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:''This article is about fictional weapons. For other meanings, see [[Raygun (disambiguation)]]. See [[Directed-energy weapon]] for various real weapons which are similar to rayguns.
[[File:Pyrotronicdisintegrator.gif|thumb|A stereotypical raygun as shown in a 1955 patent application for a toy.]]
[[File:Pyrotronicdisintegrator.gif|thumb|A stereotypical raygun as shown in a 1955 patent application for a toy.]]


'''Rayguns''', '''death rays''', '''beam guns''', '''blasters''', '''laser guns''', '''disruptors''' etc. are generic terms for [[directed-energy weapon]]s as depicted in [[science fiction]].<ref name="Van Riper 45" />
'''Rayguns''' are a type of [[directed-energy weapon]]. They are a classic and widespread feature of [[science fiction]]. Types of raygun have various names: '''ray gun''', '''death ray''', '''beam gun''', '''blaster''', '''laser gun''', etc. They supply the general role of [[gun]]s in the scenarios of many stories.


==History==
==History==
A very early example of a raygun is the [[Heat-Ray]] featured in [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'' (1898).<ref name="Van Riper 46">Van Riper, op.cit., p. 46.</ref> Science fiction as far back as the 1920s depicted death rays. Early science fiction often showed raygun beams making bright light and loud noise like [[lightning]] or large [[electric arc]]s. [[Nikola Tesla]]'s [[Nikola Tesla#Directed-energy_weapon|attempts at developing directed-energy weapons]], or "[[death ray]]s", also fueled the imagination of many writers.
A very early example is the [[Heat-Ray]] featured in [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'', which was published in 1898. Science fiction as far back as the 1920s emphasized death rays as the weapons of choice. Early science fiction often showed raygun beams making bright light and loud noise like [[lightning]] or large [[electric arc]]s. When the [[laser]], invented in 1960, became an [[Industry|industrial]] reality the generic fictional [[death rays]] were often renamed "lasers" (see [[Science fiction weapon]]). By the late 1960s and 1970s however, the laser's limits as a weapon were evident, and less specific terms such as "[[phaser (fictional weapon)|phaser]]" (see ''[[Star Trek]]'') or "[[Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster]]" (see ''[[Star Wars]]'') were used.


==Types==
After the invention of the [[laser]] in 1960, it briefly became the death ray of choice for science fiction writers. For instance, characters in the ''[[Lost in Space]]'' TV series (1965–1968) and in the [[Star Trek]] [[pilot episode]] ''[[The Cage]]'' (1964) carried handheld laser weapons.<ref name="Van Riper 45">{{cite book|last=Van Riper|first=A. Bowdoin|title=Science in popular culture: a reference guide|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]]|location=Westport|date=2002|page=45|isbn=0-313-31822-0}}</ref>
The ray fired is usually stated to be one of:
* [[Laser]]
* [[Particle beam]]:
** A real type of particle, e.g. [[proton]]s and/or [[neutron]]s from the [[Ghostbusters]]' [[proton pack]]s
** A fictional type of particle, e.g. a type of "Minovsky particles" in the [[Gundam]] scenario, where [[Universal Century Technology#Minovsky Physics|Minovsky Physics]] always operate.
** Unspecified
* [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]: see also [[plasma rifle]]
* Defined by a word not known in real-world science, e.g. "[[disruptor]]".
* Undefined.
* Concussion Beam: A generic term often applied to energy beams when the nature of the weapon is unknown. They are often non-lethal and only temporarily disable an opponent by knocking them down. They are often seen in television cartoons where realistic conventional weaponry is usually disallowed due to restrictions on violence. They are also seen in many superhero [[comic books]] where they are part of a characters superpowers.


The well-known [[Star Trek]] [[phaser]] fires a particle beam of a fictional subatomic particle called [[nadion]]s.
By the late 1960s and 1970s, as the laser's limits as a weapon became evident, rayguns were redubbed "[[phaser (fictional weapon)|phasers]]" (in ''[[Star Trek]]''), "[[Blaster (Star Wars)|blasters]]" (''[[Star Wars]]''), "[[pulse rifle]]s" and so forth.


[[Blaster (Star Wars)#Technology|Blaster]] is an [[unreal technology]] attempt at describing how a type of raygun works.
==Function==
Ray guns as depicted in science fiction do not suffer from the disadvantages that have, so far, made [[directed-energy weapon]]s largely unpractical as weapons in real life,<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> requiring a [[suspension of disbelief]] from a technologically educated audience.


Sometimes in science fiction stories, rayguns are used for metal cutting like [[blowtorch]]es.
To begin with, ray guns draw seemingly limitless power from often unspecified sources.<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> In contrast to their real-world counterparts, the batteries or power plants of even handheld weapons are minute, durable and do not appear to require frequent recharging.<ref name="Van Riper 46" />


In some science fiction, some rayguns have a firing mode that can stun its target instead of killing.
Ray guns in visual media are often shown as shooting visible, discrete pulses of energy that travel slowly enough for the eye to follow them, or even for the target to evade them.<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> In contrast, real-life [[laser light]] is invisible to observers and travels at the [[speed of light]].


