Questions tagged [weapons]

For questions about existing weapons or designing new ones.

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28 votes
5 answers
9k views

How fast does a pineapple need to fly to kill?

Basically, spud guns use air pressure to shoot spuds. More air pressure, faster spud. How fast would a pineapple gun (ignore making it, say it just works) have to shoot the pineapple to be lethal? ...
Blue Skin and Glowing Red Eyes's user avatar
27 votes
18 answers
9k views

Can spacecraft defend against antimatter weapons? How?

Here is what we know: We have the means to create stable antimatter We can direct it in a beam It can travel nearly as fast as light with ease Antimatter and matter combine in dangerous ways: one ...
Zxyrra's user avatar
  • 20.6k
27 votes
18 answers
9k views

Assassination by means of shooting through wall

In the story I am writing right now, a scene portrays the attempt to kill the main character in his own apartment. After having studied the floor plan, the assassin decides to shoot him from the ...
MedwedianPresident's user avatar
27 votes
5 answers
3k views

Bow types and their pros and cons

What bows are used for different situations and what makes them the best choice? In my story a village is only easily accessible in one direction (Tall mountains around it and a fast river behind) ...
Just a Weeb's user avatar
27 votes
9 answers
6k views

The Anti-Santa: Dealing with the Naughty List

Old Nick is Saint Nicholas' elder brother. He sees his brother's good work at Christmas and wants to help in his own way, and sees a gap in the market (he really can't compete with spreading good). ...
user avatar
27 votes
19 answers
10k views

Projectile weaponization of water

Is it possible to weaponize common tap water in some sort of gun? Imagine a basic water gun. It doesn't do much damage at all. But what if we could fire the water out in controlled spurts, at high ...
Aify's user avatar
  • 19k
26 votes
23 answers
8k views

What would be the next logical step after crossbows?

In this world I'm making, I'm trying to avoid firearms (to keep things like melee weapons more balanced), but also be more industrial. I'm justifying it by the simple idea of 'we never discovered ...
Yun Kirk Ackerman's user avatar
26 votes
18 answers
9k views

A weapon that can instantly kill millions without harming the bodies

I have a world set in the far future, no specific time for vagueness sake, that is completely war-torn by 2 warring factions. This planet is both sides' last stand, so it's all-out, no-limits warfare....
ebhooks21's user avatar
  • 271
26 votes
12 answers
9k views

Is there a way to make a metal sword resistant to lava?

My story involves sword of very high quality; they use lasers to cut, but have a metal reinforcement. The monsters the characters encounter and fight have lava as their 'life liquid'. If someone were ...
Fox-Chan's user avatar
  • 623
26 votes
14 answers
7k views

Justifying the use of directed energy weapons

In my scifi setting I want a broad range of slugthrowers (bullets, smart ammo, grenades,...), exotic weapons (flame/chemthrowers, high tech blades, nano-bots,...), and directed energy weapons (heat ...
TheDyingOfLight's user avatar
26 votes
15 answers
8k views

Justification of the trope that mining tools are tougher than military equipments

It seems to be a recurring idea in science fiction that some industrial tools, especially mining tools, are extremely sturdy and reliable to the point that in certain combat situations where ...
Chaffee's user avatar
  • 1,567
26 votes
10 answers
12k views

Advantages of an electrified sword?

So I want my rabbits to have lightning swords. Well it's not literally a blade of plasma but just a metal sword that has a current flowing through it. What kind of advantages would the weapon bring ...
Skye's user avatar
  • 10.2k
26 votes
16 answers
3k views

Safe destruction of kinetic projectiles

Imagine you have a big honking space gun mounted on your spaceship that launches slugs at a few percents of the speed of light. We'll call that fairly destructive. However if you missed and the slug ...
AmiralPatate's user avatar
  • 8,902
26 votes
9 answers
8k views

A more powerful bow

What methods are there to make more powerful bows, besides simply upscaling it? Just for definition, I will take more powerful to mean that it has more draw strength and longer range. The tech level ...
Feaurie Vladskovitz's user avatar
26 votes
6 answers
10k views

Would it be plausible to ride a rhinoceros into battle?

Another question from Reddit that may fit the format of this site. Elephants used to be used for warfare in the past, and even those are hard to tame. Would it be possible that instead of horses, ...
Z..'s user avatar
  • 5,366
26 votes
9 answers
2k views

Guns vs. Moon Dust

I'm building a sci-fi world in which there are a lot of wars, fought across the galaxy. In order to make this world feel real, I want to design weapons that are well-suited for the environments they'...
DaaaahWhoosh's user avatar
25 votes
24 answers
9k views

Sci-Fi weapon that can kill people through armor, but doesn't damage starship hulls?

I have been trying to come up with some kind of small arm that could be used in a science fiction setting with the following two characteristics: It is designed so that it won't put a hole in a ...
Pasqueflower's user avatar
  • 1,178
25 votes
16 answers
14k views

A steel-cutting sword?

