Scorcher weapon. Energy and plasma weapons

Other names: plasma gun, plasma gun, plasma, plasma gun, plasma blaster.

If we talk about domestic developments in the field of plasma weapons, then all of them were completely directed towards the development of air defense and space defense systems. In particular, in projects proposed by the Soviet, and then Russian designers, it was supposed to destroy missiles and aircraft with the help of large plasmoids, aimed at the target with the help of a control laser beam. The enemy aircraft fell into the plasma cocoon, lost contact with the air, and, consequently, lost all the aerodynamic properties inherent in its design. As a result, the missiles had to go off a given trajectory, and the planes would fall into an uncontrolled tailspin. According to engineers, all this inevitably led to extreme loads, as a result of which rocket and aircraft equipment was destroyed.

American developers of plasma weapons took a completely different path. They focused their attention on the impact on the Earth's ionosphere, which, as you know, also consists of plasma. Perhaps, at first, the Yankees planned to create some kind of plasma shield that could cover America, thereby protecting it from a missile attack, but as a result of experiments, it turned out that the prospects for the program are much more promising. This is how the HAARP program was born, which is nothing more than an effective climate weapon. At the moment, the Americans have already launched three installations. These are facilities in Alaska (the military base of Gakhon, located 400 km from Anchorage), in Norway (the town of Tromso) and in Greenland. All these machines are safely ruining our planet, but their owners try not to notice it. Naturally, after all, the possession of such weapons is the right path to world domination.

Another example of a real-life plasma weapon is the railgun. As I already noted in the article on this combat system, the installation allows you to throw out plasma clots with a truly fantastic speed of 50 km / s. However, railgun designers consider this property only as a side effect and focus on overclocking traditional ammunition.
Having not found any serious materials related to the development of a full-fledged combat plasma launcher, it remains for me to state that such projects do not currently exist. Most likely, the game is not worth the candle. This becomes clear as soon as you start to study the issue in more detail and focus on the problems of the combat plasma system.

Disadvantages of a plasma gun:
1. Short sighting range. The plasma clot, which maintains its integrity due to its own electromagnetic field, is subject to many external influences, and therefore is not stable on the flight path. In addition, it should be taken into account here that due to the huge energy losses, the lifetime of the plasmoid itself is also very short.
2. Low penetration. This lack of weapons is due to the very low density of the plasmoid. As for the many thousandth temperature to which the plasma is heated, then, given its very brief effect on the target, the energy may not be enough to melt modern composite armor. Moreover, it is not enough to destroy various kinds of fortifications.
3. High energy consumption of weapons. The energy in the plasma gun is spent on the creation of the plasma itself, its retention and further acceleration. Naturally, these are gigantic costs that modern power sources are simply not able to provide. And nuclear batteries, so beloved by the creators of many computer games, have not yet been invented, alas.
4. The complexity and explosiveness of the design. One of the main characteristics of the weapon is its rate of fire. In order to ensure a high rate of fire of the plasma launcher, it is necessary to develop a mechanism in which a pulsating accelerating EM field from a steadily burning "plasma wick" will rip off and send individual bunches into the barrel. Of course, to implement this project in a compact small arms will be incredibly difficult. In addition, the slightest malfunction in the operation of a delicate mechanism can lead not only to a failure of the system, but also to its explosion.

From all of the above, a completely logical and obvious conclusion follows: the efforts and costs required to create a combat plasma launcher will be huge, but the resulting weapon may, in terms of efficiency, be no higher than a conventional firearm. So, most likely, the plasma gun will remain a spectacular special effect from the movie "Predator" and the fantastic shooters "Doom". True, there is a possibility that hand-held plasma weapons may take a completely different path of development. According to what exactly I tried to present in my novel "Marauders". There, some of my heroes have to wield the Hunter-3 heavy assault plasma gun. This weapon works on the principle of a plasma cord and allows you to incinerate everything and everyone at short and medium distances. Another attempt to use weapon plasma was made by me in the cycle "Battle in the Dark". There for firing from the ordinary firearms French legionnaires use new plasma cartridges. After being fired with such cartridges, the bullets are dressed in plasma shirts. Plasma practically reduces the resistance of the atmosphere to zero, increases the energy capacity of the ammunition. From this follows both the increased speed of the bullet, and its remarkable destructive power.

Oleg Shovkunenko

Reviews and comments:

Leo 02.08.14
Cool article, I read it with interest, thanks. Only there is a question, that cord that you mentioned at the end of the article, is it like a permanent beam? Theoretically, this can be created, a continuous plasma beam?

Oleg Shovkunenko
Leo, for example, an electric arc - this is a kind of the same plasma cord that I spoke about. And what you can do with this thing, more than a hundred years ago, Nikola Tesla clearly showed.

Alexander 06/20/15
Hello. In addition to electric arcs, in terms of plasma cords, it is worth mentioning such a simple and traditional thing as a flamethrower (fire pouring from which is also plasma) and the transmission of electricity through an ionized / plasma channel. But I would like to talk about plasma cartridges separately. At one time, one of the criteria for switching from an intermediate cartridge of 7.62 to 5.45 was excessive hit force: where the old cartridge simply pierced a person through and through, the new one tied / flattened, transferring more energy to a larger area and causing noticeably more damage and shock impact. The increased speed of the shot does not mean greater destructive power, rather, on the contrary, even if it increases the armor-piercing of the projectile. But it will be possible to shoot down low-flying aircraft from Kalash, yes. If I'm wrong somewhere, please correct me. Thanks for the great article.