Rayguns under their various names come in various sizes and forms: [[pistol]]; two-handed (often called a [[rifle]]); mounted on a vehicle; [[artillery]]-sized mounted on a [[spacecraft|spaceship]] or space base or [[asteroid]] or [[planet]]. The pistol form is seen most often.
The effects of ray guns on their targets is also very different from contemporary directed-energy weapons. Rays are often depicted as taking effect instantaneously, with a split-second touch of the beam sufficing for the intended purpose.<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> Raygun victims are generally killed instantaneously, often – as in the ''Star Wars'' films – without showing visible wounds or even holes in their clothing.<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> Some rayguns even cause their targets to disappear (or "de-materialize") entirely. Others may be used to cut through hard materials like a [[blowtorch]].<ref name="Van Riper 46" />


A "beam gun" in [[anime]] is an [[energy weapon]] which fires a colored beam of [[light]].
Ray guns are often depicted as effecting the transmission of [[heat]], as with Wells' [[heat ray]]s.<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> Less frequently, they are shown as transmitting [[cold]], as with the "freeze rays" in the TV series ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' (1966–1968) and ''[[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]'' (1964–1970).<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> They may also have a wide range of non-lethal functions as determined by the requirements of the story. For instance, they may stun, paralyze or knock down a target, much like modern [[electroshock weapon]]s.<ref name="Van Riper 46" />


"FX-Ray [[laser]]" in American [[science fiction]] and [[animation]] is a humorous name for a raygun that fires a visible beam: [[FX]] is the [[show biz]] term for [[special effects]].
Ultimately, rayguns have whatever properties are required for their dramatic purpose. They bear little resemblance to real-world directed-energy weapons, even if they are referred to with the names of existing technologies such as lasers, [[maser]]s, or [[particle beam]]s.<ref name="Van Riper 46" /> Instead, they are best compared to the [[firearm]]s commonly depicted in [[action movie]]s, which also tend to infallibly hit whatever they're aimed at and seldom run out of ammunition.<ref name="Van Riper 47">Van Riper, op.cit., p. 47.</ref>


[[Image:Spaceman firing vgun.jpg|thumb|The shapes of some rayguns are influenced by an opinion that they look most effective and weapon-like if they look somewhat like real guns; others, such as this, are not.]]
==List==

Rayguns are a great variety of shapes and sizes, according to the imagination of the story writers and movie [[Theatrical property|prop]] makers. Most pistol rayguns have a conventional [[pistol grip|grip]] and [[trigger (firearms)|trigger]], but some (e.g. [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Next Generation]] [[Weapons of Star Trek#Phasers|phasers]]) do not.

Many rayguns do not behave like classical [[laser]]s:
*Often the beam travels at much less than the [[speed of light]]. The phasers of the [[Star Trek]] television series can be seen to be traveling much slower than a conventional [[bullet]]. Star Wars lasers are depicted as brightly colored streaks of light resembling [[tracer ammunition]].
*The beam can be seen from off its axis, which would not happen in space where there is nothing to be illuminated by the beam.
*Sometimes, visible barrel [[recoil]]. This would only happen if the [[momentum]] of the beam is comparable to that of a bullet fired from a gun.
*Sometimes, the power of the beam completely evaporates a man (equipment and all) who is hit by the beam.

However, some of the above properties are consistent with [[particle beam]] weapons.

==Real-life limitations==
*In many science fiction scenarios, the laws of physics and nature of matter and energy are different from in the [[real world]] (e.g., the fictional [[Universal Century Technology#Minovsky Physics|Minovsky Physics]], which operate in the [[Gundam]] universe.)
*Many of them need [[unobtainium|non-existent materials]].
*For laser guns, see [[Directed-energy weapon#Problems with lasers|directed-energy weapon]].
*Many fictional ray guns fire a beam which (unlike lasers) is visible in vacuum and sometimes also travels much slower than light.
*For [[plasma rifle]]s and similar, see [[Plasma rifle#Practicality of plasma rifles|the possibility of plasma rifles existing in the real world]]

==Types of raygun==
The following is a partial list of notable rayguns or types of rayguns.
The following is a partial list of notable rayguns or types of rayguns.
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* [[Plasma rifle]]s, shooting bolts of hot gas (''[[plasma]]''), are depicted in many works of fiction. One well-known example is the [[BFG 9000]] from the ''[[Doom (video game)|Doom]]'' video games.
* [[Plasma rifle]]s, shooting bolts of hot gas (''[[plasma]]''), are depicted in many works of fiction. One well-known example is the [[BFG 9000]] from the ''[[Doom (video game)|Doom]]'' video games.
* [[Pulse rifle]] is the name for a wide range of fictional weapons from various works.
* [[Pulse rifle]] is the name for a wide range of fictional weapons from various works.

