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Subject: Air shooting weapons
Miles    9/1/2007 12:02:07 AM
In my story, Beast Planet, my aliens use weapons, which shoots deadly blasts of air, which can cut things in half. There are two types weapons. One shoots a ring of air, which cuts through stuff. The second shoots a ball of air, which crash stuff or blow it away, depending how big the target is. So what do you think?
 
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flamingknives       9/1/2007 6:33:37 AM
How do you keep the air blasts together?

To have an effect using air, you need high pressure and velocity, but since gas expands to fill all available space, as soon as you let it out of containment (such as the 'barrel' of your weapons) it will expand in all directions, which would dissapate the effects very quickly for any type of man-portable weapon. Plus, if you are able to smash things out of the way, like a cannonball, newtonian physics  requires that you exert the same force on the firer.  
 
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Treadgar       9/1/2007 8:28:07 AM
What flamingknives said.

Treadgar
 
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Miles       9/2/2007 2:09:14 AM
They are just alien weapons.  I don't have to explain how they work in my story, right?
 
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flamingknives       9/2/2007 5:42:28 AM
Why not?

If you are writing science fiction, it is usually good form to use scientifically plausible technology. Perhaps if the aliens are so advanced that their technology is akin to magic, then you can explain it away with force-fields or gravitic manipulation. Calling them air blasts is going to spoil the immersion.

If you don't care whether it is feasible or not, why ask about them on this forum?
 
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buzzard       9/4/2007 2:49:57 PM

They are just alien weapons.  I don't have to explain how they work in my story, right?


It depends on your target audience and whether you are writing science fiction or science fantasy. You appear to be approaching the latter. Personally, I prefer the former.

buzzard
 
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ker       9/24/2007 1:43:05 PM

How do you keep the air blasts together?

To have an effect using air, you need high pressure and velocity, but since gas expands to fill all available space, as soon as you let it out of containment (such as the 'barrel' of your weapons) it will expand in all directions, which would dissapate the effects very quickly for any type of man-portable weapon. Plus, if you are able to smash things out of the way, like a cannonball, newtonian physics  requires that you exert the same force on the firer.  

you could do something with vortexes.  You could combine Fuel Air Exposives.  Gun which is the size of a small TV but not as heavy fires one vortex of air mixed with one orther gas.  Then it fires another vortex of air mixed with another gas.  The second vortex is moving fastor and when they colide the two other gases mix and ignigt each other.  They both are hydro carbon type gases(vapors). 
I like sound weapons better my self.  Sonicscrewdrivers as baonets.
 
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