Raygun
Rayguns, death rays, beam guns, blasters, laser guns, disruptors etc. are generic terms for directed-energy weapons as depicted in science fiction.[1]
History
A very early example of a raygun is the Heat-Ray featured in H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (1898).[2] 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 arcs. Nikola Tesla's attempts at developing directed-energy weapons, or "death rays", also fueled the imagination of many writers.
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.[1]
By the late 1960s and 1970s, as the laser's limits as a weapon became evident, rayguns were redubbed "phasers" (in Star Trek), "blasters" (Star Wars), "pulse rifles" and so forth.
Function
Ray guns as depicted in science fiction do not suffer from the disadvantages that have, so far, made directed-energy weapons largely unpractical as weapons in real life,[2] requiring a suspension of disbelief from a technologically educated audience.
To begin with, ray guns draw seemingly limitless power from often unspecified sources.[2] 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.[2]
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.[2] In contrast, real-life laser light is invisible to observers and travels at the speed of light.
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.[2] Raygun victims are generally killed instantaneously, often – as in the Star Wars films – without showing visible wounds or even holes in their clothing.[2] Some rayguns even cause their targets to disappear (or "de-materialize") entirely. Others may be used to cut through hard materials like a blowtorch.[2]
Ray guns are often depicted as effecting the transmission of heat, as with Wells' heat rays.[2] Less frequently, they are shown as transmitting cold, as with the "freeze rays" in the TV series Batman (1966–1968) and Underdog (1964–1970).[2] 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 weapons.[2]
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, masers, or particle beams.[2] Instead, they are best compared to the firearms commonly depicted in action movies, which also tend to infallibly hit whatever they're aimed at and seldom run out of ammunition.[3]
List
The following is a partial list of notable rayguns or types of rayguns.
- Blasters are the standard raygun of the Star Wars universe.
- Electrolasers, electroshock weapons in which current is sent along a electrically conductive laser-induced plasma channel, are depicted as rayguns in many works of fiction.
- Disruptors or disintegrator rays, weapons disrupting the molecular structure of matter, are used in "Star Trek" and in "Star Wars", among other works.
- Phasers are the standard raygun of the Star Trek universe; see also Weapons of Star Trek.
- Plasma rifles, 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 games.
- Pulse rifle is the name for a wide range of fictional weapons from various works.
References
External links
- Atomic Rocket: descriptions and technology and many images of handguns and rifle-sized guns used in space including rayguns.
- The Virtual Ray Gun Exhibition: Computer-generated ray gun art by various artists.