==Some fictional makes of raygun==
*[[Alien (film series)|''Alien'' film series]]: "PIG" [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] cannon: run off a backpack powerpack. Uses an [[electrolaser]] to create a magnetic containment bottle.
**"[[Particle Beam]] Phalanx": cannon-sized.
*''[[Babylon 5]]'': [[Phased plasma gun]]
*''[[Blake's 7]]'': paragun: Federation standard issue. Image [http://www.waveney.demon.co.uk/Events/Collectors/PARAGUN1.jpeg here]. More Federation kit images [http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/Events/CollectPic.html here].
**a pistol: Federation issue, image [http://www.waveney.demon.co.uk/Events/Collectors/PISTOL1.jpeg here].
*''[[Blood (computer game)|Blood]]'' and ''[[Blood II: The Chosen|Blood II]]'': [[Tesla Cannon]]: shoots electrical discharges
*''[[Captain Proton]]'': blaster: lethal white electric ray
*''[[Command & Conquer: Renegade]]'': Black Widow (Volt auto-rifle): electrical beam ([[electrolaser]])?
**Firefly: laser rifle
**Tarantula: laser chaingun
**Merlin: personal ion cannon: instant visible bolt of [[ion]]s
*[[Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (novel)|''Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars'' (novel)]]: T7: [[Tiberium]] fueled laser pulse.
**EW1: Laser beam
**[[Scrin]] cannon: beam of tiberium particles.
*''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'': raygun: plasma of charged particles
*''[[Call Of Duty: World at War]]'': raygun: Is in nazi zombie mode.
*''[[Darwin's World]]'': role-playing game: laser rifle: [[Nd:YAG laser]]
*[[David Weber#Other Novels|David Weber]]'s novel ''Apocalypse Troll'': blaster: pulse of [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
*''[[The Day The Earth Stood Still]]'': The alien visitor Klaatu's robotic bodyguard Gort had a conventional laser beam which was shot from his 'eyes'. Meaning no harm, Gort only used the laser defensively. It could vaporize weapons as large as a tank, or even a rifle in a soldier's hands, though the soldier would not be injured.
* Doctor Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators: Rayguns utilising infra-wave undulation and Phlogiston over-charging amongst other pseudo-scientific concepts.
*[[Descent (computer game)|''Descent'' series]]: laser pistols, fusion cannon, omega cannon
*''[[FreeSpace 2]]'': photon beam cannons
*''[[Doctor Who]]'': [[Dalek]]s' guns: "ruby rays", Time Lord's "Stasers"
*''[[Doom (video game)|Doom]]'': [[Plasma rifle]]
**[[BFG 9000]]: undefined (stated as plasma in ''[[Doom 3]]''), [[unreal physics]]
*''[[Dune]]'': Continuous-wave laser projectors called [[lasgun]]s runs on nuclear power, but are considered old-fashioned due to the use of the personal [[Holtzman shields]], which would cause a small nuclear detonation, which would kill both the wielder and the wearer, and break the rules of engagement, as the use of nuclear weapons are strictly prohibited. They are also known to be heavy, cumbersome and very fragile. For those reason, [[lasgun]]s are mostly mounted on aircraft.
*''[[Fallout (series)|Fallout]]'': Sun scorcher (runs on solar power), Alien Blaster, Various installments of laser weapons, gauss weapons, plasma weapons, pulse weapons. (rifles, handguns, gatling, grenades.)
*''[[Farscape]]'': various weapons
*''[[F.E.A.R.]]'': [[Armacham Type-7 Particle Weapon]]: [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
*''[[Forbidden Planet]]'': hand blasters & larger blasters
*[[The Foundation Series#The trilogy|''The Foundation Series'' (The Trilogy)]]: blaster: high-power [[Subatomic particle|nuclear particle]]s, shattered target.
*[[The Foundation Series#The prequels|''The Foundation Series'' (The prequels)]]: blaster: weaker
*[[The Foundation Series#The sequels|''The Foundation Series'' (The Sequels)]]: [[microwave]] gun
*''[[Ghostbusters]]'': [[proton pack]]: particle beam
*''[[Gridlinked]]'': [[pulse-gun]]: various types of fire mode
*''[[Gundam]]'': mega beam cannons: "Minovsky particles". ([[Universal Century Technology#Minovsky Physics|Minovsky Physics]] operate throughout series.)
*[[Halo (series)|''Halo'' (series)]]: various plasma weapons
*''[[The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin]]'' (1927 novel): "hyperboloid"
*''[[Hammer's Slammers]]'': Powergun: plasma pulse
*The [[Hyperion Cantos]]: Death Wand: A laser-like beam weapon
*''[[Independence Day (film)|Independence Day]]'': city-destroyer ray
*James Bond: [[Moonraker (film)|''Moonraker'' (film)]]: "Moonraker laser": laser beam. Images: [http://goldeneye.detstar.com/beta/militarylaser.jpg] [http://www.agonybooth.com/moonraker/monk_laser.jpg] [http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/4995/rakerg8fe.jpg] [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/MoonrakerMovieNovel.jpg]. It also appears in some videogames.
*''[[James Bond 007: Nightfire]]'' (a video game): Phoenix International Experimental Laser Rifle
*''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' (a video game): Gun Arrow: bullet-like laser beams
*''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'' [[MMORPG]]: Toy Ray Gun: [[laser]] beam
*[[Lucky Starr series]]: blasters: small slugs which on impact turned a fraction of their mass into energy
*''[[Mars Attacks]]'': Both the cards and [[Mars Attacks!|movie]] feature alien weapons used by the Martians capable of disintegrating human/animal flesh, and on some occasions, [[terrestrial]] weapons and devices.
*[[Metroid (series)|''Metroid'' (series)]] (a video game): ''various'', see [[Items in the Metroid series]]
*''[[Quake]]'': [[BFG10K]]: plasma
*''[[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis]]'': [[Paracelsus's Sword]]: massively offensive energy beam
*''[[Resistance: Fall of Man]]'': [[Auger]]: similar to the [[Hl2]] [[OSIPIR]]
*''[[Return to Castle Wolfenstein]]'': [[Tesla Gun]]: Multi-target electric shock gun.
*''[[Robotech]]'': [[Reflex Cannon]] (artillery-sized)
*''[[Stargate]]'': [[staff weapon]]: yellow plasma-bolt
**[[intar]]: red ball of energy
**[[Kull disruptor]]: a blue blast
**[[zat]]: blue electrical discharge
*''[[Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse"]]'': raygun: red/blue bullet of energy
**laser shotgun: a steady blue beam of energy
**laser RPG: a swirling mass of red and white energy
*[[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]]: Ray Gun: plasma
*[[Star Trek]]: See [[Weapons of Star Trek]]
*[[Star Wars]]: blaster: see [[blaster (Star Wars)]],. which describes it in detail, but with unreal physics.
**[[lightsaber]]
**''various weapons'': see [[List of Star Wars ranged weapons]]
*''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)|1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon]]'': Traditional [[laser]] guns, carried by [[Bebop and Rocksteady]]
*''[[Total Annihilation]]'': may be a traditional [[laser]], or may use coherent [[meson]] or [[pseudo-boson]] beams instead
**Plasma Cannon: Bumble
*''[[Transformers (film)]]: Plasma cannon, [[Bumblebee (transformers)|Bumblebee's]] secondary weapon
*''[[Unreal Tournament 2004]]'': Lightning Gun: [[electrolaser]]
*''[[V (TV series)|V]]'': shock rifle and pistol: unknown
*''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'': lasgun: laser beam
**Lascannon: massive energy blast
*''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|War of the Worlds]]'' (1898): [[Heat-Ray]]
*''[[Edison's Conquest of Mars]]'' (1898 sequel to ditto): [[disintegrator ray]]
*[[plasma rifle#Fiction that includes plasma rifles|''(various)'']]: [[plasma rifle]]

