Beam Technology
From Gwn
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The beam technology of Gundam Wing remains one of the most hotly contested subjects of fandom. The main issue of debate is whether or not the beams exhibited are Plasma or Energized Particles. Since the definition of Plasma is energized particles, it can be argued that they are both. This article is only applicable to the energy weapons of the GWN universe, and is based on Universal Century technology.
Basic Technology
Original research on what would become Beam Technology began in After Colony 102. The research was originally devoted to the development of a nuclear fusion reactor. Within 10 years a successful prototype reactor was developed. This reactor was considered very questionable technology and the physics community labeled the developers manufacturers of pseudo-science. Production of a second generator proved successful and the first commercially viable fusion reactor was produced by the Romefellar Foundation.
The reactant used in the technology is a rare isotope of helium known as Helium-3 (i.e., 2 protons and 1 neutron in the nucleus). A Helium-3 atom is fused with a deuterium atom (heavy hydrogen) to form the stable Helium-4 and a single proton. Since the proton is positively charged, it can easily be trapped within a magnetic field. The free protons produce an electrical charge in the generator.
A practical problem with the generator is that Helium-3 is extremely rare. While there are few deposits on Earth, those are mainly found in uranium mines and are mostly depleted. Fusion reactors rely on a constant supply of helium imported from the outer solar system planets Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus. This necessitated the beginning of the Jupiter Energy Fleet, formed originally as an independent shipping line formed in AC 125. The JEF originally would travel from Earth to Jupiter, which has a high level of helium-3, and then come back to Earth with the gas.
It should be noted that in real physics, helium-3-deuterium fusion produces neutrons due to inevitable deuterium-deuterium reactions. Also, significant quantities of helium-3 were recently discovered on the moon, although there is certainly much more on Jupiter.
While working on the reactor, scientists encountered a strange electromagnetic wave effect within the reactor that could not be explained by conventional physics. The scientists identified the cause; a new elementary particle generated by the helium-3 reaction on the inner wall of the reactor, which was named the Mystery particle or "M" particle. This ionized particle has been classified as a part of Plasma, the fourth state of matter. The repulsive forces between charged M particles cause them to spontaneously align into a regular cubic lattice structure called either by an Energy or I-field (depending on the culture).
Researchers developed an ultra-compact fusion reactor in AC 165. Instead of the conventional magnetic field, this improved version of the original reactor used an I-field to confine and compress the reactor fuel, triggering a fusion reaction. The M particles produced as a byproduct of the helium-3 fusion reaction were recycled to keep that reaction going. The M particles that form the I-field lattice also helped catalyze the fusion reaction. This super-efficient design was only a fifth as large as an equivalently powerful original reactor, so it replaced all other Fusion reactors.
Interference/Energy-Field
The I-field can be used as a defensive barrier. Using special technology, a dense I-field in the space surrounding the barrier generator can deflect beam weapons derived from due to the interaction force between the particles. This barrier has no effect against lasers, particle beams, or against physical attacks such as missiles.
This technology was first utilized the Gemini Foundation in AC 269. Despite the deflection power of the I-Field, it usually over-heats easily, usually for no longer than 20 minutes before generator burn-out. While impressive A more powerful defense system, the Beam shield eventually fell into common use. The I-Field Barrier became used more as part of overall defensive suites.
Repulsor Drive
A passive application of the Energy Field produced from a generator is the Repulsor field. An I-field is unable to penetrate metal, water, the Earth's surface, or other electrically conductive materials since it is made up of charged particles. The field can be shaped simply through encasing it in an electromagnetic field. At low altitudes it is possible to generate an I-field cushion between the underside of a vessel and the ground. This produces a gravity-countering buoyancy. Application of this technology allows a vehicle to "fly" under gravity, though mostly this technology is used with civilian vessels.
Particle Beams
Due to the repulsive forces between the positive and negative particles from the fusion reaction, large amounts of energy are required to compress an I-field lattice. If enough energy is applied, and the I-field is sufficiently compressed, the M particles ultimately fuse into massive electrically neutral mega-particles. The energy used to create the mega particles is expressed as both mass and velocity. No longer subject to the electrical forces that maintain the I-field lattice, the particles burst out of the electromagnetic field used to compress them. The weapon requires a second I-field forming a barrel shape to prevent the mega particles from destroying the weapon that fired them, forming a Particle Beam.
