Questions tagged [weapons]
For questions about existing weapons or designing new ones.
1,531
questions
4
votes
8
answers
571
views
Why are scout bots only used for reconnaissance?
Why would scout robots be used for recon only, not general combat?
I have a situation in which scout robots akin to mars rovers are used for military applications by forces residing on a foreign ...
- 696
2
votes
2
answers
71
views
Could a torpedo fits through a smaller opening due to length contraction?
I was wondering whether a relativistic torpedo which is a futuristic cannonball measuring 1m in diameter could fit a small circular cracks on the surface of an energy shield with a diameter 10% ...
- 117k
2
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Bullet resistant space armor material
I'm currently developing a world in which humanity has colonized Mars. Armed bandit attacks are common, and military enforcers are necessary to eliminate these threats.
Most combatants use firearms in ...
- 349
13
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Could it be possible to build a Pew Pew Laser?
What I'm talking about is a gun that shoots red laser beams at the speed of light in pulses in an equivalent of semiautomatic fire, delivering electromagnetic damage to an enemy that melts through his ...
- 2,527
4
votes
6
answers
983
views
How would a scaled-up ballista designed to launch 50-foot spears function?
This question is for a story in which society’s most advanced technology is basically identical to that which Europeans possessed in the Middle Ages, particularly around the last 50 years of said time ...
0
votes
3
answers
220
views
Designs for copper-gold-silver armor
In this world, the three metals noted above are the only ones available in meaningful quantities, excluding metals inside live organisms.
Obviously, these metals and most of their alloys are softer ...
- 24.1k
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How much clothing could one cut through with a chainsaw before it stalled, the chain broke, or some other disastrous thing happened? [closed]
The worldbuilding context is that I have a character who is in a terrible urban-fantasy situation, and is led somewhere where there is something he could use to defend himself with. It's unfortunately ...
- 3,326
5
votes
5
answers
298
views
Is it possible to use rail guns or mass drivers as some kind of anti orbital weapon?
I know it is possible to use missiles to shoot down satellites in orbit but what about using rail guns or mass drivers as some sort of anti orbit weapon. I know the idea of a "space gun" ...
- 44.6k
4
votes
2
answers
406
views
Thermal Superconductors vs Pulse Lasers...in atmosphere
Based of a conversation with @Starfish Prime regarding the answers from this question here.
In short, while the question itself had a satisfactory answer with it being that pulse lasers would ...
- 72.9k
6
votes
1
answer
623
views
Moving Arrows to Supersonic Speeds
In a sci-fi world that I am making, an infantry held launcher is one of the many weapons developed to counter increasingly tough armor protection, brought on by the advent of advanced materials and ...
- 72.9k
6
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Thermal Superconductors vs Pulse Lasers
How well can a thermal superconductor protect against pulse lasers?
First off, what is a thermal superconductor? It is a material that has a theoretical infinite thermal conductivity, similar to what ...
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How fast can nanites work
I've watched and read many SF stories which included nanites as a wonder weapon that can do pretty much anything. One such series is the Star Marine series by Ian Douglas.
Those books frequently ...
- 900
0
votes
1
answer
92
views
Underwater Civilisation warfare [closed]
I'm interested in finding out, for a humanoid civilisation that develops underwater (with gills), how would they develop the equivalent of a modern-day assault rifle, with a minimum effective range of ...
- 18.9k
11
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Could a low cost gliding bomb go through modern military defences? [closed]
A warfare that involves nations with a little military budget. One of the two decides to build gliders made out of fibreglass because it is transparent to radio and radar waves. The glider in mounted ...
- 30.1k
19
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Would the "Rods from God" satellite actually create an explosion?
The "rods from God" satellite. Its a satellite that contains these long darts, presumably made of a very heavy material like tungsten, that are dropped into the atmosphere. By the time they ...
3
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Sterilising a planet quickly and realistically [duplicate]
So in a red dwarf system with two planets, both of them develop life, but the inner planet develops advanced life much quicker than the outer one and is equivalent to current human tech, maybe a ...
- 1,922
7
votes
8
answers
525
views
Why are my soldiers weapons so ineffective, or the rarity of one-hit kills
Intruder alert! Intruder alert!
The alarm blares in the control room. The security cameras focus on a group of people who shouldn't
be there, who are carrying ...
4
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Sci-fi soldiers with bulky armor brace their rifles on their chest plates. What do their rifle stocks look like?