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Please leave this table in, as "commented out", so I can work it into a text section discussing fictional rayguns, OK, OK, OK, I know that people don't want this table to be left in as a table.
==Rayguns in fiction==
{|cellspacing="0" border="1" bgcolor="white"
|-
!Scenario
!Name of gun
!Beam type
!Mechanism; notes
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Aliens (1986 film)|Aliens]] & its series ([[Weapons of the Colonial Marines|Colonial Marines weapons]]) (Their other weapons fire projectiles.)
|"PIG" [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] cannon
|colspan="2"|Run off a backpack powerpack. Uses an [[electrolaser]] to create a magnetic containment bottle, and then slams a blob of plasma into the target.
|-
|"Particle Beam Phalanx"
|[[Particle beam]]
|Cannon-sized. The [[Armoured personnel carrier|APC]] was armed with it.
|-
|[[Babylon 5]]
|[[Phased plasma gun]]
|small pulse of [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
|In earlier episodes, few shots were fired, & plasma bursts were carefully generated by [[computer-generated imaging|CGI]], & penetrated the target, but when massive battles were staged, the CGI became lower quality, so the burst did not penetrate, but faded off.
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Blake's 7]]
|paragun
|''a short burst''
|Federation standard issue. Image [http://www.waveney.demon.co.uk/Events/Collectors/PARAGUN1.jpeg here]. More Federation kit images [http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/Events/CollectPic.html here].
|-
|a pistol
|
|Federation issue. Image [http://www.waveney.demon.co.uk/Events/Collectors/PISTOL1.jpeg here].
|-
|[[Blood 1 and 2]]
|[[Tesla Cannon]]
|colspan="2"|A cannon that shoots electrical discharges, possibly named after [[Nikola Tesla]]
|-
|rowspan="2"|Captain Proton
|blaster
|lethal white electric ray
|1930-ish, made exaggerated sound & visual effects
|-
|colspan="4"|In a [[show within a show]]: parody within a "straight" show. In [[Star Trek: Voyager]] episode ''Bride of Chaotica'', [[Tom Paris]] made a [[holodeck]] adventure series where he acted as Captain Proton, a 1930s style [[science fiction|SF]] hero.
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Command & Conquer: Renegade]]
|Black Widow (Volt auto-rifle)
|constant electrical beam ([[electrolaser]]?)
|High damage to all targets. Short range.
|-
|Firefly (laser rifle)
|instant visible laser bolts
|Rapid fire. Automatic. 50 shots per power pack. Recoil.
|-
|Tarantula (laser chaingun)
|instant visible laser bolts
|Rapid fire. Chain driven, automatic, much faster than Firefly. 100 shots per power pack.
|-
|Merlin (personal ion cannon)
|instant visible bolt of [[ion]]s
|High-powered. Rather large. Fires for a second, but cannot again for 3 seconds after. Less than 6 shots per power pack.
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (novel)]]
|T7
|Laser beam
|[[Tiberium]] fueled laser pulse. [[Brotherhood of Nod|Nod]] weapon.
|-
|EW1
|Laser beam
|[[Global Defense Initiative |GDI]] copy of Nod's T7. fuel cells leak when dropped
|-
|[[Scrin]] cannon
|particle beam
|Beam of tiberium particles. Causes "Ti-rot" in affected humans.
|-
|[[Crash Bandicoot]]
|raygun
|plasma of charged particles: rapid fire
|fires green shots that when charged can completely obliterate target
|-
|[[Darwin's World]] [[alternate history]] [[post-apocalyptic]] role-playing game
|laser rifle
|[[Nd:YAG laser]], possibly air-cooled
|hasty wartime mass-production c.2011, possibly recycled metal frame. No obvious sighting mechanism. Power usually from removable [[hydrogen fuel cell]]. Focusing [[crystals]] noted for high quality, possibly grown in [[microgravity]]. [[US Army]] and others. About 60 cm./24 in. long, 7 lbs.
|-
|[[David Weber#Other Novels|David Weber]]'s novel ''Apocalypse Troll''
|blaster
|pulse of [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
|[[capacitor]]-fed
|-
|[[Descent (computer game)|Descent Series]]
|lasers, pistol
|A laser pulse (colors ranging from orange to white to light blue)
|uses argon-cyanide gas
|-
|[[FreeSpace 2]]
|photon beam cannons
|colspan="2"|a large devastating glowing beam that damages and destroys enemy ships.
|-
|[[Doctor Who]]
|[[Dalek]]s' guns
|"ruby rays"
|fired from a gunstalk attached to the Dalek. Victim tuns negative and skeleton is visible for a few seconds. "Ruby" may be taken from [[ruby laser]]s.
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Doom]]
|[[Plasma rifle]]
|[[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
|rapid-fire plasma bolt weapon.
|-
|[[BFG 9000]]
|undefined (stated as plasma in [[Doom 3]])
|deadly energy weapon using [[unreal physics]].
