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We got a lil off topic in another thread, and the subject of Plasma weapons came up. Agusta suggested he'd answer my query here. So here goes.

 How is it possible (or at the very least, explained fluffwise) that Plasma can be used as a weapon. it is an extremely diffuse form of matter. It would be trying to blow superhot dandelion puffs at an enemy (I like that simile). How could it be used at any range greater than as a ccw?

While challenging something like this, you have to take into account the presence of demons and wizardy. And don't forget 7-foot superhumans.

That's Why I have the (explained fluffwise) in parenthesis above.

Simply a combination of magnetism and velocity. Sure, plasma diffuses rapidly, but if projected at near-light speeds it won't diffuse much. Of course the mass of the plasma is such that the incredible velocity doesn't do much. Combine all that with a little faith in the Machine Spirit (or the Bonesingers, or the Fio engineer who designed it) and you've got an operational plasma weapon.

A lot of the weapon fluff talks about containment fields. Perhaps this is how Plasma weapons might work. They form a "containment tunnel" and then release Plasma into it. It travels down the tunnel, and arrives at the badguy.

If the containment field fails in some way, the weapon Gets Hot.

Alternatively, the Plasma might be contained in some sort of capsule, which breaks upon impact, releasing the Plasma.

But of course, the question then arises.

If you have the ability/energy required to project a sufficiently strong magnetic contaiment field to channel plasma at battlefield ranges, why bother with "blowing hot dandelion puffs" at all? Toss a metal slug or HE shell into the field and you get so much more bang for your buck.

It doesn't have to be a magnetic field. In fact, (if we're getting technical here) it would very likely -not- be, since magnetic containment is incredibly easy to disrupt (toss a few magnets at that scary Space Marine and watch him fry himself as the field warps).

The Imperium makes regular use of a variety of fantastical energy fields (off the top of my head, the Geller fields that shield objects travelling in Warp space, the combat Void Shields of Titans and warships, Rosarius/Iron Halo/Refractor Field shields, and the disruption fields of power weapons; I'm probably missing a few too). It's likely that the "containment fields" of plasma weapons are some similar type of field with no modern equivalent that is cheap/effecient and (more or less) reliable enough for combat usage, but that doesn't lend itself to propelling projectiles.

The capsule explanation seems to make the most "real-world" sense at this point. The simplest explanations usually turn out to be the best.

Now I'm off to convert some Plasma-balloon launchers....

Plasma Weapons:

Plasma:

-a uniform Ionized gas.

In an ordinary gas phase, the electrons are tightly bound to the atomic nuclei. In contrast, in the plasma phase the atoms are dissociated, i.e. the electrons are separated from the atomic nuclei. This dissociation, or ionization, occurs abruptly upon raising the temperature and lowering the pressure, and thus displays the hallmarks of a phase transition.

It is commonly stated that plasmas are the "fourth state of matter", but the above discussion shows that this statement is false. There are tremendous varietys of phases, or "states of matter", depending on what physical properties exist for temperature and pressure.

Plasmatics:

Plasmatics is the science of creating, maintaining and manipulating plasma state materials.  It was weaponized in the early developement of plasma reactors and early thermal induction plasmatic maintianer drives.  It's developement cobenefited from simultaneous developements in the field of gravometrics, (reference: Gravometrics). 

Creation:

Plasma can exist at various temperatures and conditions based on the material being ionized and the surrounding influences.  Weaponized plasma is a superheated ionic gas.  It begins by heating a gas to an incredible temperature and then beeming high energy electrons into the core.  This process accelerates the energy level of the matter, eventually causing it to attain the uniform ionized state. The injected electrons also produce the plasma, the increase in the plasma density is due in part to the increase of the plasma production, since the emission electrons are being partially contained by the multipole structure. However, the dominating effect is the increase of the ion lifetime due to the electrostatic containment.

