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Wardragoon wrote:Lascannon, big boom with recharge

Cool thing about the lascannon is you could probably reverse engineer one with today's technology (we are quite close to a real one now, most of the problem is based on size and efficiency), so you would quickly have a bunch of them, and a whole lot of other major advances. Actually you could do this with a lasgun too.

yippee blinky flashlights

Most definitely a Thunder Hammer. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail...

A meltagun would be pretty neat too - nothing like an oversized hairdryer that melts holes in walls.

Mekis wrote:well it's a tough choice between something really large or something powerful- but because of my desire to utterly obliterate large creatures in hand to hand combat I'd have to say the good old power fist


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black templar wrote:vindicare assassin simple

the Exitus rifle or the Exitus Pistol?

Just a good old vindicare assassin a living weapon can sit there for days then they always get their target. Flawless

On the recoil issue: Remember Newton's 3rd law, and conservation of momentum. If you are firing a projectile, there will be recoil. There's no way around this, without re-writing physics from scratch. Even a lasrifile, if it fires a laser, will have recoil. The recoil momentum will be equal to the energy of the projected photon divided by c.

On the main topic:
I have no real need for a weapon. I've never found myself fighting hostile daemons, or even boring old humans. So, it's offensive firepower means nothing to me. All that matters is either it's non-weapon uses, or how advanced it is technologically speaking, so that I can sell it.

So, I'd either vote for a Vyper (if that counts as a weapon), or a D-cannon, to unlock warp travel.

Grakmar wrote:Even a lasrifile, if it fires a laser, will have recoil. The recoil momentum will be equal to the energy of the projected photon divided by c.

Some books explained lasgun recoil by the air in front of and within the barrel rapidly expanding due to heat as the weapon was fired, in turn giving the gun a slight push back. In combination with the usual suspension of disbelief, this explanation was enough for me.

OnTopic: I'm on the fence. Lasgun would seem most useful, but I was always a sucker for style over substance. Master-crafted Boltgun or a Blessed Power Sword for me. Too bad I'd need a suit of power armour to properly make use of both.

Lynata wrote:

Grakmar wrote:Even a lasrifile, if it fires a laser, will have recoil. The recoil momentum will be equal to the energy of the projected photon divided by c.

Some books explained lasgun recoil by the air in front of and within the barrel rapidly expanding due to heat as the weapon was fired, in turn giving the gun a slight push back. In combination with the usual suspension of disbelief, this explanation was enough for me.

OnTopic: I'm on the fence. Lasgun would seem most useful, but I was always a sucker for style over substance. Master-crafted Boltgun or a Blessed Power Sword for me. Too bad I'd need a suit of power armour to properly make use of both.

Photons are completely weightless so it won't have recoil in the traditional sense. However, since a small number will fire in the wrong direction (quantum physics) there may be a small, inperceptibly and almost unmeasurable push in all other directions. Also, it would most likely be soundless.
The recoil on the boltgun you want would blow your arm off!

Old school graviton gun. Daw, widdle heretic stucked and can't get up when big bad Wulfe mockses him! Poor widdle heretic dunno walkies no more!

That or a basic shoota. If Grog no shoot them, Grog beat with gun!

Guaiwu wrote:

Lynata wrote:

Grakmar wrote:Even a lasrifile, if it fires a laser, will have recoil. The recoil momentum will be equal to the energy of the projected photon divided by c.

Some books explained lasgun recoil by the air in front of and within the barrel rapidly expanding due to heat as the weapon was fired, in turn giving the gun a slight push back. In combination with the usual suspension of disbelief, this explanation was enough for me.

OnTopic: I'm on the fence. Lasgun would seem most useful, but I was always a sucker for style over substance. Master-crafted Boltgun or a Blessed Power Sword for me. Too bad I'd need a suit of power armour to properly make use of both.

Photons are completely weightless so it won't have recoil in the traditional sense. However, since a small number will fire in the wrong direction (quantum physics) there may be a small, inperceptibly and almost unmeasurable push in all other directions. Also, it would most likely be soundless.
The recoil on the boltgun you want would blow your arm off!