The sci-fi soldiers have bulky$^1$ armor that gets in the way of traditionally shouldering a rifle. They brace their rifles on their chest plates instead. Conditions are otherwise similar to modern ...
- 5,188
20
votes
5
answers
12k
views
How well would chains do as a weapon?
I would like some fighter to use chains as weapons, I already have the evident pro and con of the weapon set out, but I need help to see if that weapon would be useful or quickly abandoned, even when ...
- 24.1k
3
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is this sci-fi weapon realistic?
Image Attribution: The "M50/r Assault Rifle" (Cropped) ©2020 by Supercraft888
Lore and information derived from original work ©2020 by Supercraft888
M36 Rifle
Operation: Select-fire, gas-...
- 56.3k
6
votes
5
answers
746
views
How long could a soldier expect to stay effective while wearing "High-Level" HazMat protective equipment?
Assuming a technological level similar to or slightly more advanced than our current one, what is the longest amount of time that a front line, foot slogging soldier could expect to survive and carry ...
- 7,073
1
vote
3
answers
218
views
Would direct matter to energy conversion be hazardous?
A simple question...
In a setting I am working on, I want most advanced civilizations to use a form of Cymatics to facilitate matter to energy conversion.
They have the technological acumen to "...
- 2,271
2
votes
5
answers
291
views
Why is my laser’s effectiveness dependent on the target material?
This is for a moderately hard sci-if (as in, as real as I can get it, minus FTL & humanoid aliens)
Side B has been captured by Side A, in order to get them to fight Side C. But Side B has a plan, ...
- 87.8k
17
votes
12
answers
4k
views
Are there any good alternatives to firearms for 1920s aircrafts?
Short and simple are there any actually effective alternatives to firearms as the main alternative for WW1-1920s era aircraft including biplanes and airships?
Rules:
1: The weapon must be able to be ...
- 701
6
votes
8
answers
3k
views
Feasibility of “invisible” orbital bombs
The fleet is in orbit around the planet. The enemy is in a similar orbit, and they vastly outnumber the allies. The allies have a plan, ‘invisible’ bombs, incapable of being seen will float in orbit ...
- 61
4
votes
9
answers
5k
views
Making Dual Wielding Possible-And Effective
Self-explanatory title, right? No? Dual wielding is a common theme in fiction, but according to research is way too impractical; two weapons get in the way of each other, striking with both blades is ...
CommunityBot
- 1
15
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Grenade that makes you see all black (opposite of flashbangs)
Can flashbangs in real life make you see all black for a few seconds instead of all white?
I'm making a videogame and I want to know if it's possible to have flashbangs that are already available in ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
8
answers
4k
views
How can my weapons kill enemy soldiers but leave civilians/noncombatants unharmed?
In my RPG, an engineer is working on an energy weapon that kills enemy soldiers but leaves civilians and noncombatants untouched.
During the game, he takes the weapon designs and goes on the run, out ...
- 8,902
11
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Not-so-precious metals: tools with only precious metals are available
Imagine a world where only precious metals are available. They are as common and plentiful as iron or aluminum are in our world. Any metal that is not precious does not exist outside of biological ...
- 103
10
votes
21
answers
4k
views
How do my enemy robots' weapons not kill my characters?
I’m working on a story-driven game, and I have an aspect of my game I need to create a lore-based explanation for. In this game humans are battling highly advanced robots. These robots are heavily ...
- 131
5
votes
6
answers
2k
views
How to weaponize ball lightning
Desired Product:
A railgun that allows me to shoot ball lightings at my enemies, like a god from greek myth
At impact, the ball lightning violently explodes (And that wasn't even a direct hit!)
...
- 101
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
I cast spark! Or, Design of preindustrial firearms when people can cast spark
So, in this fantasy preindustrial world almost everyone can cast small spells like spark within a one meter radius from their mouth.
Taking that into account, igniting mechanisms like matchlocks or ...
- 331
13
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Shooting non-lethal projectiles with long strings attached?
How would you modify a one-handed projectile weapon (preferably a crossbow) to make it trail a long, light string?
Technology Level: Similar to the mid 1800's, but without the discovery of gunpowder ...
- 177
5
votes
3
answers
346
views
How to non-lethally capture a sapient gorilla using only what can be found in an average American kitchen? [closed]
I'm writing this story where a good friend of the main character gets kidnapped by a clan of sapient Gorilla-like creatures. In order to find where they are keeping him captive, the MC decides that ...