Effectiveness of a particle beam is heavily reduced in atmospheres, where the ambient atoms interfere with the particle beam itself. Because of this, particle beams are often only used in space, and thus mostly armed on space-ships and colony defense systems.
Low Intensity Beam Weapons
While Particle beams perform the best in space but poorly in atmospheric conditions, the application of active Plasma weaponry became a goal of the Romefellar Foundation. Instead of using pure particle beams from the collisions inside the generators, the scientists instead created a weapon that released the pure plasma through a series of magnetic and I-fields. Unlike Particle Beams, this form of beam technology requires less energy to produce, although it is deflectable by I-field barriers. The energy beam released is still highly destructive, and is the basis of all projecting beam weaponry.
In early AC 176, Romefellar Foundation research led to the development of theE-cap (a contraction of "energy capacitor"). This device stores the M particles plasma in a high-energy compressed state so that only a small amount of additional energy is required to trigger their release. The E-cap is charged through an external source, and then functions like a battery until its supply of plasma is exhausted, rendering the weapon useless.
The limited capacity of the E-cap proved to be a significant shortcoming in early weaponry.Some could only fire 16 blasts before exhausting the E-cap's supply, thus rendering the whole weapon useless. By AC 215, this technology was further refined to use a removable E-cap module called an E-pac. A Mobile Suit equipped with spare E-pacs could then swap them during a battle to replenish its beam weapon's plasma supply.
Beam Rifles
The most common application of the low intensity beam weaponry is the Beam Rifle. Shaped like it's human-use counterpart, a beam rifle is an active weapon capable of releasing lethal blasts of energy. Beam Rifles are often powered by E-Pacs, although some defensive units still utilize the older E-Cap technology.
Beam Rifles are often modified into very distinct variants:
- Beam Assault Rifle - Although the individual blasts are weaker than a regular beam rifle blast, the Beam Assault Rifle is capable of semi-automatic fire, and thus requires a larger E-Pac for charging. This makes Beam Assault Rifles more costly to produce.
- Beam Sniper Rifle - Sporting a longer barrel, beam rifles designed for 'sniping' travel through a more focused energy field, allowing the beam to travel farther before diffusion reduces accuracy and potency.
- Beam Shotgun/Spray Gun - This variation of the Beam Rifle releases beams that are much less focused, spraying them outward like a shotgun blast.
Beam Cannons
A beam cannon is different from a beam rifle only in design and output. This weapon creates a much higher intensity blast of energy, although it requires a much larger vehicle. Beam Cannons are commonly used by ships rather than Mobile Suits, however some models use these weapons in lieu of traditional beam rifles. The main difference between the two weapons is that beam cannons almost always use E-Cap technology rather than the E-pac technology, mainly because beam cannons are always hooked up to a separate generator rather than having to rely on an external charging source.
Like the beam rifle, beam cannons can be modified from original design. The only notable design is a beam Gatling gun. This weapon releases quicker beam bursts of a lower intensity blast, but at a higher rate of fire. While these weapons sometimes use E-Pacs, they are often designed with direct generator connection.
High Intensity Beam Weapons
High intensity beam weapons are different than beam rifles and cannons in the method in which they are used. While the beam rifle is a tactical weapon to be used in combat between mobile weaponry, High intensity beam weapons are used more as Beam bombs, maximizing destruction in a single attack. This separates the two weapons and creates a class of very powerful but limited weaponry.
Buster Rifles
A Buster Rifle was a weapon originally showcased on the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, designed to 'bust' fortified military installations or defensive installations. This was achieved through a highly focused intense beam, capable of creating a great amount of damage in a penetrating shot. The weapon's limited ammunition capability (often between 3 to 6 uses) makes the weapon a more specialized piece of equipment. The weapon is often included in specialized individual units rather than general use weaponry.
Beam Bazookas
Unlike the Buster rifle, designed to penetrate, the Beam Bazooka was designed to overwhelm. The bazooka also has limited ammunition capacity, also suffering from a massive power consumption. The main difference between a Beam Bazooka and Buster Rifle is the style of beam released. The Beam Bazooka blast is a larger compact blast that released the energy on impact. This is achieved through releasing the energy in a formation similar to a hurricane, where the energy swirls around itself until impact. Upon impact the energy is released in a concussive blast capable of producing blast damage in a great rate.