Oleg Shovkunenko
Alexander, you are right that plasma, as a damaging factor, is present in many types of weapons: a flamethrower is a plasma, HEAT projectile- plasma, thermobaric charge - also plasma.
Now for the ammo. The transition from the “seven” to the “five” did not occur at all due to the excess strength of the cartridge. The main reason that won the hearts of all generals was the reduction in the weight of ammunition. Consequently, a soldier can carry more of them, therefore, he is able to fight longer. There are no other outstanding advantages of the "five" over the "seven", therefore, soldiers in military conflict zones always strive to get weapons with a large caliber (read the reviews for my article AKS-74u, it was just about this conversation).
As for the stopping factor, it is most often required in police operations, but in combat, the main thing is to get the enemy at any cost, wherever he tries to hide. Just a job for a plasma bullet. Well, as for the defeat of any technique, you yourself wrote everything perfectly.

Jabberwacky 04.09.15
Here is another direction for a flight of fantasy about plasma guns offhand :)
Plasma crystals. Powerful "chamomile" folded electron currents in the plasma bunch form in the center of it a high density of negative charge, which attracts ions from the surrounding gases, which form the conditions for the emergence of a multinuclear TNR in the same center. Capable of self-support! Ball lightning.

Grover 12/26/15
It's all real. Fairy tales are not needed. An example of this is various kinds of fireballs: white, blue, black AND TRANSPARENT. Observation of these objects and their artificial generation is not such a complicated process. And acceleration and direction along a certain trajectory, and even more so. So, if this method and method of energy impact on third-party objects is NOT POSSIBLE - from the position of the current off. science is bullshit. This has been real ever since - as this method was tested by Nikola Tesla - Oh - Oh - Oh - a very long time ago - the Tunguska meteorite. So, practitioners, for you, here, there is a VERY huge field of activity and there lies the solution to the problem of generating ALMOST free energy.

Oleg Shovkunenko
Well, Tesla's involvement in the events on Tunguska has not yet been proven ... although it is quite probable. And yet, I remain of my opinion, the use of plasmoids as striking elements of light weapons is ineffective. Another thing is large strategic systems type "Tunguska meteorite"! But about the receipt and transmission of energy, you are categorically right. Tesla is clearly on to something here. The only question is, where did the results of his work go?

Alexander K. 05.07.16
A "flamethrower" is far from a plasma weapon, at least for the reason that the operation of a flamethrower is based on the oxidation of one or another type of fuel in an oxygen or air environment, and there is still a very long way to the ionization process, and therefore to the formation of plasma as such. And as for N. Tesla, there are much more "legends" and "myths" than with the "UFO" (this also applies to the Tunguska meteorite).

Oleg Shovkunenko
Alexander, you are right, it is difficult to call a flamethrower a 100% plasma weapon. But still, any flame contains a certain amount of low-temperature plasma. And by the way, it can occur even with partial ionization of the gas.

Dmitry 25.07.16
I read your articles here, it's interesting, I agree with a lot. Regarding plasma weapons, the question is very interesting .. There is such a thing as an ionizer, an ion engine, etc. ... so here's the idea: ions, these are electrical particles ... if you ionize something, then it will to shock. And what if this "warehouse" of particles is blown up (with a negative or positive charge)? And the outgoing stream of hot plasma (several thousand degrees) will be that "projectile"? Only the return will be crazy ... but at close range it will be like in the movie "Predator" ...

Oleg Shovkunenko
Dmitry, the method of obtaining plasma with modern technologies is not a problem. The question is in accordance with the cost of such weapons and their effectiveness. I already wrote about it. You can shoot from a terribly energy-intensive and expensive plasma gun and kill your opponent, or you can use a penny cartridge with almost the same result (although the process itself will not look so impressive). Which option do you think the generals will choose? But a plasma bomb that will melt everything around for hundreds of meters should be of much more interest to them.

Dasha 15.03.17
All weapons (plasma, laser, booster) are very vulnerable and have LOW RELIABILITY! All those expensive and scary tsatskis can be disabled with a good electromagnetic pulse! And you don't even need a plasma bomb! Just a powerful impulse and all warriors can only use their PLASMOMERS and laser guns as clubs! You can, guys, continue to express your fantasies, but let's think about other technologies! And they IS! And based on these technologies, you can create something more impressive! (I do not want to give hints, you are still reasonable here and will come to this yourself).

Pavel Menshikov 01.02.19
The problem lies precisely in the source of power for plasma weapons, even the so-called nuclear battery is unable to provide such an amount of energy, a powerful nuclear generator the size of a room is needed for only one shot. In the distant future, compact powerful energy sources may appear, but in general it will be possible to install plasma weapons on ships and even tanks, but hand-held plasma weapons: blasters, plasma guns are unlikely to ever appear. With a laser it is much easier, it is possible to transmit along a polarized beam, although a powerful source of energy is also required.

Inexplicably frequent natural disasters, uncharacteristic temperature changes for a particular area, inexplicable behavior of people: mass psychoses and depressions, large-scale conflicts suggest the use of climatic and psychotropic weapons.

According to the head Laboratory of Global Energy Problems of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Professor Vladimir Klimenko average temperature on Earth rose by 0.7-0.8 °C compared to the end of the 19th century. The warming occurred mainly after 1970. This is a very significant amount. With such a rate of warming, in the coming decades, humanity will face catastrophic climate change: flooding of coastal cities and hurricanes, drought and lack of drinking water. In particular, a similar scenario is provoked by the testing of plasma weapons. The basis for the development of plasma weapons was the unique characteristics of ball lightning, the essence of which remains a mystery to this day. Ball lightning is a plasma formation characterized by amazing properties. One of these properties is the destructive energy of ball lightning, which led the military to the idea of ​​the possibility of creating a plasma weapon (plasma is a fully or partially ionized gas). Military installations for generating plasma formations similar to ball lightning have tremendous potential: from intercepting missiles to psychotropic effects on people and changing the Earth's climate. Therefore, classified work in this direction is being actively carried out by the United States and Russia.

