Approved Tech Glowstick Repellent

[Ellie Mors]

Spoiler

Image Source: William Crighton
Intent: To get rid of those pesky glowsticks.
Development Thread: N/A
Manufacturer: The Galactic Republic
Model: ALA-01C
Affiliation: The Galactic Republic (Player Characters Only)
Modularity: None
Production: Limited
Material:

• Frasium
• JL-12-F

Classification: Slugthrower Round
Size: Ammunition
Length: 10.9x33 mm
Weight: 22 g
Ammunition Type: This is Ammunition / Bullet, Can only be used in a magnetically accelerated sidearm.
Ammunition Capacity: This is Ammunition. Sold singularly, way too expensive to be used in a fully automatic weapon and generally intended for side-arm use.
Effective Range: 135 m (When fired at 434 m/s)
Rate of Fire: Too expensive to be supplied for fully-automated weapons. Designated for Semi-Automatic or Single-Shot sidearm use only.
Special Features:

• Explosive: Designed specifically for use against lightsabers and energy shields, these rounds carry JL-12-F, which requires a spark (or in this case the burning plasma of a lightsaber) in order to detonate. Carried in a frasium shell, these heavy rounds hold roughly six grams of explosive material within, enough to send molten shrapnel into the face of any wielder of a lightsaber than happens to be unfortunate enough to be shot with one of these rounds - the expanding miniature explosion caused by one of these alone should be enough to draw vital focus from force users, whom rely on their concentration to connect with the force, and the bright flash of explosives can cause serious visual impediments.

Description:

Extremely expensive, being that the round contains frasium as the exterior of the round, each of these rounds cost about ten thousand credits each. Designed primarily for last-ditch efforts to combat a lightsaber-wielding foe, these rounds are heavy 44 caliber rounds which are completely unsuitable for rapid fire - especially due to their required use of a coilgun. The sheer recoil someone would face by firing one of these rounds generally means that whomever is firing this round will likely only be able to get one or two shots, maybe three, off in close-quarters and only the first shot is likely to be accurate. Though explosive, these rounds carry JL-12-F which requires a spark, flame, or other source of combustion - outside of sheer temperature, within reason - in order to ignite and explode. The heat of the coilgun that was tested during firing prior to proper production showed that rapid-fire firing, such as with fully-automated weapons or attempting to unload a six or seven shots, and consequently more, heated the barrel of the gun to a high enough temperature that proceeding with more shots would increase chances of premature detonation by almost 80%, so it is recommended - beyond just the cost of the round itself - to consider only making use of one or two shots at most within a five minute period in order to prevent self-inflicted harm. Because of the nature of this round, being how expensive it is, and how dangerous it is to fire ten rounds in quick succession, the Galactic Republic has mandated that these rounds only be sold in pre-loaded cartridges of four or less, reinforcing its intended purpose of a last-ditch effort of self defense.

It should be noted that the explosion itself is not likely to directly interact with the weightless blade of a lightsaber, though it is likely to be highly dangerous for the person holding it.

 

[Netherworld]

RESEARCH REVIEW

Star Wars Canon:
Pending initial review

Starwars Chaos:
Pending initial review

WITHOUT DEV THREADS
Pending initial review

WITH DEV THREADS
Pending Initial review

SUGGESTIONS
Pending Inital review

 

[Netherworld]

[member="Braith Achlys"]

Interesting submission, well written all-around, but there's a couple of kinks to work out.


There is a number of issues I see here, so I'm going to tackle them individually.

1. The round is, judging by design, grain/weight, and size, meant to be used in rifles, whereas you write that it's limited to sidearms, which are generally pistols.
2. Referencing a round of the same grain, the velocity you list (940 m/s) is excessive.
3. If it's only usable in rail/coilguns, why is there the need for the powder, casing, or a primer in the first place?
4. Again with the rail/coilguns; they generate great amounts of heat, which would in turn effectively cook the explosives inside the round.
5. The Chepatite Impact Explosive reacts to kinetic force (so essentially a touch explosive); to accelerate the round to the referenced velocity (940 m/s), one would require an impractically long barrel to avoid having the round explode upon launch.
6. Given that the round is alchemized, and canonically alchemy makes things somewhere between 2x to 3x heavier, the amount of explosive you could cram into that bullet (give or take 5g) would have negligible effects. For comparison, about 30g of C4 is enough to blow a lock (if one knows how to place it with sufficient skill).
7. Finally, regarding the explosion generated upon impact; the expanding gas would lack the density required to "make" the lightsaber interact with it as if it were solid, thus failing to alter the trajectory of the lightsaber, and without that, bone fractures wouldn't be all that likely. I'd posit it wouldn't be enough to disarm someone either.

Tag me with edits, questions, or explanations.

 

[Ellie Mors]

The round is, judging by design, grain/weight, and size, meant to be used in rifles, whereas you write that it's limited to sidearms, which are generally pistols.

What size round would you suggest, on the larger side?

Referencing a round of the same grain, the velocity you list (940 m/s) is excessive.

Forgot to fix that when I changed the weight/grain . Will adjust when the first problem you had is addressed.

If it's only usable in rail/coilguns, why is there the need for the powder, casing, or a primer in the first place?

There isn't. The reason I explained it couldn't be fitted to a normal gun and attempted to be fired that way was because it has an explosive chemical stored inside of it and trying to fire it from a normal gun would result in the ammunition, and probably the gun and the person's hand, being blown apart. Didn't want anyone to be slick and try to use this where it shouldn't be used, or to not realize that it couldn't be used that way despite the warning I emboldened.

Again with the rail/coilguns; they generate great amounts of heat, which would in turn effectively cook the explosives inside the round.