Photons do have no mass. But, they move at the speed of light, so the high-school level physics equation p=mv no longer applies.

In it's place, after some relativistic calculations, you'll find that p = h / lambda

h being Planck's constant (6.63*10^-34 Js) and lambda being the wavelength of the photon. If this "laser" really does have the power to blow up people's arms, the wavelength is going to have to be pretty small. My very rough guess is something like 10^-15 m.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

Guaiwu wrote:The recoil on the boltgun you want would blow your arm off!

I doubt that. When the Russians employ a caliber .90 shotgun that fires solid steel slugs capable of destroying an engine block at a distance of 100 meters, I'd say that a gun whose projectiles have their own rocket motor taking over acceleration once the round has left the barrel is much easier to bear. Especially since the weight of a boltgun would further negate the kick (laws of physics - the heavier a gun the more energy you need to move it), and given that future technology has likely made significant advances concerning internal recoil absorption.

It's the weight of the gun I would have trouble with!

The barrel is quite small (diameter of 19mm), but there's so much stuff wrapped around it ...

Grakmar wrote:

Guaiwu wrote:

Lynata wrote:

Grakmar wrote:Even a lasrifile, if it fires a laser, will have recoil. The recoil momentum will be equal to the energy of the projected photon divided by c.

Some books explained lasgun recoil by the air in front of and within the barrel rapidly expanding due to heat as the weapon was fired, in turn giving the gun a slight push back. In combination with the usual suspension of disbelief, this explanation was enough for me.

OnTopic: I'm on the fence. Lasgun would seem most useful, but I was always a sucker for style over substance. Master-crafted Boltgun or a Blessed Power Sword for me. Too bad I'd need a suit of power armour to properly make use of both.

Photons are completely weightless so it won't have recoil in the traditional sense. However, since a small number will fire in the wrong direction (quantum physics) there may be a small, inperceptibly and almost unmeasurable push in all other directions. Also, it would most likely be soundless.
The recoil on the boltgun you want would blow your arm off!

Photons do have no mass. But, they move at the speed of light, so the high-school level physics equation p=mv no longer applies.

In it's place, after some relativistic calculations, you'll find that p = h / lambda

h being Planck's constant (6.63*10^-34 Js) and lambda being the wavelength of the photon. If this "laser" really does have the power to blow up people's arms, the wavelength is going to have to be pretty small. My very rough guess is something like 10^-15 m.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

I was trying not to go all the way there but yes, that is the equation you would use, it can be used to calculate pressures against things like a solar sail etc. But really, a laser is not a mass driver, its a heat transfer system, the real thing that does the damage is the amount of heat driving into a small area at such a fast rate. As I said before it would provide an ever so slight recoil, un-noticeable to any human.
While we are on GW's poor science, while a barrel would probably be needed to create the laser beam it would not be needed to fire it, as barrels are the accuracy producers in convention mass projectiles, lasers do not need this so the idea that the lascannons barrel has to be replaced every 10 shots due to the beam warping it are preposterous, as basically the barrel is the gun it would mean replacing the whole thing.

Guaiwu wrote:[...] so the idea that the lascannons barrel has to be replaced every 10 shots due to the beam warping it are preposterous, as basically the barrel is the gun it would mean replacing the whole thing.

Well, at some point the beam has to be focused. I don't think it's difficult to assume that the further you go to the muzzle, the hotter it gets (in stages, depending on how exactly the beam is created).

Lasers do need cooling: http://www.rinitech.com/applications_lasercooling.asp
A weapon lacking it will suffer material degradation (though it's likely not just the metallic barrel but also any lenses it would contain).

As per the books, hellguns (or Hot-Shot Lasguns as they are called now) have internal cooling, explaining their increased size. For some reason, though, the sniper long-las lacks it. Hence the barrel replacing schpiel.

And what's with the talk about photons - isn't air expansion a much better "excuse"? I mean, it's like the gun would enact a sudden pressure release, almost like a tiny explosion in front of the muzzle, every time it is fired. Not much, but likely noticeable.

Lynata wrote:

Guaiwu wrote:[...] so the idea that the lascannons barrel has to be replaced every 10 shots due to the beam warping it are preposterous, as basically the barrel is the gun it would mean replacing the whole thing.