Development of psychotropic weapons in Russia

One of the developers of psychotropic and climate weapons Yuri Yuryevich Leonov agreed to tell more about plasma devices for the Korrespondent newspaper: “Almost everything that you talked about, that people have been complaining about recently, really exists and is being actively developed Russian authorities security. I must report that in the hands of the authorities, this weapon looks very scary. Similar developments were carried out in the Soviet Union, but they had a much lower level of technological development. At that time, psychotropic weapons could in no case be used against the people, against prominent political figures. Today we can state with confidence that the developments in question are real-life neurophysical (psychotropic) weapons and they are actively used. Today's technological capabilities allow us to operate on the human psyche and the motivation of human actions in a much wider range. Devices have been created that create waves at such frequencies that allow you to vary more complex mental reactions. Such devices are capable of operating at a very long distance, that is, the irradiator can be located half a kilometer away from you, it can break through concrete barriers, and so on.

US climate weapon: HAARR secret station

In 1992, in Alaska, 450 kilometers from Anchorage, the construction of a powerful radar station began. The object under construction is an antenna field with an area of ​​more than 13 hectares. The plan provides for 180 special antennas. The station received the abbreviated name HAARP - Active High-Frequency Auroral Research Program. The project is presented as a research project, but it is being implemented in the interests of the air force and naval forces US in deep secrecy. Citizen scientists are not allowed. There is evidence that in this way it is possible to change, say, the wind rose at high altitudes. So, "Harp" is able to influence the weather. "The least he can do is disrupt radio communications over large areas, significantly degrade accuracy satellite navigation, "dazzle" radars, including early and long-range detection and warning, missile defense and air defense systems. The impulse impact of the beam reflected from the auroral region will cause failures and accidents in the power grids of entire regions.

It should be noted that infrasonic waves have a depressing effect on the human psyche. They are also reflected by the auroral region and can plunge an entire city into a state of depression. The heating of individual regions of the atmosphere can lead to serious climate change and as a consequence cause a tornado, drought or flood. It is possible that increased exposure to radio waves will have a negative impact on wildlife, including humans. With the help of the Harp system, a group of military men can bring the economy of an entire state to its knees within a few years. And no one will understand. Military experts believe that Harp can be used as a plasma weapon. Its radiation may be enough to create plasma gratings in the atmosphere that can destroy aircraft and missiles.

What is the danger of using climate weapons

What would happen if Harp's impulses began to affect the atmosphere? Dr. Rosalie Bertel (Canada), who studies the impact of wars on ecosystems, believes that we are dealing with a climate weapon with potentially catastrophic consequences. First, active perturbation of the ionosphere can cause so-called electron showers. This, in turn, can lead to a change in the electric potential of the poles and the subsequent displacement of the Earth's magnetic pole. The planet will "turn over", and where it will be North Pole, one can only guess. Second, jump global warming with heating by reflected waves of certain sections of the circumpolar lands with hydrocarbon deposits can cause their release. Escaped jets of gas can change the spectrum of the atmosphere, causing global cooling. Thirdly, the destruction of the ozone layer and unpredictable climate change on entire continents is possible. Initially, the goals of the experiments were to increase the capabilities of radio communication by locally changing the ionosphere. At the same time, the effects of the interaction of plasma formations with the ionosphere were obtained, which led to the development of plasma climatic and psychotropic weapons.

The nature of the impact of climate weapons

The secret services don't limit themselves to experimenting with stations. They already have specific types of weapons in their arsenal, which are actively used. According to the nature of the impact, they are divided into:

Hydrospheric - climatic weapon, using as damaging factor well-known hydrophysical phenomena initiated artificially - tsunamis, underwater turbidity and mudflows, gas hydrate eruptions, etc. Only a few "combined" methods can be considered sufficiently "apocalyptic". For example: an under-ice detonation of a “thermal” thermonuclear charge in the area of ​​occurrence of large ice massifs, deposits of near-bottom gas hydrates and oil and gas layers, which should cause not only the melting of large masses of ice, but also an “underwater fire” like internal combustion of peat layers.

Lithospheric - a climatic weapon that uses artificially induced geophysical phenomena as a damaging factor: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, lithospheric shifts, subsidence of the crust, faults, horsts, faults, tsunamis.

Magnetosphere climatic and psychotropic weapons work on the principle of laser. A "directed magnetic storm" is created - electronic equipment and automation fail, people lose control over themselves.

The massive use of plasma weapons is quite difficult to hide, as it is accompanied by characteristic signs (aurora borealis).

Another consequence of the use of this type of psychotropic and climatic weapons is the formation of a channel in the atmosphere, through which, after the "combat plasmoids", external radiation begins, which in itself is very dangerous.

These are the types of climatic and psychotropic weapons that can be considered "apocalyptic". It should be noted that the division of plasma weapons into psychotropic and climatic weapons is very relative, since the principle of its operation allows it to be used both in one direction and in the other. These technologies are available only to Russia and the United States. The very fact of the existence of such weapons has not yet been officially recognized by any country.