A hyperbaride (frasium) is able to resist large amounts of heat, used in construction of turbolaser cannons and such to prevent the tubing in those weapons from melting. I made use of frasium (alchemized) specifically for this purpose.

The Chepatite Impact Explosive reacts to kinetic force (so essentially a touch explosive); to accelerate the round to the referenced velocity (940 m/s), one would require an impractically long barrel to avoid having the round explode upon launch.

The 940 m/s velocity was just used as an example of the maximum range the round could possibly travel by means of physics, explosive or not. It isn't meant to be used as an example of what speeds the gun (which will be what decides the actual velocity of the round) will fire it at. This is meant to be the uppermost extreme just in case someone tries to use this round for a magnetically accelerated sniper or something. I can clarify as much, once I've adjusted the velocity to the new grain.

Given that the round is alchemized, and canonically alchemy makes things somewhere between 2x to 3x heavier, the amount of explosive you could cram into that bullet (give or take 5g) would have negligible effects. For comparison, about 30g of C4 is enough to blow a lock (if one knows how to place it with sufficient skill).

The explosive, as seen in "Tinian On Trial", had enough explosive power when small enough to fit in the palm of the hand to create an explosion to blow apart duracrete and create a rubble pile of nearly two meters in height (here's a link to the book, click the "Page >>" button to see the two pages which demonstrate this). I figured a smaller portion with only enough explosive power to blow open a lock would be more reasonable.

Finally, regarding the explosion generated upon impact; the expanding gas would lack the density required to "make" the lightsaber interact with it as if it were solid, thus failing to alter the trajectory of the lightsaber, and without that, bone fractures wouldn't be all that likely. I'd posit it wouldn't be enough to disarm someone either.

In the same manner that a low-yield explosion formed by a particle beam upon impact with a lightsaber can pose issue for the wielder in the way of disarmament, I am certain that an explosive would do quite the same.

 

[Ellie Mors]

Effective Range: 800 m (When fired at 940 m/s) This is the absolute highest velocity and range the ammunition is capable of traveling by use in any weapon, and is not the standard by any stretch of the word. Average expected velocity is to be 300-340 m/s

[member="Netherworld"]
I added this note to clarify.

 

[Netherworld]

@Brait Achlys

What size round would you suggest, on the larger side?

• If we're talking sidearms/pistols, then a 9mm round would be a good size.
• It's also worth mentioning that with the reduction in size, even less explosive would fit inside the bullet. Half a gram, maybe one if it has a really high density.

In the same manner that a low-yield explosion formed by a particle beam upon impact with a lightsaber can pose issue for the wielder in the way of disarmament, I am certain that an explosive would do quite the same.

• A particle beam is a whole another story.
  "Due to their unstable nature, particle beams acted like blaster bolts when fired, but upon contact with an energy field or solid object, would explode violently." -Wookieepedia
  That's a direct result of something (e.g. the particles) interacting with the blade, whereas with your round, it's the round that interacts, not the gas itself. The resulting explosion would maybe affect the wielder of the round, but a lightsaber beam would pass right through.

A hyperbaride (frasium) is able to resist large amounts of heat, used in construction of turbolaser cannons and such to prevent the tubing in those weapons from melting. I made use of frasium (alchemized) specifically for this purpose.

• Resistant to heat does not mean it doesn't conduct it, only that it can get hot and maintain mechanical integrity (i.e. not melting). It doesn't mean that whatever's inside won't get cooked to oblivion.

The explosive, as seen in "Tinian On Trial", had enough explosive power when small enough to fit in the palm of the hand to create an explosion to blow apart duracrete and create a rubble pile of nearly two meters in height (here's a link to the book, click the "Page >>" button to see the two pages which demonstrate this). I figured a smaller portion with only enough explosive power to blow open a lock would be more reasonable.

• The link only takes me to the google books review page, unfortunately.

All in all, given the fact that the round contains a touch explosive, this thing would be far more dangerous to the user than any potential target. "Sufficient kinetic force" is tricky, especially when the explosive is packed tight into a bullet. Take this, for reference. Rail/coilgun or no, you're accelerating a touch explosive to considerable speeds; the shock of launch, without a long barrel to accelerate it slowly and gradually, would most likely set off the explosive and blow the gun up into the user's face.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Netherworld"]
Edited the submission with a new explosive substance, round size, and just put the average velocity & effective range down instead of the absolute maximum. Made a specific note that trying to fire more than the designated set sold (4 at maximum) in quick succession may cause premature detonation in the barrel of the gun, being that the explosive is detonated by spark and not kinetic force or normal firing temperatures. (i.e; Firing 7 rounds in quick succession would result in round 5-7 having exponentially larger chances of the round exploding in the gun.)

Also made explicit mention of the recoil to be expected by the new round size.

 

[Netherworld]

[member="Braith Achlys"]

The new explosive works much better with what you're going for, yes.
All in all very nice, just one last thing:

Effective Range: 270 m (When fired at 434 m/s)

• Given the type of round you're using (.44), that would be the maximum range, as opposed to an effective range.
  The round is heavy, and has a lot of bullet drop, at which point it becomes highly inaccurate (and therefore ineffective).
• With that in mind, I'd ask you to drop the effective range to somewhere between 120-150 m, would be a bit dependent on the length of the barrel.

Tag me with questions and/or edits.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Netherworld"]
Effective range changed to 135 m

 

[Netherworld]

[member="Braith Achlys"]

Excellent. Thank you for you cooperation.

Pending approval, Ordnance Lord [member="Cira"].

 

[Alric Kuhn]

This isn't all that out of this world. If you sized it up it would be very similar to things I know very well. I think SW would easily have the capability to manufacture things like this.

Also, I'm prettier than Cira.

Approved.