|-
|[[Farscape]]
|''various weapons''
|colspan="2"|see Farscape Pulse weapons
|-
|[[F.E.A.R.]]
|[[Armacham Type-7 Particle Weapon]]
|[[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
|[[Quake]] [[railgun]] style weapon, can vaporise enemies, leaving only their skeletons and their weapons (for game reasons, to let the player pick them up) or on occasion reducing the target to a fountain of [[gibs]].
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Forbidden Planet]]
|hand blasters
|rowspan="2"|''could kill or [[vaporize]]''
|crew issue
|-
|larger blasters
|radio controlled, operated by "blastermen"
|-
|[[The Foundation Series#The trilogy|The Foundation Series (The Trilogy)]]
|blaster
|colspan="2"|dazzling beam of high-power [[Subatomic particle|nuclear particle]]s, shattered target.
|-
|[[The Foundation Series#The prequels|The Foundation Series (The prequels)]]
|blaster
|colspan="2"|weaker, only disrupted men's [[internal organ]]s, nearly no visible effect, only small release of power.
|-
|[[The Foundation Series#The sequels|The Foundation Series (The Sequels)]]
|blaster
|colspan="2"|An almost invisible beam making living beings explode with moderate noise (explained to be a [[microwave]] gun).
|-
|[[Ghostbusters]]
|[[proton pack]]
|particle beam
|long gun which runs off a backpack which contains a nuclear accelerator
|-
|[[Gridlinked]]
|[[pulse-gun]]
|''various''
|
|-
|[[Gundam]]
|mega beam cannons
|"mega particles"
|"Minovsky particles". [[Universal Century Technology#Minovsky Physics|Minovsky Physics]] operate throughout series.
|-
|[[Halo (series)]]
|various plasma weapons
|Magnetically guided and contained plasma
|Uses battery that can't be recharged or replaced by main character
|-
| ''[[The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin]]'' (1927 novel)
| "hyperboloid"
| colspan="2"|''See [[The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin]]''
|-
|[[Hammer's Slammers]]
|Powergun
|plasma pulse
|Accelerates 1 cm to 20 cm worth of perfectly arranged [[copper]] atoms down a mirror- smooth, liquid [[nitrogen]] cooled tube; the atoms become a [[plasma (physics)|plasma]] pulse. 1 cm pellets are the standard for pistols and [[submachine gun]]s. 2 cm for rifles and tribarrels. 10 cm for antitank/antiair use. 20 cm used for [[tank]] [[cannons]] and can split a mountain.
|-
|[[Hyperion Cantos|The Hyperion Cantos]]
|Death Wand
|A laser-like beam weapon which fatally disrupted the synapses of a human.
|Could only be operated at close range (a few meters), had no visible or audible effects, caused no visible damage to the target. [[Neutrino]] based. All non-human life was unaffected.
|-
|[[Independence Day (film)|Independence Day]]
|city-destroyer ray
|burst of unspecified blue energy
|uses laser to aim at target, then shoots down a burst of energy, destroying target and igniting a destructive wall of fire to spread over city.
|-
|James Bond: [[Moonraker (film)]]
|"Moonraker laser"
|laser beam
|Has white casing. Images: [http://goldeneye.detstar.com/beta/militarylaser.jpg] [http://www.agonybooth.com/moonraker/monk_laser.jpg] [http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/4995/rakerg8fe.jpg] [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/MoonrakerMovieNovel.jpg]
It also appears in some videogames.
|-
|[[James Bond 007: Nightfire]] (a videogame)
|Phoenix International Experimental Laser Rifle
|"laser beam"
|handheld powerful weapon with unlimited [[ammo]], but needs a short time to recharge its integral [[power cell]]s before reuse. Fires visible, rather slow-moving bolts. Can be charged up for a more-powerful slower-moving blast.
|-
|[[Kingdom Hearts II]] (a videogame)
|Gun Arrow
|bullet-like laser beams
|Handheld powerful weapon that [[Xigbar]], No. 2 in [[Organization XIII|the Organization]], uses. Bullets shot will curve toward target. Can be overcharged to fire a powerful "Giant Shot".
|-
|[[Kingdom of Loathing]] [[MMORPG]]
|Toy Ray Gun
|[[laser]] beam
|A stereotypical [[laser]] pistol. It apparently has an [[A.I.|artificial intelligence]].
|-
|[[Lucky Starr series|Lucky Starr]]
|blasters
|colspan="2"|small slugs which, meeting a surface, turned a fraction of their mass into energy (method indeterminate), killing the target with minimum of external light & sound
|-
|[[Metroid (series)]] (a videogame)
|''various''
|colspan="2"|see [[Items in the Metroid series]]
|-
|[[Quake]]
|[[BFG10K]]
|plasma
|
|-
|[[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis]]
|[[Paracelsus's Sword]]
|Massive experimental rail cannon being produced and wielded by the failed U. S. Army unit sent into Raccoon City to retrieve the [[G-Virus]] from [[William Birkin]].