Plasma weapons

What is a plasma weapon? Plasma weapons are one of the most popular ideas in science fiction. In the Babylon 5 universe, they use something called "PPG", which stands for Phased Plasma Gun. Nothing knows exactly what "phase" means, because the weapon fires individual plasmoids, but that's not too important, since "phase" is just one of those scientific terms that have long since lost their meaning thanks to technobradium science fiction. Either way, PPG shots look like glowing dots flying at subsonic speeds. This is exactly what the "plasma torpedo" used by the Romulans in the "Balance of Terror" episode from the classic Star Trek looks like. Most of all, it looked like a luminous orange drop. And finally, a significant number of fans " star wars"(probably under the influence of Star Trek"), having decided to jump on the bandwagon of the departing train, they began to consider the green shots of turbolasers as plasma weapons. But what is a plasma weapon? For those who are not in the know: plasma is usually described as the fourth state of aggregation substances after solid, liquid and gaseous. Technically, it is an ionized gas, i.e. a gas in which the internal energy is so high that electrons are released from the electron shells of atoms. The Earth's ionosphere is mainly composed of plasma, which can also be described as "hot soup" of free-floating nuclei and electrons ( not quite right, see hot for detailsIwould; approx. translator). Thus, it is logical to assume that a plasma weapon should set fire to a target on direct contact. However, hitting a target with ion beams is generally referred to as "ion beam hitting" rather than "plasma weapon hitting". So what's the difference? The thing is that plasma weapons in science fiction are thermal weapons, i.e. the defeat occurs due to the internal energy of the hot plasma clot that hits the target, and not the forward kinetic energy of the ion flow. In fact, the so-called. The "plasma gun" in science fiction fires normally visible "bolts" that move much, much slower than the particles of the plasma itself. For example, typical hand-held "plasma pistols" in science fiction fire a "bolt" that travels at 1 km/s at best (more often, the speed can be subsonic), but even in relatively "cold" plasma with an energy of 1 eV the average speed (rms power) will be 13.8 km/s for nuclei and 593 km/s for electrons (assuming an equal distribution of energy in the volume). This circumstance is the main limitation on the effectiveness of "bolts" and their incomprehensible feature: how to justify the need for the existence of plasma weapons, where particles with chaotic movement and high speed are limited in the volume of slow "drops", and are not directed forward with the same vector and high speed, as it is will be in the particle stream? Such a weapon would have significantly less penetrating power, meaning it would be significantly less effective even if it could fire. And this weapon has, as a rule, one interesting feature: His shots are not affected by gravity. There is a nuance that is not taken into account; dense objects, such as bullets, fall under the influence of gravity, and light objects, such as a helium balloon, float up under the effect of buoyancy. You can't see the bullet drop because it's too small and fast to see with the naked eye, but the curvature of the trajectory is noticeable and significant, but not typical of sci-fi "plasma weapons" whose projectiles always move in a straight line towards their targets in such a precise way. there is no gravity at all. It would be possible to justify such behavior by the density of the projectile, equal to the density of air, but if such a "bolt" has the density of air, then its properties resemble an ordinary balloon, which makes such a projectile, to put it mildly, ineffective. What will be the effectiveness of plasma weapons? In short: in any case, when the speed of reaching the target for the bolt will be no more than one thousandth of a second - simply none. You see, plasma expands very quickly, and although plasma guns do exist and are proposed as a mechanism to compensate for fuel burn-up in fusion tokamaks, they have never been seriously considered as a weapon. Yes, such weapons can fire "blobs" of plasma in the megajoule range, but even in a vacuum, the plasma won't stick around long enough, let alone an atmosphere where it will move about as well as in a brick wall (seriously , the density of the atmosphere at sea level is a billion times greater than that of thermonuclear plasma). You can seriously increase the range by accelerating ions to ultra-high (relativistic) speeds, but those "bolts" that we see in science fiction are unlikely to be able to move at such speeds. Okay, why not just lock up the plasma then? An obvious objection will be the thesis that in order to limit the plasma clot in space, you will have to create some kind of autonomous magical containment field that will move along with the bolt, without requiring any additional technical means for its existence. But in this case, the situation will only worsen. Let's say we're talking about a plasma "bolt" with a length of 1 meter, a diameter of half a centimeter and a power of 1 MJ (equivalent to about four ounces of TNT). Let's say that this is 1 keV of plasma (about 8 million K); You will need 6.24E21 ( E is a common spelling of the degree value, i.e. 6.24E21 should be read as "six point twenty-four hundredths times ten to the twenty-first power"; approx. translator) ions, i.e. less than 0.01 grams of hydrogen plasma. A small problem: the air will be many times denser, so such a plasma "bolt" will try to float due to the buoyancy effect and thus another one will be required power point to guide such bolts, with their slight acceleration pulses, through the atmosphere. Both of these problems can be solved by simply accelerating the particles (already at hypersonic speed, the projectile will have enough momentum to mitigate the effect of buoyancy and increase the effective range). But since this would again be the case in the case of a particle beam, and not a sci-fi "moving blob of plasma weapon", this decision not applicable here. In short, a typical subsonic or slightly above the speed of sound in motion "bolt" of exploding plasma, typical of science fiction, would require an autonomous magical protective field , and will still float, even if the field allows you to keep the plasma. In general, ask yourself: how well would such a system work? Doesn't sound very impressive, does it? Try to imagine shooting steam from a gun - the steam quickly dissipates in the air. So why does replacing "steam" with "plasma" seem like a good idea when plasma is really just a hot gas? Is it possible to make plasma weapons work? Well, why not try to solve this problem with a much lower plasma energy while increasing the density? We could try to solve the buoyancy problem by making the bolt colder (say 1 eV, or 8000K, which is only slightly hotter than on the surface of the Sun), which would require a thousand times more ions in the same volume, but the density of such a shot would still be too small to push it through the atmosphere with little momentum. It won't necessarily float, but you can just throw a balloon at someone and see how well the object flies with the density of the atmosphere. No, if you want to push such a "bolt" through the atmosphere, it must either be significantly denser than air, or travel at extreme speeds that sci-fi weapons usually cannot provide (and this, again, will turn such weapons into a beam accelerator, and not into the traditional "plasma weapon" from NF). So what if we reduce the volume to make it denser than a solid projectile? Well, this will let you forget about the problem of not being able to push the projectile through the atmosphere, but now you have the task of compressing it to such density with huge pressure. If we compress our megajoule plasmoid to a volume of one cubic centimeter and apply the ideal gas equation (great for plasma), we get pressures in the range of 700 gigapascals! If we calculate that this is a thousand times greater than the yield strength of high-quality steel, we can understand that we have a problem. So what are the problems with having a protective field a thousand times stronger than steel just to keep the plasma in the bunch? Some questions come from simple logic, like if they can create such a strong containment field that somehow supports itself and doesn't need external projectors, then why can't they create personal shields of the same strength or even stronger? One might ask why the plasma does not glow like the Sun if it is hotter than the Sun's photosphere and denser than steel. And finally, one might ask why our plasma "bullet", which is denser than aluminum, does not act like a real bullet, that is, does not move along a ballistic trajectory and does not fall under the influence of gravity. While this may not be an obstacle for a hypothetical sci-fi weapon, it certainly doesn't fit with what we know from sci-fi, where there's no noticeable trajectory arc under gravity. In conclusion, I would like