Plamsa and laser

Megatron · Post by **Megatron** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 7:55 am

Whats the difference? Except the colours.

FireWolf · Post by **FireWolf** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 8:11 am

plasma is a form of energy on the verge of becoming matter or something similar. or its the suspensory fluid in your blood.

laser is focused light.

James · Post by **James** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 8:14 am

Lasers are duff, plasma is more usefull. But lasers do have the better colour. Red is the colour of Mars, the planet being named after the Roman (I think) god of War.

The laser pistol is pretty disapointing, given its hype.

In reality this is not what would be expected, assuming that such weapons could be made. Well, at least to the extent that laser should work better than plasma, they might both be duff.

TheReaper · Post by **TheReaper** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 8:26 am

Ok then, the difference in the Fallout world is this:

Laser has longer range and larger clip. Plasma has a shorter range, smaller clip but does more damage.

Well, a laser weapon is possible but a plasma weapon is a bit more far-fetched. The technology to create a laser beam exists but I don't think the tech to create a plasma ball exists yet.

James · Post by **James** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 8:29 am

Oh, FireWolf, my pedantic nitpick follows. Sorry

Its not just focused light, focused light is still random in phase and not implicitly monochromatic.

Laser light is coherant, which means the direction of light is a single beam, of a single phase. The photons are also of a single energy level (or some single energy levels), laser light is therefore very purely monochromatic.

Plasma (in the non-biological sense) is gaseous ions. This means that it is composed of atoms or molecules which are in the gas phase and are electrically charged (this is achieved by removing electrons from thier orbitals). Plasma is usually only practical at low pressures.

danferry · Post by **danferry** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 12:54 pm

L-light
A-amplification by
S-stimulated
E-emissions of
R-radiation

I think that that is what the guy said in REAL GENIUS.

tux · Post by **tux** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 1:22 pm

danferry here is correct. In addition (if I understand it correctly), light produced in a laser is similarly phased. And plasma is quite easy to create (it can be produced from most gases at sufficiently high t, right?) but sustaining its state and propelling it is the hard part.

danferry · Post by **danferry** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 2:12 pm

Hey, I just repeated something that stuck in my mind from 10+ years earlier. It explained what a laser is and why called LASER.
:drinking:

FireWolf · Post by **FireWolf** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 2:23 pm

well if you're going to get technical...

VasikkA · Post by **VasikkA** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 4:54 pm

Funny how you can see the 'laser beams' when you fire the laser pistol. Shouldn't it go lightspeed?

BigJack · Post by **BigJack** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 9:26 pm

Well yes but you should see it anyway, laser is seen like this ------------- not like a damn bullet as they put in the game laser comes from some photon thingy's and then more keep getting created and reflected still inside the device like this |Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â«--------Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â»| until it gets enought strenght to come out like this |Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â«----------Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â»|-------Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â».

Well at least this is how those laser beams that exist (like those little pointing lasers) work so i think the others might work like that also...

DansingMungki · Post by **DansingMungki** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 10:41 pm

Plasma is more like a very, very, hot flame. Our ozone is continually being bombarded by plasma all the time aswell as other forms of radiation from space.

DansingMungki · Post by **DansingMungki** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 10:49 pm

You couldnt make a plasma gun though unless it was a bit like a flame thrower where it would spray out a shortranged jet of plasma. It'd be more like a very big blowtorch though.

Slave_Master · Post by **Slave_Master** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 11:08 pm

Hmm, but if it was like a flamethrower, than the super hot plasma might burn the person who is shooting it.

But the question is not seeing a laser bolt. The question is how to dodge it.

tux · Post by **tux** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 11:18 pm

You can't see it because I doubt there is sufficient particle residue in the air. And you can't dodge it unless you are neo.

BigJack · Post by **BigJack** » Fri Jul 05, 2002 11:37 pm

The point is that in FO lasers go as bullets and you are able to see them going through, anyway what single brain celled retard would actually miss using a laser pistol while standing away a single hex from the opponent ?!? I've seen they do it...

LeoN · Post by **LeoN** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 1:23 am

Yeah but if your going to get shot with lasers woudnt you just have to wear clothes made from mirrors, shouldnt it just reflect off you...

Megatron · Post by **Megatron** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 1:34 am

Yeah, and laser weapons should fire a beam, not a glob.

BigJack · Post by **BigJack** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 1:52 am

LeoN wrote:Yeah but if your going to get shot with lasers woudnt you just have to wear clothes made from mirrors, shouldnt it just reflect off you...

Maybe depends on the intensity of the laser and it could be a laser that "ignores" mirrors... I dunno i'm just guessing

DansingMungki · Post by **DansingMungki** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 2:30 am

Lasers are made of light and mirrors reflect light but I suppose if the beam was hot enough it would just burn through the glass.