So within my world there exists a faction of monks on a secluded mountain whose scientific and philosophical knowledge outstrips the outside medieval world. And with these monks being famous more for ...
SWAMNE's user avatar
  • 275
25 votes
7 answers
9k views

Chlorine Trifluoride as a Space Weapon?

Pretty self-explanatory. Could a spaceship use a "ClF3 Mortar" to fire copper shells at enemy vessels? At first glance, this seems like a good weapon: it can burn even in space and can set fire to ...
Budhaditya Ghosh's user avatar
25 votes
12 answers
10k views

Why Laser "Guns"? [closed]

We all love laser guns (which are usually plasma weaponry) but why guns? It's not like we need the long barrel for making it more accurate or the stock to control recoil. So why guns and why not ...
Jasper Tesla's user avatar
25 votes
26 answers
5k views

Logical in-universe reason for humans to continue using conventional firearms while other species use exotic weaponry?

In my world, I planned for humanity’s soldiers and civilians to use conventional, chemical-propelled firearms. There are changes of course (ETC ignition became common, more lightweight materials, ...
DT Cooper's user avatar
  • 11.3k
25 votes
14 answers
8k views

Why might plasma weapons have different colors, even when made by the same manufacturer?

So, I plan to write a graphic novel that takes place in the 26th century. By then, humans have stopped using the old slugthrowers and have upgraded to something more.....eloquent. I mean, if you're ...
Jasper R.'s user avatar
  • 603
25 votes
11 answers
6k views

How do I scientifically explain a specific type of wood piercing through armor when not even bullets can?

I've created a monster with three weaknesses: A soft spot in his belly that can be pierced through normally with objects, but the monster is so big and fast that hitting it is extremely hard and ...
Flari's user avatar
  • 391
25 votes
12 answers
13k views

How to safely knock someone out

I'm the new superhero on the block. I've got the classic powerset - super-strength and super-durability. I don't have to worry one bit about your average thug hurting me. On the contrary, I'm really ...
Sora2455's user avatar
  • 559
25 votes
7 answers
8k views

Could a 19.25mm revolver actually exist?

I'm working on writing a story wherein there is a revolver inspired by Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy's samaritan. My question is; can such a gun, as described below, work? Or would it be a bone breaker ...
neo's user avatar
  • 487
25 votes
7 answers
5k views

Building a Syringe Gun

I'm looking to create a syringe gun for um....reasons. Don't worry about the specifics, I'm not looking to assassinate anyone (at least not too much), but I want to be the new Vaccination Vigilante®. ...
Anoplexian's user avatar
  • 4,561
25 votes
10 answers
11k views

Sword with mercury core

The GURPS roleplaying supplement New Sun, based on the Book of the New Sun novels by Gene Wolfe, describes a particular sword as having a hollow channel in its core containing mercury. According to ...
king of panes's user avatar
25 votes
11 answers
5k views

What are the advantages of exposed bridge on spacecraft?

For most sci-fi movies/tv series ship bridge/main control room is exposed (external part of ship). Examples: Star Wars Star Destroyers Stargate Dedalus/Destiny/Atlantis(top of main highest tower) ...
light's user avatar
  • 845
25 votes
9 answers
4k views

How advanced or effective weapons can be created from mostly animal body parts?

I have a race of carnivorous mammals living in a very resource-poor environment. Due to a mixture of lack of resources (no metal, no wood or tough stems, etc) and cultural taboos, they are only ...
ApproachingDarknessFish's user avatar
25 votes
1 answer
1k views

Reformatting Death Stars as powerful telescopes

I think the Hubble telescope is too small to observe the universe. Ditto for James Webb, Keck and other telescopes out there. I decided I need something much bigger. So, I recently got two Death ...
Victor Stafusa - BozoNaCadeia's user avatar
24 votes
10 answers
10k views

What early middle ages weapons would suit an extremely strong child?

I'm worldbuilding low fantasy with technology level of the early middle ages. Very few of the people could tap into psionic power, which makes them faster and stronger than common people. Average ...
Wim's user avatar
  • 251
24 votes
22 answers
12k views

How can medieval knights protect themselves against modern guns?

How do a you make a knight with armour and a sword formidable against a modern-day soldier with gear and a gun? And how can you make a medieval army formidable enough to face a modern day army?
user70451's user avatar
  • 479
24 votes
9 answers
9k views

Arming all untrained people with firearms, which weapon would do?