to say that the idea of ​​a slowly moving autonomous plasmoid as a striking element simply does not make any sense. Your "bolt" is constantly trying to blow itself up on its way to the target, you have to come up with some kind of absurdly strong but easy to build defensive field to keep it intact (thus giving rise to obvious questions why this super containment technology is not used, to effortlessly defend against such "bolts"), and when it finally reaches the target and the mythical "protective field" is destroyed, the ions contained in it immediately scatter in all directions, dissipating most of their energy into space without any harm to the target . Even those ions that hit the target will not be able to penetrate hard armor, but will only slightly heat it up, since the directions of their movement are chaotic and their kinetic energies are not co-directed. And after all this, the plasmoid will not move as it is shown in science fiction, but will go in an arc just like the shots from the automatic gun of the Russian BTR-80 in this video. Okay, what about plasma weapons in space? The problems associated with pushing an autonomous plasma drop through the atmosphere in space, for obvious reasons, are not so acute, but the problems of energy demand rise to their full height. The plasma weapons described in science fiction, as a rule, have a yield in the range of kilotons, megatons, and even higher. Such values ​​are necessary to compete with nuclear warheads, over which plasma weapons have a lot of technological disadvantages and only a few, often far-fetched, advantages. Consider a hypothetical plasma bunch with an output power of 1 megaton and an approximate volume of 1 million cubic meters (which is large for a plasma bunch and quite comparable to the volume of a small starship). If we assume that we are using a hydrogen plasma with an average particle energy of 100 keV (absurdly high temperatures- almost 800 million K), it will take 2.6E29 ions (about 215 kg) to get an output power of 1 Mt TNT (4.2E15 joules). Using the ideal gas equation would give a pressure in this huge volume of 1 million cubic meters a pressure of about 3 GPa, or more than three times the yield strength of stainless steel. In general, the problems of atmospheric plasma weapons are only partially mitigated in space. For their effective application a fantastically strong force field is needed to hold the bolt (a requirement that becomes increasingly difficult to meet as the power of plasma weapons increases), while there is still no answer why the enemy does not use a similar force field to prevent or deflect a blow, if such force fields can be created so easily that you can afford to use it for plasma clots and it will hold the plasma without any additional devices. You still face the problem of the random orientation of the particles in the plasma in relation to the direction of impact and the resulting poor penetrating properties, and if you are close to the surface of the planetoid, then the problem of the movement of the projectile along the ballistic arc. Once again, these problems can be almost completely solved using relativistic velocities, so that the expansion speed of the bunch will be much less than the relative speed of movement, but this has nothing to do with the "bolts" of plasma from science fiction. So why do science fiction writers use "plasma weapons"? Perhaps you should ask them yourself. I suspect they use it because it sounds cool, and also because they can't think of anything better (one of the paradoxes of the sci-fi world is that most contemporary authors have graduate-level scientific knowledge high school). And like it or not, that's enough for most SF writers these days. Although, if it were possible to invent such a field that would compress a plasma clot so much that it could fly through the air like a solid object, then why not use this fantastic technology to carry something more destructive, for example, a small charge of antimatter ? There is a rational way to use "plasma weapons" in science fiction, but in this case it will be a particle beam, not a "slowly moving discrete plasmoid". And what can the authors invent instead of plasma weapons? A lot, really. Guns, rockets, bombs, lasers, and particle beams (particularly on neutral particles, such as neutron guns, where the problem of electromagnetic repulsion will not cause additional beam expansion, and electromagnetic shielding will become ineffective), all this works fine and does not require any some fantastical irrational magical, self-propelled, self-powered fields that defy gravity and are a thousand times stronger than steel. However, all this is familiar to many science fiction authors, but despised by them. Some facts about plasma. Plasma on the surface of the Sun has a temperature of about 6000K. The temperature at the core of the Sun is approximately 15 million K. The temperature at the center of lightning exceeds 50 million K. Predicted temperatures in the core of a commercially viable fusion reactor are 100 million K. Steel melts at 1810K. The plasma glows primarily through bremsstrahlung. This is a process in which charged particles are scattered or deflected when interacting with an electric field. When the particles lose kinetic energy, it is emitted in the form of a photon. In the presence of a strong magnetic field, synchrotron radiation and cyclotron processes ( Apparently talking aboutagnotobrakem, or cyclotronm, the radiation of an electron during its rotation in the magn. field; approx. translator) become significant, since charged particles move around magnetic field lines ( it is implied that we are talking about the effect of the Lorentz force, when a charged particle moves perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, twisting around the magnetic field line; approx. translator). Normal non-ionized matter glows with monochromatic radio emission, as a result of which only one allowed electronic transition from the excited to the ground state is possible; the difference is emitted as a photon ( in general, half-heartedly;more about plasma radiation; approx. translator). Particles in a plasma rarely interact due to the high speed of particle expansion and the small strength of the electromagnetic interaction. Without third-party intervention, the ions go into expansion, there is no talk of thermonuclear fusion. In fact, the distances of free expansion at a scattering angle of 90" in plasma are measured in tens of kilometers. Nevertheless, particles in plasma can interact en masse under conditions high pressures(for example, in stellar cores, where the pressure is so high that the plasma is compressed to a density greater than that of uranium). Plasma behavior is close to the behavior of ideal gases, therefore, its properties can be described through the ideal gas equations PV=NRT. You can try to remember the ideal gas equations taught at school in physics classes, but if not, it says that the product of the pressure and volume of a gaseous body is linearly correlated with its mass and temperature. Note that astrophysicists prefer the formula P=nkT, where n is the particle concentration and k is Boltzmann's constant. If the deuterium plasma reaches a sufficient density and temperature, thermonuclear fusion will begin. For example, the 3.51 GW STARFIRE2 reactor (a model with parameters necessary to achieve economic feasibility, not actual design characteristics) requires a plasma density of 1.69E20 deuterons per cubic meter with a total volume of 781 m³. The average temperature of the deuteron and electron is 24.1 keV and 17.3 keV respectively. In layman's terms, these are the average deuteron density and temperature of 2.695E-7 kg/m³ and 186 million K respectively. In other words, the STARFIRE plasmoid would only need to fill a thousand square foot volume of plasma at pressures in excess of 200 kPa. However, these requirements, no matter how unattainable they may seem, still exaggerate the real probability of synthesis, since they are based on a statement of high purity D-T plasma. The temperature for D-D synthesis is an order of magnitude higher, and the requirements for H-H synthesis exceed them by several orders of magnitude. Plasma torches with power output in the megawatt range exist in real life. However, their energy efficiency is limited by the density of the plasma and hence they are suitable for melting but not evaporating solids. This is important for the concept of "hot fusion" proposed by Eastland and Gauf, with their use as a "fuel" of solid and gaseous materials. But in any case, the problem of dispersion remains unresolved. cross section nuclear reaction Coulomb scattering at 10 keV is 1E4 barn, while the reaction cross section for D-T fusion is about 1E2 barn, that is, a million times smaller than the scattering cross section. At D-D reactions synthesis, the energy level is lower by two orders of magnitude! In other words, the emission of a deuterium ion at 10 keV plasma, even without Coulomb scattering, is a hundred million times more likely than fusion with another deuterium ion. Nyashechka recommends watching, desu: Actually,