Containment:

Due to the incredible temperature reached by the superheated plasma, containment poses a unique challenege as the plasma temperature exceeds the metling point of any known manmade material (reference: Wraithbone).  Therefore an ionized plasma has to be stored in a containment field.  The field is created by symetrically spaced charged field generators the combined geometry of which produces the containment field.  Various geometries can be utilized, the sphere being the most common, occasionally the field generators will be present in a helical formation giving rise to an oblong chamber, which simplifies the plasma discharge process.  The healical pattern and the oblong plasma chamber gave rise to the concept of a plasma coil for conatinment, portions of which can actually be seen in many Imperial plasma weapons and their derrivatives.  The containment field is also known as a plasma bottle.  

Discharge:

Weaponization of plasma culminates in the discharge.  The plasma bottle is under incredibly intense pressures, equalled only in cosmic scale events.  Amazingly enough, the mechanism for discharge is rather simple.  A rift in the uniformity of the containment field is all that is required.  This rift is incredibly small 2-7nm, and open for a minute amount of time ~10 picoseconds.  A Larger rift or a longer duration could compromise the geometry of the containement field (reference: melt down and plasma bottle failure).  This event disrupts the equilibrium of the charged plasma bottle and causes the incredible pressures inside it to attempt to equalize with their surrounding environment. It produces, for an instant, a catastrophic venting out the temporary failure in the plasma bottle wall.  The vent apears as a bolt and  flash as the superheated material escapes the plasma bottle.  The path of the bolt can be controlled to a greater degree by additional shaping with electro static containment, many plasma weapons have additional chambers, in the virtual barrels, that contain filed generators to produce this effect.  Many of these are characterized by a blunt end nose with semetric holes in the ends. It has the effect on the plasma vent, equivalent to a deluge of water being forced through a funnel; giving rise to the component name, plasma funnel.

Plasma bolts tend to have a color and effect determined by the medium through which they are fired.  Usually they appear as white hot blasts as they burn through the atmosphere, but occasionally trace gasses cause the effect to be blue or green tinted.

Dangers:

Weaponized plasma is incredibly volatile, it can not be contained by any physical material, indeed this property is what makes it ideal, granting it phenominal armor piercing capabilities.  However, maintianing a charged plasma bottle takes incredible amounts of energy.  Over time the electrostatic aparatus that maintains these fields in the plasma coil will heat up, especially with intense usage.  If the plasma contained in the bottle is not dishcarged, and the energy supply for maintianing the fields is depleted the results are explosive and catastrophic, destroying the aparatus and often, the operator as well.  Larger plasma weapons have been constructed to mimimize this risk and de-ionize the plasma bottle and dissipate the energy within, but the usuall method of dissipating the plasma is discharge, especially for man size style weaponry.  Such plasma weaponry is often on a scale too large to be easily carried by one or more men and is instead vehicle based (often naval) or incorporated into powered armor, (reference: powered armor and naval ordinance).  Occasionally, for larger man portable weapon systems, coolant is supplied to the plasma coil in addition to the energies it requires.  This is not to cool the plasma in the event of a plasma bottle failure, for coolant powerful enough to do so does not exist, but instead to maintain the temperature of the plasma coil as it heats up maintaing the plasma bottle.  This allows the weapon to safely maintain a larger charged plasma bottle for a longer period.

Xenos Tech:

Limited examples of Xenotech have been captured by various chapters of the Adeptus Astartes and a few regiments of the Imperial Guard. Sadly to date, none of the superior examples could be duplicated, at least on a level that would allow mass production and re-issue among the forces of the imperium.  These examples however are far superior to Imperial examples; two instances repeatedly occur

Gravometric Linkage and Nanotechnics; Xenos Class Tau

Tau plasma rifles utilize their concepts of Gravometrics to construct a spontaneous plasma bottle and charged plasma field.  They do not "power on" a plasma coil and maintain a plasma bottle like their imperial counterparts.  This process is much safer and energy efficient, as the need to maintain the plasma botle, and the energy it requires is removed.  However spontaneous formation of a plasma bottle and an ionized gas munition in the time necesary for discharging under battlefield conditions is still a significant technological obstacle (unachieved in the whole of The Empire to date), and while safer, results in a plasma bolt of somewhat less effectiveness and scale than the imperial weapon, leading most Imperials and scholars to advocate the Imperial design as superior.