Well, at some point the beam has to be focused. I don't think it's difficult to assume that the further you go to the muzzle, the hotter it gets (in stages, depending on how exactly the beam is created).

Lasers do need cooling: http://www.rinitech.com/applications_lasercooling.asp
A weapon lacking it will suffer material degradation (though it's likely not just the metallic barrel but also any lenses it would contain).

As per the books, hellguns (or Hot-Shot Lasguns as they are called now) have internal cooling, explaining their increased size. For some reason, though, the sniper long-las lacks it. Hence the barrel replacing schpiel.

And the idea is to use a lens of high purity silicon as this will allow for maximum beam flow through with limited heat build up. What they have in the 41st millennium to do this job who knows. In fact the focusing would need to be much better that modern day lasers that are highly inefficient at only a 10% energy efficiency, some of the waste is light but most is heat.

Lynata wrote:And what's with the talk about photons - isn't air expansion a much better "excuse"? I mean, it's like the gun would enact a sudden pressure release, almost like a tiny explosion in front of the muzzle, every time it is fired. Not much, but likely noticeable.

Yes, air expansion is a better excuse, I suppose it could end up like a lightening bolt, fusing nitrogen and combusting oxygen in its path (better not be on a world with methane atmosphere when firing though), So I guess there may be a pop as it comes out the front of the barrel, however I still doubt there would be noticeable recoil.

I'm gonna go with a demolisher cannon. Sure, I'd have to mount it, but who cares? It would DEMOLISH everyone!

Guaiwu wrote:And the idea is to use a lens of high purity silicon as this will allow for maximum beam flow through with limited heat build up. What they have in the 41st millennium to do this job who knows. In fact the focusing would need to be much better that modern day lasers that are highly inefficient at only a 10% energy efficiency, some of the waste is light but most is heat.

Hmm, yeah - well, sci-fi. I don't mind specifics as long as the basics sound reasonable. The only "silly tech" in 40k I can recall off the top of my helmet are teleporters, but aside from them, for all its silliness, this setting has remarkably believable technology (relatively speaking, given that we're talking science fiction). It's definitively closer to Star Wars than Star Trek, so to say.

Guaiwu wrote:Yes, air expansion is a better excuse, I suppose it could end up like a lightening bolt [...]

Aye, that'd also explain the "cracking" sound often described in the canon and some novels. From what I remember, las rounds were even of a bright blue in most depictions (Final Liberation, the FFG RPG, etc) - only DoW showed them in the traditional "sci-fi laser red".

Also, if you've ever watched films of high-energy laser testing, there is a sort of crackling sound when the laser fires.

Anvildude wrote:Also, if you've ever watched films of high-energy laser testing, there is a sort of crackling sound when the laser fires.

I watched one recently but it didn't show the firing it showed the target (a boat over a mile away, it set the motor on fire), it was a proof of concept test. This tech is pretty close (as in within 10 years) to being fitted to ships for defence.

I'm disappointed none of you seem too keen on the melee weapons of 40k beyond the basic power sword...

Mekis wrote:I'm disappointed none of you seem too keen on the melee weapons of 40k beyond the basic power sword...

Lightening claw was my pick, always liked the wolverine type weapon.

vortex grenade launcher

Hey, I was the one waaay back that said Big Choppa. If only because I could actually make and wield one. Heck, retrofit a motorized tree-pruner!

Lifta-droppa.

That never gets old.

Nobody want a vindicare assassin????

Eversor assasin, genocidal one man army

C'tan phase sword.

I scratched you, now DIE!!!

What about the talon of horus? a powerclaw/fist and a bolter of some sort all in one!

I want an EMP cannon, preferably rifle sized, for pesky neighbors and all sorts of solutions to other people with their distracting gizmos.

Twin Bolt Pistols, with chainsword as a melee weapon. I'm just going for an awesomeness factor here

Power fist and Combi-Flamer

Gauss Flayer, that is assuming a human can use it, otherwise does a green tide count as a weapon, I want as many of those loyal to me as possible!