Before watching this movie, I thought that it was a plasma weapon, or pure fantasy of science fiction writers and computer game developers. Or, at best, a very distant future, that it will appear, somewhere, simultaneously with starships.

However, this is not so. And as far as I understand, all data on this type of weapon is strictly classified. And what leaks into the open media is the tip of the iceberg, if not a broken phone. And there is a very good reason for this. The possession of such weapons by any country will make it an unambiguous and unconditional leader in the military sphere. How did the atomic bomb make the United States the leader. As far as I understand, our Shkval missile-torpedo is already one of the types of plasma weapons, the next ones are next in line. So the Russians, keep your fists, so that all this does not turn out to be another button accordion.

After watching the movie, by the way, I came across an article - "Forecast for the Development of Plasma Weapons" which is, so to speak. movie commentary. I think it will be of interest to many.

So, in the aforementioned program "Plasma Attack", among other things, it was told about the top-secret Soviet program to create anti-missile defense using plasma weapons.

In addition, the topic was again exaggerated of the imminent deployment of the so-called hypersonic strategic cruise missiles to the Russian army, which will use the plasma coating effect, which allows these objects to reach speeds of 4000-5000 m / s in the earth's atmosphere. Your obedient servant wrote about this in his publication "Once again about Putin's new weapon".

And there was also the thesis that Russian 5th generation fighters also plan to use the technology of plasma coating of the airframe, which will allow it to fly at hypersonic speeds and at the same time remain a super-maneuverable aircraft. That is, the new Russian fighter, which should make its first flight in 2009, will no longer even be 5-generation, 5+ generations.

And at the very beginning, the Host of the program showed an interesting trick - firing something similar to ball lightning from a small device that looked more like a children's cube, and called this device a "plasma blaster".

1. Although the technology of using plasmoids against blocks intercontinental missiles in fact, it turned out to be a dead end direction, which was already understood before the collapse of the USSR, and the United States, which is actively experimenting with the same direction at its Harp base, must still understand that effective anti-missile weapons will be created using plasma technologies.

The main mistake of the Soviet developers of missile defense on plasmoids was that they created plasmoids in ground installations using MHD generators, and then through an ionized atmospheric channel created using a laser beam, they tried to deliver them to a certain height along the course of the ballistic trajectory of an intercontinental warhead rockets. And they constantly lacked the power of this very ground installation.