Variable Speed Beam Weapons
The natural counter of any beam weapon is the I-field. The production of beam shields and I-fielded shields made even the weakest mass-production Mobile Weapons impenetrable to common long ranged weaponry. Mobile suit weapon developers were forced to either design mobile suits for close-range encounters, or to develop much more powerful weapons. Both options were very expensive, and in AC 270 a new type of beam weapon was successfully developed by the UEG called the Variable Speed Beam Rifle.
The weapon is a take off of the classic Beam Rifle design, but using a new form of internal generator and firing technology. Unlike other beam projection devices, the VSBR was capable of producing different intensity levels of release. The addition of the internal generator made the weapon large, but much more tactical in active combat. The two extremes of the firing modes are:
- A thin-beam high penetration mode
- A wide-beam high damage mode
The former mode emits a faster beam energy capable of penetrating all known armor types and beam shields. The damage dealt to the target is significantly lowered due to its high penetration power, creating a clean hole rather than a high range of damage. The latter mode projects plasma with much less velocity although with greater splash damage. The middle point in between the two modes would produce a shot similar to a normal beam rifle.
Variable Speed Beam weaponry remain a relatively expensive technology, and is never seen as viably mass-produced. The only effective method of stopping the penetrating attack is though a strong, layered I-Field. While the Gemini Foundation popularized miniaturized I-Field generators for for complete coverage of a mobile weapon, those also were expensive to produce, and not seen as viable for mass installation due to the rarity of VSB technology.
Energy Field Beam Blades and Shields
The creation of a beam blade requires blade-shaped I-field (via manipulation of electromagnetic fields) which is then filled with superheated plasma to produce an effective cutting blade. The weapon is charged through an E-cap, which is recharged from the Mobile Suit's reactor when the hilt is returned to its socket. Once activated, beam blades do not rely on the mobile suit's reactor and can be thrown or discarded as decoys. The termination of the I-field along a solid contact surface allows the plasma to eat away at the offending material until the I-field reestablishes itself, allowing the weapon to "cut" through almost any target. Since a beam blade's I-field enclosure repels plasma, it not only keeps the blade's plasma in but also keeps plasma from another blade out allowing one beam saber to be used to block another.
Beam Blades
The most common application of energy fields being filled with plasma is the beam blade. Used by mobile suits primarily, the weapon has become the staple compliment a long-range weapon. This has led to creativity to be applied to the formation of the blade, originally only in long spikes called 'beam sabers'. Since the containing fields can be formed into a variety of simple shapes, other variants of the weapon emerged like the beam tomahawk, naginata, scythe, axe, mace, etc. These unique designs often often become the trademark of the Mobile Suit design.
Beam Shields
A defensive application of beam saber technology was a beam barrier projected by Gemini-produced remote weapons. This barrier creates a tetrahedral shell around the mobile suit, with a fin funnel at each vertex and planes of energy akin to beam saber blades forming the surfaces of the shell. Unlike the classic I-field barrier, this beam barrier not only deflects beam attacks, but could also dissolve physical attacks like bullets and missiles. Sufficient pressure on the field could cause collapse through either destabilization of the energy field or plasma leaking out and damaging the emitters.
A further development created a compacted version of similar technology to a beam blade, but with the blade stretched out to form a shield. The beam shield is composed of a simple segmented-plane of plasma, radiating from a central generator unit, which can be used like a physical shield to deflect enemy attacks. Since the edges of the beam shield are as deadly as a beam saber blade, the mobile suit's computer automatically deactivates sections of the shield that would otherwise lop off the mobile suit's own limbs. Though it was limited to a single direction - and, like its beam barrier ancestor, could be collapsed by a powerful attack. The beam shield's lower energy requirements and effectiveness against every type of weapon made it a superior alternative to an I-field barrier. Even some warships are equipped with beam shields.
Variable Speed Beam weaponry (Like the Variable Speed Beam Rifle) were developed to counter this specific defense. It's output power in the highest intensity was capable of penetrating a beam shield through piercing the layers of energy fields.
Beam Chains
A rather interesting application of beam blade technology has been the development of beam chains in AC 170. The chain, created by oscillating energy waves, but rather than being filled with harmful plasma, the chain is filled with a compound resin that glows. This gives the appearance that it is a dangerous beam weapon while also being able to repel other beam blades. The technology was never used widely and mostly used on Gundams.
