Invent that Gas!

[pchwang]

After stretching my creative brain cells...

During the 21st Century, directed-energy weapons, such as particle weapons or plasma weapons, were considered infeasible because of the natural dissipation of energy once the "projectile" left the weapon. Depictions of globs or lances of pure energy hurtling at targets in Science Fiction films were considered impossible. Experimental weapons made during the time could produce an "spray" of energy directly in front of the weapon, as a projectile was incapable of forming.

Around a decade before the devastating wars between the Coalition and Alliance began, scientists working on a more powerful laser for non-contact surgery accidentally stumbled upon a way to concentrate the beam for greater power. This method, then known as Luftwaffle-Baozi Gas Ionization, provided a beam too powerful for medicine, and preliminary research was soon taken over by military interests. Ironically, something developed to save lives would change the face of warfare completely.

Luftwaffle-Baozi Gas Ionization involved feeding two streams of the desired material through two highly concentrated cylinders lined with Gauss Coils filled with very electronegative gas or very electropositive gas, respectively. The particles in the electronegative gas cylinder would lose electrons, while those in the electropostive gas cylinder would gain electrons. These particles would then be passed through filter plate at the end of each cylinder possessing the opposite charge to the now ionized gases.

In the next chamber, the the positively and negatively charged particles are mixed together, and near-instantaneously propelled via Gauss coils out of the weapon towards their intended target. The particles, in a sizeable "lump," stayed together cohesively because of the attraction between the ionized particles. Eventually, however, the particles would begin to become eletricly neutral, and the projectile would begin to spread, thus making range on these weapons very limited.

Direct-Energy weapons produced via the Luftwaffle-Baozi method had limitations, however. The most obvious was that the weapons would only be effective in some form of vacuum, as the ionized cloud of particles would dissipate far faster in a medium like air - an effect known as blooming.

Fortunately for mankind, Luftwaffle-Baozi Gas Ionization was not used to produce weapons until the last few years of the Alliance-Coalition War. The reason for this was simple: While it was easy to find an electronegative element to form the gas in the first cylinder, Fluorine gas, it was exceedingly difficult to find an equally electropositive element that could be converted to a gas. Francium was extraordinarily rare and highly radioactive. Caesium had a boiling point of 944 Kelvin, or 1240 degrees Fahrenheit.

In addition, there was no alternative besides running the particles through a electropositive gas, as liquids and solids would be unable to provide the maximum surface area needed to charge an equal number of particles compared to those being charged in the electronegative cylinder.

The Gas the GMG should extract should be the electropositive gas opposite of the Fluorine in the other cylinder.

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[7:42:05 PM][6:51:36 PM] Igor (Smokey): btw terry
[6:51:48 PM] Terrance Cooper: Ye?
[6:52:00 PM] Igor (Smokey): nothin
[6:52:03 PM] Igor (Smokey): just sayin btw
[6:52:05 PM] Terrance Cooper: <_<

Johnny_Haas: you shot anti criuse speed rockets!!!
Johnny_Haas: but why????
Johnny_Haas: ??
Johnny_Haas: why you shoot criuse speed rockets?