Meanwhile, the warhead of an intercontinental missile, entering the dense layers of the atmosphere at speeds close to the first space speed, is itself enveloped in a plasma cloud. Therefore, in order to influence an intercontinental warhead with a plasma weapon - from a sharp change in the flight trajectory, by a sharp change in the speed of the warhead, to the destruction of this very warhead by creating completely different aerodynamic flight conditions, you just need to "pump up" the already existing plasma cloud around the intercontinental warhead that has entered the dense layers warheads.

The aforementioned plasma cloud will be "pumped" by two ionized channels created by two powerful lasers operating in the ultraviolet radiation spectrum. This technology is described in my previous prediction Jules Verne's Last Unrealized Prediction.

And since the appearance of a plasma cloud around an intercontinental warhead flying towards the target is inevitable - due to its speed and properties earth's atmosphere, then plasma technologies will provide almost 100% reliable missile defense in this sector of missile weapons.

1. Although now hypersonic intercontinental cruise missiles are positioned as a practically invulnerable weapon for existing and future missile defense systems, in fact they will be very vulnerable to missile defense using plasma technologies. It's all about the same plasma coatings of hypersonic intercontinental missiles, allowing them to pick up crazy speeds and be super-maneuverable - "pumping" these same plasma coatings from the outside with the help of two ionized channels. punched in the atmosphere by ultraviolet lasers, will negate all these technological advantages and even threaten to destroy them.

1. Everything said in paragraph 2 is adequately consistent with the creation of weapons against 5+-generation fighters that will use the plasma coating of the airframe.

1. But the "plasma blaster", apparently, has already been created. And, moreover, has already passed combat tests in real conditions.

The author of these lines means very incomprehensible story with the removal of the former "vice-president" of Ichkeria, Zelemkhan Yandarbiev, in one of the states of the Persian Gulf in early 2004. Then Yandarbiev died as a result of the explosion of his jeep, in which he was. Security officers from the Russian embassy in that country were arrested in connection with this case. At the same time, the American intelligence services gave a tip on these employees. After rigorous interrogation (torture), the Russian security officers of the Russian embassy confessed and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. But Russia used all its influence in order to get these employees to serve their sentences in Russian prisons, and when they were taken to Moscow on a plane specially sent for them, they were greeted like heroes with a crane carpet and, naturally, they did not go to any prisons , simply dissolving in the vastness of Russia.

What are such honors for, in general, failed agents? And why did the American intelligence services so brazenly and openly interfere in the activities of their partners in the "anti-terrorist coalition"?

Is it because the aforementioned agents conducted combat tests of the "plasma blaster" - firing from it from a certain distance into the gas tank of Yandarbiev's jeep, eliminating the "spiritual father" of the terrorist attack in the theater center on Dubrovka, which took place at the end of October 2002? And, most importantly, these agents did not allow the top-secret "plasma blaster" to fall into the hands of the American special services, claiming for the investigation that Yandarbiev was eliminated with the help of a trivial explosive device, leaving our "partners" in the "anti-terrorist coalition" "with a nose"?

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The term "new plasma weapons" has recently been increasingly exaggerated by various media. Information comes in conflicting. It is understandable: projects in various countries are only under development. It is also indisputable that the most perfect weapon is the one about which the alleged enemy knows practically nothing, and then its use allows to achieve an even greater effect. What exactly is a plasma weapon? The answer to this question can only be given by its use (of course, if such a weapon exists) in a real combat situation. What is known about modern developments of plasma weapons in the world? This will be discussed further in the article.

The impact of plasma weapons on modern culture

In modern computer games and films, an attempt is being made to present new types of weapons that humanity may face in future conflicts. One such attempt is the famous computer game Fallout. Plasma weapons, laser carbines, nuclear mini-charges - this is not the whole list of arsenal, which, according to the developers, awaits humanity in an alternative universe that has survived nuclear war. How did modern developments of plasma weapons approach the ideas of science fiction writers and futurologists? How close are we to creating the means to destroy such a destructive force? In order to answer such questions, it is necessary to make an excursion into history, from the discovery and creation of plasma weapons to promising developments by scientists around the world.

The history of the emergence of plasma weapons

In 1923, American scientists Langmuir and Tonsk proposed to designate a new form of existence of matter at 10,000 degrees, which they called plasma. The upper layer of the atmosphere (ionosphere) consists entirely of plasma.

Development of plasma weapons in the USSR

In the mid-1950s, a toroidal chamber with a magnetic coil was created in the USSR to study the problems of fusion physics. A prominent Soviet scientist Petr Leonidovich Kapitsa worked on the creation of a fundamentally new source of energy. In 1964, young Soviet scientists, among whom was Valentina Nikolaeva, created the Dream project, which implies the defeat ballistic missiles with plasma formations. When colliding with an object, the plasmoid must act like a uranium projectile, releasing colossal energy during the explosion.

As conceived by the inventors, a plasma weapon is a system consisting of a plasmoid (a means of destruction) and its launcher (a pulsed magnetic hydrodynamic (MHD) generator). The generator accelerates the plasma in a magnetic field to the speed of light and sets the direction of motion for it. Flight correction is made by laser.

The approximate time of creation is 1970. The main goal is the development of a pulsed magnetic hydrodynamic generator, with which it was possible to create plasmoids (or ball lightning) to destroy air targets of the alleged aggressor. In 1974, the DOR2 open resonator began operation, with the help of which controlled artificial ball lightning was created. Ionized gas or plasma is formed from neutral atoms and molecules and charged particles of ions and electrons. Mention may be made of the creation of the secret station "Surana", built near Nizhny Novgorod. Soviet scientist Avramenko achieved amazing results in the study of ionized clouds. Even attempts were made to use these developments in modern aircraft construction. In the dreams of aircraft builders - to surround the aircraft with plasma to reduce air resistance and increase speed dozens of times. Little is known about the prospects for such developments, for obvious reasons.