|Needs unusually large [[batteries]] to fire; launches a massively offensive energy beam.
|-
|[[Resistance: Fall of Man]]
|[[Auger]]
|colspan="2"|Chimeran primary weapon, similar to the [[Hl2]] [[OSIPIR]].
|-
|[[Robotech]]
|[[Reflex Cannon]]
|
|artillery-sized, to destroy spaceships
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Stargate]]
|[[staff weapon]]
|yellow plasma-bolt
|2-handed like a spear.
|-
|[[intar]]
|red ball of energy
|stuns & causes [[headache]], used for training, supplied as mock versions of other weapons
|-
|[[Kull disruptor]]
|a blue blast
|the only known energy weapon that can disable a [[Kull Warrior]]
|-
|[[Zat'n'ktel (Zat)]]
|unknown: blue electrical discharge
|Small, one-hand. One hit stuns, two kills, and three vaporises.
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse"]]
|raygun
|red/blue bullet of energy
|Fires bullet that on impact makes splash-like motion, causing minor damage. Overheats from firing too long.
|-
|laser shotgun
|A steady blue beam of energy.
|Fires sonic pulse stream that pushes back whatever it hits. Overheats from firing too long.
|-
|laser RPG
|A swirling mass of red and white energy.
|After charging long enough, will fire a large ball of red and white energy that flies through the air on an arc, and on impact makes large explosion with wide area of damage.
|-
|[[Super Smash Bros. series]]
|Ray Gun
|plasma
|pistol-shaped plasma-shooting gun
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Star Trek]]
|[[Weapons of Star Trek#Phasers|phaser]]
|red or blue beam of fictional "rapid nadions" ([[meson]]-like [[subatomic particles]], (according to the Star Trek the Next Generation Manual) "involved in the exchange of information within atomic nuclei.")
|Used by the [[Federation]] and some other species. Ranges from light stun (level 1) to complete disintegration (level 16)
|-
|[[Weapons of Star Trek#Disruptors|disruptor]]
|undefined green beam or pulse
|Used by [[Klingon]]s, [[Romulan]]s, [[Cardassian]]s, and most non-Federation species. Usually kills, sometimes stuns.
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Star Wars]]
|blaster
|various particle bursts
|See [[blaster (Star Wars)]]. which describes it in detail, but with unreal physics.
|-
|[[lightsaber]]
|energy arc
|used as a blade rather than a gun, like a [[laser]] [[bullet]] frozen in mid-air, or significantly speaking, a beam sword.
|-
|''various weapons''
|colspan="2"|see [[List of Star Wars ranged weapons]]
|-
|[[Total Annihilation]]
|Laser
|May be a traditional [[laser]], or may use coherent [[meson]] or [[pseudo-boson]] beams instead
|Varies in colors and strengths
|-
|[[Unreal Tournament 2004]]
|Lightning Gun
|[[electrolaser]]
|
|-
|[[V (TV series)|V]]
|shock rifle and pistol
|unknown
|Can stun or wound a person. Lethal if the target is hit in a vital spot. Fires an electric blue/white bolt.
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Warhammer 40k]]
|Lasgun
|laser beam
|It usually can remove an unarmored human limb in one shot. Often considered useless by gamers, as it can do nothing more than tie up time. Many variants exists, such as the Hellgun, Hellpistol, and Laspistol.
|-
|Lascannon
|massive energy blast
|Heavier version of the Lasgun. Unlike the Lasgun, it can destroy heavily armored units with one shot. Godhammer patterns have better accuracy than conventional ones. (Note: all 40K las-weapons are recharged by a solar battery, and thus may run for an unlimited time)
|-
|Plasma cannon
|plasma blast
|Small-arms weapon, can be scaled up to a turret-sized weapon. Plasma weapons can blast through most armour, and are prone to overheating, except for the [[Tau (Warhammer 40,000)|Tau]] [[plasma rifle]]s.
|-
|Gauss Weaponry
|Green electrical discharge, disintegration effect
|-
|[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|War of the Worlds]] (1898)
|[[Heat-Ray]]
|''varies by versions: see [[Heat-Ray]]''
|''a very early example; also occurs in next''
|-
|[[Edison's Conquest of Mars]] (1898 sequel to ditto)
|[[disintegrator ray]]
|unspecified invisible ray
|evaporates matter whose frequency it is set to: no heat flash
|-
|[[plasma rifle#Fiction that includes plasma rifles|''(various)'']]
|plasma rifle
|[[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]
|See [[plasma rifle]], including for why they are unlikely in the real world.
|-
|PRL 412
|[[Resident Evil 4]] unlockable
|A massive flashlight-like weapon that uses light to stun human enemies and kill Los Plagas parasites. charged up, it fires a laser at every destructible object in the area, including enemies, windows, etc.
|-
|Mighty Ray Gun
|[[Evil Alien Conquerors]]
|Beam of blue plasma, fired from a pistol, that travels humorously slow.
|}
-->