This is an extention of this question: Using dead bodies for material 4: ammunition The world is suffering from the creatures of fantasy and nightmares which can appear with just a few minutes of ...
Demigan's user avatar
  • 45.3k
24 votes
20 answers
7k views

The new rioters weapon of choice

The nation of Futurestan is a typical overly complex futuristic dystopian utopic society of the 23rd century. Fossil fuels are widely unavailable because only barbarians would think it was a good idea ...
Jake's user avatar
  • 1,998
24 votes
7 answers
10k views

Handling a sword blade (directly) to stab

I'm ESL, hope I can deliver the questions clearly. Consider a regular and sharp longsword. Would it be possible to stab someone by handling it close to the tip or maybe in the middle of the blade? (...
Silva Filho's user avatar
24 votes
8 answers
4k views

Feasibility of Centaur Hussars

Would centaur cavalry be able to hold their own in an early 1800s setting? What kind of advantages and disadvantages would they have over the regular man-on-a-horse cavalry? What kind of niche would ...
Zhehao Chen's user avatar
  • 1,864
24 votes
7 answers
23k views

How durable would a person need to be to survive impact at terminal velocity?

For a fantasy race, or for bio-augmented humans, how durable would they have to be to walk away from a 1000ft free fall unscathed? And how would this logically translate to other forms of durability? ...
Con99's user avatar
  • 351
24 votes
6 answers
5k views

How to create a glowing weapon with pre-20th Century technology?

In my hypothetical world, a bladesmith is challenged to create a sword with supernatural properties by the King, to prove his ability. The swordsmith wishes to present the King with a sword that glows....
Aster's user avatar
  • 343
24 votes
6 answers
6k views

How to build a Blood Gun?

I recently played the game Mary Skelter - Nightmares, in which the protagonist after some time acquires a weapon that is called a Mary Gun - a device that shoots his own blood. I'll change the ...
Secespitus's user avatar
  • 17.7k
24 votes
5 answers
6k views

Advantages/Disadvantages with Large Naval Guns

When it comes to naval guns, bigger isn't always better. The 46cm/18.1" guns on the Yamato-class battleships didn't have much in the way of advantages over the Iowa-class's 40.6/16" guns. Yet the ...
Andon's user avatar
  • 11.5k
23 votes
19 answers
12k views

What is a good reason for every spaceship to carry a weapon on board?

In the near future humanity has started mining on Mars. International (and interplanetary) treaties governing the use of lethal weapons in space dictate that anyone possessing such a weapon must carry ...
user6760's user avatar
  • 47.9k
23 votes
11 answers
5k views

What would cause a culture to keep a distinct weapon for centuries?

Imagine you have the stereotypical mysterious nation across the ocean. Their mercenaries are sometimes contracted into your army. They dress weird, talk with an accent, and have really odd weapons. ...
Mandelbrot's user avatar
  • 1,583
23 votes
8 answers
6k views

How to design an advanced deadman's switch for the "vitality impaired"?

I don't usually use vampires as main characters. They're normally supporting characters for more, and yet less, human immortals, but I've decided to flesh them out a bit. I was thinking about advanced,...
Ash's user avatar
  • 44.8k
23 votes
11 answers
7k views

How long would it take to nuke an alien spaceship in orbit?

Some gigantic, and presumably evil, alien spaceship has taken up residence in LEO. This spacecraft is ominously blocking all satellite communications, and launching smaller flying saucers towards the ...
kingledion's user avatar
  • 85.4k
23 votes
5 answers
4k views

Designing a magic-compatible polearm

The people in my story's universe all have various magical powers, and if they want the effects of these powers to extend to their clothes or equipment, said equipment needs to be designed to a few ...
Simon Price's user avatar
  • 5,151
23 votes
6 answers
6k views

Can I create an unstoppable disease?

Illnesses caused by bacteria can be held at bay by antibiotics, and some viruses can be fought with anti-viral medicine. However, I'd like to create a disease for use as a bioweapon that cannot be ...
HDE 226868's user avatar
  • 101k
22 votes
18 answers
7k views

What would be the quickest way to sterilize a planet from several light-years away?

I'm thinking of a couple main ways, but they seem pretty unreliable for complete sterilization. I'm imaging a pretty reclusive hermit civilization around their solar system. They see intelligent life ...
Aravind Karthigeyan's user avatar
22 votes
17 answers
3k views

Weaponising the Grasp-at-a-Distance spell

Wizards have developed a Grasp-at-a Distance spell. It has numerous uses in everyday life of course but the Emperor (may he live forever) wants it to be deployed as a weapon of war. Spell operation A ...
chasly - supports Monica's user avatar
22 votes
15 answers
11k views

How would sword design change if the aim was to cause as much immediate bleeding as possible?

Supposedly there is a school of magic that allows telekinetic manipulation of blood (and only blood). Your telekinetic powers can not penetrate solids and other liquids (including human skin) so you ...
MadCake - Reinstate Monica's user avatar
22 votes
18 answers
4k views

Quick destruction of a helium filled airship?

I am writing a steampunk novel and am working on a scene where an enemy quickly overwhelms and destroys a US airship. The enemy has flying gyro sleds and a large airship of their own that is armed ...
Rescue Model 7's user avatar

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