slow down and transfer all their kinetic energy into his skull, had they been moving slower they would have absolutely killed him, destroyed his brain with radiation. I do remember in halo 3, the ket pattern CCS class battlecruisers that destroyed voi to prevent the flood from spreading, their beams didnt project perfectly, you could see they had a bit of spread to them as the distance increased, so maybe the covenant have some piece of forerunner tech at their disposal that lets them have adjustable magnetic fields? if they wanna affect a wider area then they lower the strength of the magnetic field so the plasma spreads out and devastates a larger area, and if they want a concentrated beam of high energy plasma for ship to ship combat they could tighten up the spread of the beam, thats how i always assumed that magic was able to work anyway. the other thing could be the energy projectors seem to fire their plasma beams at relativistic speeds, really close to light speed to the point where they can destroy things near instantaneously at huge ranges, so maybe the beams project the plasma so quickly that a magnetic field is only really required to form and accelerate the plasma initially, after that it reaches its target before it has a chance to spread out into the environment, that might not hold up to real science though i couldnt tell you.

[@my9thaccount140]

I have to ask, do we know why this presumably highly intelligent guy decided to put his head into a particle accelerator? That’s so comically irresponsible it’s hilarious. Imagine if he accidentally created a singularity or something like that. The world would end for the most human reasons imaginable. Curiosity and perhaps a bit of a wager set by a fellow researcher.

[@uwesca6263]

@@my9thaccount140 why should a singularity start just because someone stickef his head inside a mashine?

[@my9thaccount140]

@@uwesca6263 I’m not saying it would for sure, I’m just saying that there’s gotta be a large amount of unforeseen negative consequences that could come from interfering with a device that accelerates things to percentages of the speed of light. It’s also just funny to imagine that a potential apocalypse could be caused by two bored technicians making bets.

[@chromicm6686]

@@my9thaccount140 Good things never happen when you give Slavs access to nuclear technology.

[@galacticalliance4801]

@@my9thaccount140 he wasnt irresponsible, the particle accelerator he was working with is known as the U-70, it was having a component malfunction and he went to check on it while it was off, the safety mechanisms preventing the machine from firing failed which lead to the incident, not his fault. also the type of particle accelerator they were working with was a synchrotron, a synchrotron accelerates protons and anti-protons to near light speeds, and then smashes them together. it releases energy in the giga electron volt range when this happens, its nowhere near enough energy to cause a singularity to form though that's for sure. the amount of matter being worked with here is so absurdly tiny I couldn't even really visualize it for you, subatomic particles is about the best i could give you.

[@demolition3612]

The torpedoes being a kinetic load holding the plasma charge actually makes more sense than it just being the plasma itself, the kinetic load could produce the magnetic field needed to contain the plasma in the first place, imagine a torpedo like normal, but with a snake of plasma spinning around it within a magnetic confinement field generated by the torpedoes alien tech. Of course with modern tech we would find it easier to contain it inside the torpedo rather than outside the torpedo. But that defeats the purpose of a plasma torpedo looking like a bolt of plasma.

[@VKEvilution]

Neon gas in a 10mm conductive cylinder propelled down a magnetic field to excite the neon absolutely would deliver a contained plasma reaction downrange and flash-boil softball-sized chunks of flesh on projectile fragmentation. Somewhere around KZbin is a video of a backyard coil gun firing neon-gas glass cylinders. While the shot essentially breaks half the barrel system (a problem with rail guns big and small), the resulting projectile was able to penetrate ¼" steel with a glass cylinder that couldn't possibly have done so through sheer kinetic force.

[@d3th_2_all]

So Wolfenstein is realistic by having the enemies turn into red mist after shooting them with a plasma gun? Interesting

[@coopersly38]

Yes having a literral chunk of a very weak sun thrown at you and hit is comparable to jumping directly into a volcano , and the means to contain plasma and the ability to directed it in a single direction like a bullet has been shown in video testing the concept , they just don't have a big enough battery to make it go more than 10 cm the researchers have noted that if anything was in that test fire path it would have cause it to explode with the yield equivalent to a stick of TNT

[@thorshammer7883]

How would Covenant Plasma compare to Particle Beam weaponry in other Sci Fi like say Gundam or Homeworld?

