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Post by strikedragon on May 1, 2018 23:07:19 GMT
In class I learned a little bit about electron beams. In industry they have better penetration than lasers and their main disadvantage is that they have to be used in a vacuum. So I am wondering why don't I ever see electron beams as weapons in sci-fi or COADE? The electron beam won't be reflected by any material and they are much higher efficiency than lasers so would they be more effective weapons. The electrons don't travel at light speed, but I imagine you could get them going pretty fast. Are there any disadvantages that I'm not seeing?
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Post by treptoplax on May 2, 2018 2:18:34 GMT
As I understand it (and am not an expert), the main issue with charged beams as weapons is that the like-charged particles mutually repel and cause the beam to scatter/diffuse over longer ranges.
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Post by The Astronomer on May 2, 2018 5:52:20 GMT
...so quickly you'll have what is essentially an ion drive: you can use it for propulsion, but not useful as a weapon.
Not an expert either, but I'm sure that's pretty much what's going to happen if you use an electron beam.
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Post by AtomHeartDragon on May 2, 2018 8:51:34 GMT
You will also build up charge on the firing craft.
With positively charged, heavier particles (ions, protons, atomic nuclei) you might actually be able to solve both problems by injecting electrons into the beam after accelerating it. Electrons are much less massive than any "normal" (as in "not antimatter or quickly decaying exotic stuff") positively charged particles, so they should stop electrostatic blooming and remove built-up charge without messing the beam up too much.
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Post by The Astronomer on May 2, 2018 10:00:44 GMT
You will also build up charge on the firing craft. With positively charged, heavier particles (ions, protons, atomic nuclei) you might actually be able to solve both problems by injecting electrons into the beam after accelerating it. Electrons are much less massive than any "normal" (as in "not antimatter or quickly decaying exotic stuff") positively charged particles, so they should stop electrostatic blooming and remove built-up charge without messing the beam up too much. I heard that the problem of those neutral beams is that reintroducing electron causes some kind of instability. ...oh, that reminds me of an art I made a few months ago for a possible CDE science video... |
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Post by bigbombr on May 2, 2018 14:51:00 GMT
You will also build up charge on the firing craft. With positively charged, heavier particles (ions, protons, atomic nuclei) you might actually be able to solve both problems by injecting electrons into the beam after accelerating it. Electrons are much less massive than any "normal" (as in "not antimatter or quickly decaying exotic stuff") positively charged particles, so they should stop electrostatic blooming and remove built-up charge without messing the beam up too much. I heard that the problem of those neutral beams is that reintroducing electron causes some kind of instability. ...oh, that reminds me of an art I made a few months ago for a possible CDE science video...And the end result is still essentially a high velocity stream of plasma and will still bloom by simple gas expansion. |
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Post by AtomHeartDragon on May 2, 2018 15:41:56 GMT
I heard that the problem of those neutral beams is that reintroducing electron causes some kind of instability. ...oh, that reminds me of an art I made a few months ago for a possible CDE science video...And the end result is still essentially a high velocity stream of plasma and will still bloom by simple gas expansion. At least it won't be pushed apart by electrostatic repulsion on top of that. |
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