==Real-world development==
* CBS in their show ''[[60 minutes]]'' showed a real weapon described as a raygun. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1w4g2vr7B4 This video] of it shows that it is most likely the [[Active Denial System]].
* Recent developments in the real world in [[laser]] guns have produced artillery-sized weapons which might be described as rayguns, but usually are not.
* See [[electrolaser]] for an electric current sent down a laser beam.
* See [[directed-energy weapon]] for various real weapons which are more or less like rayguns.
* See [[Directed-energy weapon#Mythology]] for energy weapons in ancient mythologies.
* See [[Directed-energy weapon#Tesla]] for reports that [[Tesla]] made a real raygun or similar.
* The "RayTek laser heat gun" (at [http://www.raytek.com/] call search for ''heat gun'') is a non-contact infrared thermometer, not a gun.

==See also==
* [[Death ray]]
*[[Weapons of Star Wars]]
*[[Weapons of Star Trek]]
*The film ''[[The Librarian: Quest for The Spear]]'' (2004) refers to Tesla's "Legendary Death Ray", whose [[prototype]] in the film is housed in the massive library of artifacts and books, which also includes such artifacts (fabled, or otherwise) as [[The Ark of the Covenant]] and [[Excalibur]].
*[[Shrink ray]]
*[[:Category:Rayguns]]
*[[Pulse rifle]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Raygun.svg|A typical imaginary raygun
Image:Aa raygun 05 labelled.jpg|Imaginary raygun, 2 views, with parts labelled
Image:Aa raygun big pboat sp 01 wsb.jpg|Small artillery sized version of same, in use
</gallery>