[@FrostyShock349]

Them covvies do have the beam rifle

[@AnD1262]

the plasma rifles are like paintball guns except the paintballs are a superheated ionized gas... particle beams are speed of light, radioactive pressure washers that have funky physics due to how being close to the speed of light affects time (they also have no real range in atmosphere)

[@coopersly38]

Beam require constant contact to take effect and no ennemy is stupid enough to sit there and let you do that unless we can replicate 1/100000000000000000000 of the energy pulsar give out in just a single beam of energy the most fesable way to go is plasma , that is what is required for weapons in gundam to actually be implemented

[@thorshammer7883]

@@coopersly38 Wouldn't a Beam weapon have targeting systems to keep concentrating fire though?

[@AnD1262]

@@coopersly38 Particle Beam is not laser beam weaponry, a Particle Beam is a weaponised ion engine (which is why in homeworld it's called an ion cannon) or a thick particle accelerator, not a bright light put through mirrors. 5:46 shows what a tiny amount of hyper-accelerated particles instantly do, imagine that but rather than a tiny beam it's 120mm. Gundams way of getting a particle beam is science fiction tho. on another note, one of the reasons why I feel the space battles are garbage is because large ships would have PD lasers strong enough to kill and fast enough to track a Gunda... fighter craft in general otherwise a warship is very likely to become swiss cheese from just being in space for extended amounts of time, we currently have the tech to delete rockets, mortars and UAVs at 7KM in about 4 seconds with lasers

[@kabuki_kitten7129]

6:57 the weapons would be stronger though as a normal nuclear eexplosion in its initial fase is hotter than the sun so it stands to reason a pinch fusion reactor could generate more energy than a dispersed solar flair

[@TheBigCabezon]

Heat, when it comes to these applications, matters less than the transfer rate of energy. The amount of energy generated by the sun is on another scale. So while nukes may be hotter, as could be other weapons, the energy associated with the sun /solar flares exceeds that to a large degree.

[@Unknown-UpTown-Resident]

Another great video! Subscribed my boy 👍

[@TheBigCabezon]

Much appreciated!

[@dev2410]

Fascinating video keep up your great work

[@VS-010]

This s why I think the covenant can definitely survive in wh40k in terms of ground battles. Almost every troop has access to plasma, has religious fervor, and they hate humanity, need I say more?

[@edwhatshisname3562]

With plasma weapons, the amount of destruction would depend on the size of the plasma projectile, only the area that was hit by plasma would explode in the way described, a bolt the size of a tennis ball would not destroy an entire human, for example. Plasma stops being plasma after it drops below a certain temperature which would happen the second it came into contact with a surface that was a lot cooler than its self or after traveling a long enough distance, what you would probably get is a bolt that would explode upon impact with a fleshy target and leave what is essentially a large crater like wound (if we are talking about a body shot), with the inside of the wound being mostly cauterized and the outside rim of the wound being blackened and charred (and I speak from the point of view of a welder who has been burned by drops of molten steel). I agree with the lore in Halo when it says that plasma weapons would kill primarily due to thermal shock, though the explosive aspect of plasma would also likely lend a kinetic aspect to things as well. I think that armor made of metal and or ceramic plates would probably be very effective at dealing with plasma weapons, as both are good at resisting heat.

[@Anandmechanic]

I would like to turn plasma cutter into plasma weapon by creating vortex from it

[@ΒασίληςΒλάχος-τ3κ]

4:49 ah yes, the gamer rays

[@FrostyShock349]

Maybe the plasma bolts are indeed incredibly dense toroidal projectiles

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Idea: blow the plasma like a smoke ring using magnetic repulsion. It would have to be exponentially faster to stay together due to plasma's instability. We'll work out the EMP it'll probably produce later 😁

[@lunamoth8476]

I honestly think you should do a video similar to the flood video with the covenant, I'd love to hear what would unfold if the covenant invaded the real world

[@TheBigCabezon]

I'm actually finishing the audio for that right now, it should come out tomorrow!

[@lunamoth8476]

@@TheBigCabezon nice!!

[@evenglare]

holy shit, you've only been doing this for 2 months? Congrats thats fucking insane! I've been at it for more than a year now and can't crack 200 lmao. Kudos to you

[@thothscorner8025]

Very well explained. You have a new subscriber. I'm wondering if a 105mm round that contained a plasma that would detonate on or just before impact. I also wonder if plasma and its dissapation could be better used as a point defence, essentially a sheild.

