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I'd like to make an explanation for scientific phenomenon that has been use in this kind of technology without accidentally suggesting that the technologies in my world are advanced enough for space faring age.

Let's call this weapon "Vacuum-turbulence Particle Accelerator". It works by creating the energy storm that push the atmosphere outward, forming a vacuum cylinder with no air to disperse or weaken any energy particle you want to shoot through it.

This is only to make a nod to the scientific phenomenon that energy weapon have trouble travelling through the atmosphere, making an impression that you'd better spent the energy pushing the atmospheric pressure instead of brute force the energy particle through the air wall. This is also to give a cool weapon for a military force with high tech but crude, cheap, down-to-earth, industrial theme with current day bullets and missiles compared to the cyberpunk/biopunk/biomechanical/low key eldritch theme of their enemy.

I'd like some help in giving an explanation for the vacuum creation technology. What scientific phenomenon can work with this kind of thing?

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  • $\begingroup$ Tricky. You'd have technologies that we have no way to develop, and yet they can't make an ordinary rocket work. Specific answers aside, can you clarify how you see that paradox being solved in any way? Is magic or handwavium or science jumble words good enough? Because technically I don't buy its possible within pure technology. $\endgroup$
    – Stilez
    Jun 6, 2021 at 8:44
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    $\begingroup$ The problem is that a device that makes a vacuum tunnel for the energy weapon to travel through, is already a weapon better than the energy weapon is likely to be. When this void is released, the resultant implosion of air into the hole will be quite violent. A remotely-activateable thunderclap generator is very scary. The void itself is, of course, a perfect anti-infantry weapon. Instant suffocation! $\endgroup$
    – PcMan
    Jun 6, 2021 at 9:27
  • $\begingroup$ @Stilez I'm sorry if I didn't specify something clearly. The "down-to-earth" I described means it's not much more futuristic than our current technology, at least aesthetically. Which is why I follow it up with "current day bullets and missiles". $\endgroup$
    – 67ironwhale
    Jun 7, 2021 at 1:49
  • $\begingroup$ This seems very similar to the affects of a lightning bolt. That is the easiest way to achieve this practically is thermal expansion followed by cooling and collapse. $\endgroup$
    – Gault Drakkor
    Jun 7, 2021 at 17:32

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Particles flitting in and out of space

There is a theory that (virtual) particles can flit in and out of space. This is due to some fluctuations in the quantum field or the like. It creates a particle and an anti-particle, which near instantly collide and destroy each other. This can happen anywhere at any time, so also in atmosphere. The idea of these particles supported by the Casimir experiments. Here they were able to see light in mirrors for some reason not understood by me. The other experiment involved two mirrors extremely close together in a vacuum. Because there would be more particles hitting the outward face of the mirrors, they would move closer together. This was also true. It is the most crude version of this phenomena ever told, but as you want something Sci-Fi it probably matters little.

The mirrors moving suggest that they can excert force. What your gun does is influencing the quantum field, allowing many more (virtual) particles to appear and bounce against the air. This is done so often that a tiny vacuum tunnel forms to allow the laser through. Interestingly this article tells us it can be used to create light. That means you might add some light energy to the beam you're firing, requiring less energy from the laser weapon itself. It could immediately explain why a laser is visible, if you would want that.

The reason it can't be used for space travel or other things is because it isn't perfect. It won't create a perfect vacuum, just near enough that it hardly matters. It doesn't produce a reliable, equal force on any direction and cannot really be controlled.

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