Supermaterials: Wraithbone Plasma Funnels; Xenos Class Eldar

Psychokinetic materials and dimensional physics are fields forbidden to the Adepts of The Empire that the Eldar have clearly delved into and perhaps mastered.  No Eldar psychokinetic material can be duplicated or formed by any means in The Empire.  It has however fantastic properties beyond anything convcieved by imperial techs up to an including The Fabricator General and his research cloisters.  Certain combinations of Wraithbone are actually able to maintain a physical plasma bottle and withstand the contact of superheated ionized gas.  They have insulative properties hithertoo unknown.  By utilizing some form of dimensional manipulation The Eldar plasma bottle can actually be contained in a  physical vessel.  Furthermore, Eldar plasma weapons use these properties in the manufacture of their plasma funnels, the one similarity they do bear to imperial weapons is the shape and geometry of the plasma funnel, as nozzles on their weapons.  But due to the incredible properties of Wriathbone they seldom suffer the failure of their plasma bottles and have been able to create an even more intense plamsa based weapon system  than imperial technology to date (reference: star cannon).

RedKnightSpecial:

We got a lil off topic in another thread, and the subject of Plasma weapons came up. Agusta suggested he'd answer my query...

Granted, hope you enjoy!

Augustus, it is perfectly acceptable to describe the function of Xenotech, but to call it superior to that of the Imperium is heresy.  I have taken the liberty of referring your name to a friend of mine who runs a Witch Hunter army.

Of course when the Witchhunters come for him, they will have to face down the power of his Xenos masters... I smell a themed battle coming!

<but to call it superior to that of the Imperium is heresy>

THE OMNISSIAH IS A C'TAN! Ahem. I shall now run screaming from the hordes of mildly peeved tech-adepts, Arbites and Inquisitors.

...to call it superior to that of the Imperium is heresy...

It is truth, the wise abhor it not.

...Witch Hunter army

Very well, be advised, I am an Ordos Xenos Inquisitor. Ha! I have dealt with their ignorant kind before...

"Thought for the day:  The seed of Heresy rests in the minds of reasonable men."
                                                                 -BGB, pg. 173

Fear the power and wisdom of the Ordo Xenos.....*Salutes Augustus*

Oh and thanks for the fluff adding that to my collection and i might cut it a bit to make it real wordly and screw with some m8s minds but thanks

Very, very nice. I can't find much in the way of flaws. Could you hop on over to the powerfist conversation?

yeah but still i woouldnt like to be wielding that kind of thing even if it was blessed by the omnissiah himself

Nevermind, I'm blind.

In the real world I've only seen experiment using plasma as a propellant for a standard projectile, not as the projectile itself.

I know it's not true, but i like to consider plasma weapons as being like mini-nuke launchers.

Two words: PLASMA FLAMETHROWER.

I would love to use that weapon.

I like to think of them like lightening guns. Basically the gun uses 'photonic hydrogen' or ionized hydrogen to create a build up of negative charge which then earths itself on whatever the gun is aimed at, with a similar effect to being hit by lightning. The plasma part refers to the 'lightening bolt' or ionization of gas in between the gun and the target, the temperature of which exceeds that of the sun's corona.

Oh why would you ask this, why oh why.....

Why people might want to talk about how things work in a fictional universe: http://nitessine.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/argumentum-ad-fireballum/

Threadromancy.

Feth, a 6 year-old thread?

Yeah, it's old, but it's a background thread. These don't go stale nearly as quickly.

I'm leaving it open for now.

Yeah i love this one as it has tons of sciency stuff it's awesome