- 28.6k
4
votes
3
answers
175
views
Ideal weapons and combat gear for prehensile feet
What weapons and combat gear would suit a race of creatures with prehensile hands and feet?
I'm designing a high fantasy warrior who comes from a bipedal race of creatures with prehensile hands and ...
- 161
3
votes
5
answers
567
views
How Would an Anti-Gravity Gun Function
The Question
How would a gun, that uses anti-gravity as propellant, work? Is it even practical?
Background
I have been toying around with the idea of a gun that uses anti-gravity to shoot off heavy,...
- 261
3
votes
2
answers
259
views
Effectiveness of antimatter particle accelerators in space warfare
I came up with this idea for a space-based weapon and I'm wondering how viable it actually is. The weapon is made possible using portals.
The Portals
The portals are a clarketech produced by a portal ...
- 1,922
10
votes
8
answers
5k
views
Plausability of combustion light-gas guns replacing conventional guns in the future?
My scifi settings armory is filling up with many interesting weapons. However, while energy weapons, Gyrojets, Tangler guns and the like outperform slugthrowers in special applications, concentional ...
- 97
3
votes
2
answers
226
views
Stop all mobile phones with EMPs
In this question, I found out that a single EMP is not enough to stop all mobile phones from working. So as a follow-up question: how many EMPs would you need, and how expensive would this be?
To be ...
- 2,559
15
votes
9
answers
4k
views
What would a Medieval-Tech "super-metal" look like?
Edit: I am not looking for a specifically scientifically supportable answer. Rather, I am curious as to what characteristics of weapon metal lead to making them harder, and better at penetrating/...
- 87.8k
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
EMP that causes all mobile phones to stop working
I know that there exist nonnuclear EMP weapons, but these do not influence the entire world. Could someone build a device that creates an EMP that is powerful enough to make all mobile phones on the ...
- 5,052
10
votes
15
answers
4k
views
Unconventional ranged weapon for primitive sci-fantasy race?
This race lives underground in massive caverns/cave network. Hundreds of square miles large per cavern. Large/wide/tall enough that they have their own atmospheric conditions, essentially large ...
- 15.3k
7
votes
3
answers
468
views
Possibility of creating a gun that can permanently paralyze a person?
I'm wondering whether it's possible to create a gun that shoots some kind of shock wave to permanently damage nerve cells and instantly immobilize a hostile target but leave them alive. Would such a ...
- 2,246
4
votes
1
answer
231
views
Can a biological gun be evolved or exist
I had an idea of a flying alien creature on a low gravity planet that would hunt in a unique way.
It would evolve a biological gun on its forehead.
Is such a thing plausible? If not, why?
- 15.6k
15
votes
18
answers
4k
views
What makes my planetary shields more practical on the surface of planets than in space?
First off habitable planets play a major role in this setting. Furthermore this is a setting whose elements somewhat require that the surface of planets are not soft targets.
In particular planets are ...
- 15.5k
3
votes
2
answers
582
views
Physics feasibility of a light-gas driven rifle cartridge? Diagram example included
The idea would be a typical rifle cartridge with a case and propellant but with a gas section placed between the case and propellant and bullet with a soft metal disc that would be driven by the ...
- 36.9k
2
votes
1
answer
130
views
Sonic weapons vs Faeries: Can we survive The Cloud of Blades & Bombs?
The faeries of my world are nightmare fuel.
They 5-7 cm insects that have two legs and four upper grasping limbs. Paired with this, they have the flight characteristics of humming birds, making them ...
- 18.9k
3
votes
5
answers
349
views
Would a weapon made of a piezoelectric material be able to notably shock an opponent?
In my world, people are able to use magic to produce piezoelectric materials of a high strength, making it a viable material for use in weapons and armour. For the purpose of this question you can ...
- 681
2
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Alternate Bullet Propellants [closed]
For my world, I want there to be many types of ammunition due to the world being an apocalyptic-anarchy kinda thing. Mostly land combat, little to no spacecrafts or vehicles. Anyone know any good ones?...
- 7,237
4
votes
5
answers
812
views
What weapon would be used by a civilization living 10 000m underwater?
I am creating a population of human fish that has created a city in an oceanic trench.
There are few things to know about this kind of people and the place where they live:
they are a bit stronger ...