==References ==
==References ==
Line 39: Line 510:


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.drgrordborts.com The Wave Weapons of Dr. Grordbort] : Showcasing the advanced '''Raygun''' technology of inventor and philanthropist extraordinaire, '''Dr. Grordbort'''.
* [http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3l.html Atomic Rocket]: descriptions and technology and many images of [[handgun]]s and [[rifle]]-sized guns used in space including rayguns.
* [http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3l.html Atomic Rocket]: descriptions and technology and many images of [[handgun]]s and [[rifle]]-sized guns used in space including rayguns.
*[http://www.kurogawa.com/exhibit.htm The Virtual Ray Gun Exhibition]: Computer-generated ray gun art by various artists.
*[http://www.kurogawa.com/exhibit.htm The Virtual Ray Gun Exhibition]: Computer-generated '''ray gun art''' by various artists.


[[Category:Fictional firearms]]
[[Category:Fictional firearms]]

Revision as of 11:11, 20 December 2008

This article is about fictional weapons. For other meanings, see Raygun (disambiguation). See Directed-energy weapon for various real weapons which are similar to rayguns.
File:Pyrotronicdisintegrator.gif
A stereotypical raygun as shown in a 1955 patent application for a toy.

Rayguns are a type of directed-energy weapon. They are a classic and widespread feature of science fiction. Types of raygun have various names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, etc. They supply the general role of guns in the scenarios of many stories.

History

A very early example is the Heat-Ray featured in H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, which was published in 1898. Science fiction as far back as the 1920s emphasized death rays as the weapons of choice. Early science fiction often showed raygun beams making bright light and loud noise like lightning or large electric arcs. When the laser, invented in 1960, became an industrial reality the generic fictional death rays were often renamed "lasers" (see Science fiction weapon). By the late 1960s and 1970s however, the laser's limits as a weapon were evident, and less specific terms such as "phaser" (see Star Trek) or "blaster" (see Star Wars) were used.

Types

The ray fired is usually stated to be one of:

  • Laser
  • Particle beam:
  • plasma: see also plasma rifle
  • Defined by a word not known in real-world science, e.g. "disruptor".
  • Undefined.
  • Concussion Beam: A generic term often applied to energy beams when the nature of the weapon is unknown. They are often non-lethal and only temporarily disable an opponent by knocking them down. They are often seen in television cartoons where realistic conventional weaponry is usually disallowed due to restrictions on violence. They are also seen in many superhero comic books where they are part of a characters superpowers.

The well-known Star Trek phaser fires a particle beam of a fictional subatomic particle called nadions.

Blaster is an unreal technology attempt at describing how a type of raygun works.

Sometimes in science fiction stories, rayguns are used for metal cutting like blowtorches.

In some science fiction, some rayguns have a firing mode that can stun its target instead of killing.

Rayguns under their various names come in various sizes and forms: pistol; two-handed (often called a rifle); mounted on a vehicle; artillery-sized mounted on a spaceship or space base or asteroid or planet. The pistol form is seen most often.

A "beam gun" in anime is an energy weapon which fires a colored beam of light.

"FX-Ray laser" in American science fiction and animation is a humorous name for a raygun that fires a visible beam: FX is the show biz term for special effects.

The shapes of some rayguns are influenced by an opinion that they look most effective and weapon-like if they look somewhat like real guns; others, such as this, are not.

Rayguns are a great variety of shapes and sizes, according to the imagination of the story writers and movie prop makers. Most pistol rayguns have a conventional grip and trigger, but some (e.g. Next Generation phasers) do not.

Many rayguns do not behave like classical lasers:

  • Often the beam travels at much less than the speed of light. The phasers of the Star Trek television series can be seen to be traveling much slower than a conventional bullet. Star Wars lasers are depicted as brightly colored streaks of light resembling tracer ammunition.
  • The beam can be seen from off its axis, which would not happen in space where there is nothing to be illuminated by the beam.
  • Sometimes, visible barrel recoil. This would only happen if the momentum of the beam is comparable to that of a bullet fired from a gun.
  • Sometimes, the power of the beam completely evaporates a man (equipment and all) who is hit by the beam.

However, some of the above properties are consistent with particle beam weapons.

Real-life limitations

Types of raygun

The following is a partial list of notable rayguns or types of rayguns.

Some fictional makes of raygun


Real-world development

See also

  • A typical imaginary raygun
    A typical imaginary raygun
  • Imaginary raygun, 2 views, with parts labelled
    Imaginary raygun, 2 views, with parts labelled
  • Small artillery sized version of same, in use
    Small artillery sized version of same, in use

References

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