[@Darth-Nihilus1]

Plasma is nasty, the games make it like it doesn’t hurt and Star Wars now is starting to make the light saber weak as well. I want an E11D and a Type 51 repeater. Also the lore says halo plasma is 3000 degree C and that’s not even close. Most Star Wars blaster are 50,000 C to 150,000 C so Halo should be close to the same thing.

[@tristanbackup2536]

Blue plasma is around 10,000C Colour gives away how hot it is, red around is around 3000, purple which is mainly used on Covenant ships, easily 20,000+

[@Darth-Nihilus1]

@@tristanbackup2536 that’s still extremely hot 😗

[@chrisevans7368]

Good thing the covenant didn't figure out how to fling astroids at planets, that'd be too easy

[@andrewreynolds912]

I'm very well aware of the United States marauder project or however you spell it they had a donought shaped plasma shot at 3 percent the speed of light and had a tnt equivalent of about 5 pounds which isn't much but still plasma can still have some other side effects besides being able to act like a kinetic projectile just like this vid said it can have devastating thermal effects its crazy how horrifying these weapons could be than what we normally would see with normal gun powder weapons

[@jd4200mhz]

lasers are also not a good choice for weapons, as laser can easyly be deafeated, but another way to use "plasma" is to fase the particle beam

[@TheFirstCurse1]

This was very interesting to learn about. Thank you!

[@joshuaded1052]

Could you make a video about halo mammoth please

[@shadown5757]

As soon as plasma weapons become available: “I buy that for a dollar” 😎🤙

[@bobblesb9766]

I think all plasma weapons inhaler would have been so much cooler if you could not follow the rounds traversal. Just a click burn drop that would have been so much cooler as with other guns as well

[@jaywomer2313]

In the books they say they never had to glass an entire planet to ruin it. Although there is exceptions like meridian where the covenant glassed the entire planets surface. But more often than not they would just glasss large areas by carving religiously significant covenant symbols into the surface or one half or one hemisphere of the plant. It was rarely the entire planet (as per the books)

[@mrdude1516]

You gained one more sub today pal.

[@TheBigCabezon]

Thank you!

[@SaftonYT]

Would a plasma "torpedo" still be viable? i.e. a conventional torpedo with some kind warhead that generates a large-scale plasma effect upon detonation? Though one has to wonder at that point why you wouldn't just use, say, a thermonuclear weapon. Even shaped charge nukes exist, after all.

[@deathangellink]

needler next ?

[@SgtEpicc]

You could have a traditional projectile with a magnetic field within it to keep the plasma wrapped around it but I feel like at that point it would just be way simpler and more energy efficient to just go with a simple projectile type weapon.

[@commandere2475]

Maybe plasma coated projectiles could be used as cheaper anti tank weapons.

[@SgtEpicc]

@@commandere2475 yeah I could see it as anti-armor

[@kmoov90]

It's entirely a science fantasy weapon as in reality there's just no way to contain that amount of plasma without melting it.

[@Bornst3ll3r]

Great video famo

[@shanoncg]

I clicked thinking you were going to do a scientific breakdown on what plasma weapons could be like irl. Lol. Nevermind

[@mattstanford8581]

Let's be honest the fact that the covenant can glass an entire planet to Extinction pretty much says all that needs to be said and how we would survive or do against that

[@shanemitchell477]

I thought they used 2 grape halves in a mini-microwave oven to make plasma in their weapons.

[@jarrod752]

You don't have to tell me that it's _grim_ or _morbid._ You already said it in the title :D

[@shadown5757]

Interesting analysis 😎🤙

[@TheBigCabezon]

Appreciate it!

[@reyzephlyn105]

Where did you get the Plasma Rifle for the thumbnail?

[@TheBigCabezon]

If I recall correctly, it was from Google. I was looking for a high res version and it showed up.

[@reyzephlyn105]

@@TheBigCabezon Ah was just wondering cause the front is joined together instead of gapped

[@DRATERI]

Good vid broski

[@moosiemoose1337]

Cool vid

[@sporovid5856]

The plasma stuff is cool, but not enough sci fi writers understand that all you need most of the time is a projectile that goes really, _really_ fast. If you fire a missile(s) at a planet at a fraction of light-speed, you could raze the entire surface.