Ideas of plasma weapons in modern Russia

After the collapse of the USSR, funding for the development of Russian plasma weapons ceased, but this does not mean that Russian scientists have stopped further research. The work was carried out with sheer enthusiasm. New developments of Russian plasma weapons began against the backdrop of a deteriorating global political situation. The US withdrawal from the ABM treaty and the strengthening of the NATO bloc near the Russian borders spurred the country's leadership to revise its defense strategy. Recent statements by US President Donald Trump about the uncompromising rearmament of the US Army also do not help reduce tension in relations between Russia and the West.

In the fall of 2017, President V.V. Putin will consider the state arms program for 2018-2025. It mentions weapons based on "new physical principles". Most likely, in the near future, clarity will be made on the use of plasma weapons in modern society. If we talk about the latest developments in Russia, riddles and speculation surround this topic. There are fragments of rumors about some project using a plasma shield capable of protecting the peaceful skies of Russia.

It is interesting to recall Boris Yeltsin's meeting with the Americans in Vancouver in 1993. The Russian side offered to conduct joint tests of global anti-missile defense based on Russian plasma weapons near the Kwajalein Atoll. The inventor of plasma weapons, Rimily Avramenko, briefly mentioned the prospects for the commissioning of a model of this development. It would benefit not only the military: with its help it is possible to destroy space debris or clean up ozone holes. But, unfortunately, this project did not materialize.

Aspirations and hopes associated with plasma

Plasma opens up many prospects not only in the military sphere. The development of plasma generators allows you to transfer equipment to almost any fuel without compromising quality.

The development of plasma technologies can give impetus to the further development of technological progress.

Development of plasma technologies in the USA

Plasma weapons are being developed all over the world, and the United States is no exception. A striking example can be considered in 1989, as part of the strategic defense initiative, the launch into space of a prototype beam weapon, which, as it was assumed, could generate neutral hydrogen atoms and thereby shoot down Soviet missiles. The "success" of this weapon is evidenced by the fact that it is not in service, but in the Museum of Space in Washington. The HAARP active high-frequency ionosphere research station is also an attempt to study and create plasma weapons. Railguns advertised with pomp turned out to be another bluff. In 2016, there were occasional reports on the news feed about the U.S. military's attempts to test non-lethal plasma weapons. Thus, it is clear that modern developments of plasma weapons are carried out all over the world, funds are allocated for them, and the best minds of mankind are struggling to conquer plasma.

Description of the stated general principles of operation

One can only guess about the technical characteristics of plasma weapons due to the secrecy of information. If we talk about plasmoids, then this is plasma in a magnetic field created with the help of an MHD generator and having the speed of light in a directed motion. On the screens of popular TV shows, very interesting characteristics are sometimes mentioned: the possible dimensions, internal energy, and lifetime of the plasmoid.

According to some scientists, the average temperature on the earth has risen, and at such a rate, the world can suffer planetary disasters, expressed in floods, droughts, hurricanes, and lack of drinking water. Such changes may well be provoked by tests of plasma weapons. Its development in the military sphere makes it possible not only to intercept missiles, but also to psychotronically influence the masses of people and change the climate. The most powerful radar station HAARP is also credited with the ability to influence the weather. However, this is only speculation and conjecture, since no one has officially recognized the fact that they have such weapons.

Plasma Cloaks of Invisibility

In the conditions of modern combat, the main emphasis is on the surprise of striking. But at the same time, unmasking inevitably occurs. Even Soviet scientists thought about this problem, proposing quite original way hiding equipment from electronic detection systems. The idea was to equip the planes with special plasma generators. Such aircraft, without burning up, could pass through the dense layers of the atmosphere, reaching the ground in a matter of seconds, just like ballistic missiles.

Plasma has another interesting property: it quenches electromagnetic impulses in all ranges. It seemed like the perfect camouflage had been found. The first tests were carried out on the MiG-29 fighter, but the results were unsatisfactory. The plasma interfered with the operation of on-board computers. As a result, it was decided to cover only the most vulnerable parts of the structure for radar. This technology was applied on the Tu-160 strategic bomber.

Turkish Plasma Weapon

In 2013, the development of combat lasers for the Turkish navy. More than $50 million is allocated for the six-year project. Two models of combat lasers are announced. In 2015, they successfully passed laboratory tests: a target on a moving platform was hit. It was announced that the prospects for new weapons have no analogues in the world. This weapon is capable of stopping nuclear bomb. The population of Turkey itself could not resist sarcasm about the news boom, and both the military and the creators of the “miracle weapon” got it. We can only say with full confidence that the development of modern and promising types of weapons is carried out not only by superpowers with weighty "nuclear arguments".

Conclusion

Modern developments of plasma weapons and others latest types weapons with colossal destructive power do not answer the question of what the future will be like on planet Earth. Perhaps this research will open a Pandora's box. The prospects that open up in connection with the development of new technologies are fraught with many dangers for all mankind. The question is not whether plasma weapons, combat lasers and many other things that at first glance seem to be a figment of the imagination of science fiction writers will be created, but when this will happen. The events of recent years (the imposition of sanctions and the deterioration of the international situation) are the trigger mechanism for restarting cold war, which, in turn, is the most important factor in the emergence of even more destructive types of weapons.

In the meantime, the world is divided into skeptics and optimists. There are fierce disputes, which can only be resolved by the appearance or absence of weapons operating "on new physical principles" (for the defense industry). However, statements by high-ranking officials suggest that there is no smoke without fire, and many amazing discoveries await humanity in the future.