MGT's man portable fusion PP's question

[sideranautae]

Does anyone have any ideas as to the range of power output that MGT's man portable fusion PP's would/should have? They put out enough to power PGMP's and the like.

 

[Reynard]

The description for the Fusion Generator does say 'recharging weapons'. I take it to mean you hook the power pack to it and let it go for a while like most chargers. I think I remember these things are bulky probably mostly shielding and they aren't meant to be a substitute for the charged pack. It only runs for a month which sounds like you need to replace the fuel source. And at 500Kcr, it's not a home generator.

 

[sideranautae]

The description for the Fusion Generator does say 'recharging weapons'. I take it to mean you hook the power pack to it and let it go for a while like most chargers. I think I remember these things are bulky probably mostly shielding and they aren't meant to be a substitute for the charged pack. It only runs for a month which sounds like you need to replace the fuel source. And at 500Kcr, it's not a home generator.

The description for the the PGMP doesn't state what you just wrote. I'm not talking about the Fusion generator but, the micro-fusion PP that is part of the PGMP weapon...

 

[Reynard]

Ah yes. I got the laser power pack (PP) and the plasma fusion reactor which you were referring as a power plant (PP) crossed. Reread it and it actually is referred to as a fusion reactor! Seriously? As Scotty once said 'They have warp drive the size of walnuts!'. They run indefinitely? Even a ship's or a vehicle needs to refuel. What magic be this? Oh wait, it's TL 16, Clark's Law of Technology.

Similarly they give no indication of the output sufficient to heat something unknown to a state of plasma and discharge it. It's doesn't need to have a lot of power just enough to create a microburst into the chamber to superheat the matter and the reactor is integral to the rifle system so it can't be used for anything else. It's not even that powerful with a TL laser rifle having a damage range of 8-33 which uses a power pack compared to the PR's 6-36. I'd say relatively low power considering all of the above properties, not a power house but a steady power supply.

 

[sideranautae]

Similarly they give no indication of the output sufficient to heat something unknown to a state of plasma and discharge it. It's doesn't need to have a lot of power just enough to create a microburst into the chamber to superheat the matter and the reactor is integral to the rifle system so it can't be used for anything else. It's not even that powerful with a TL laser rifle having a damage range of 8-33 which uses a power pack compared to the PR's 6-36. I'd say relatively low power considering all of the above properties, not a power house but a steady power supply.

IRL to take H2 (which is the PGMP "fuel") to a super heated plasma in the amount to do massive damage listed for the weapon (there is no 2nd stage of fusion) would take several MW.

I was just trying to narrow the range a bit.



Thanks though

I guess I will just make 1 MW/sec output. One shot every 6 seconds as it charges some super capacitor thingy.

BTW, great quote from Scotty. Can't remember the episode. Sooo long ago.

 

[Matt Wilson]

What's the damage equivalent of a PGMP? About the same as a modern-day tank cannon?

That's on the order of megajoules of energy, so you could say it requires a similar output from the reactor.

 

[sideranautae]

What's the damage equivalent of a PGMP? About the same as a modern-day tank cannon?

That's on the order of megajoules of energy, so you could say it requires a similar output from the reactor.

a 120mm MBT gun is ~20 Mj point blank. A PGMP does at LEAST that much damage at a long range... :shock:

 

[Reynard]

"IRL to take H2 (which is the PGMP "fuel")"

Can't be hydrogen because it never needs refueling. The reactor solely produces a plasma energy from something in the tiny reactor. It can fire in a vacuum so it's not drawing from outside.

Unless TL 16 takes quantum leaps a man portable reactor shouldn't be rivaling starships, actually, surpassing them since it never needs fuel. That's why I suggest a system that doesn't rely on raw power. Can't remember the physics but rather than power over a long period, one discharges a smaller energy quantity at microsecond (or nanosecond) bursts. Would also... possibly explain where it gets so much power from so little a source without invoking magic.

 

[sideranautae]

"IRL to take H2 (which is the PGMP "fuel")"

Can't be hydrogen because it never needs refueling. The reactor solely produces a plasma energy from something in the tiny reactor. It can fire in a vacuum so it's not drawing from outside.

The FUSION reactor is Hydrogen powered. (hence it uses hydrogen) Sorry but you can't create plasma out of nothing. Do you know what plasma (4th state of matter is?) on a technical level? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(physics)

So, like I stated above, it has to produce on the order of MW's of energy.

 

[Reynard]

I'm just telling you what the core book states. A power source that does not run out of ammunition. There is absolutely no mention of hydrogen fuel or even the ability to refuel the reactor. It's Traveller magic.

 

[sideranautae]

I'm just telling you what the core book states. A power source that does not run out of ammunition. There is absolutely no mention of hydrogen fuel or even the ability to refuel the reactor. It's Traveller magic.

A fusion reactor in trav uses hydrogen. The rules wouldn't state what is already known. Just like the rules don't tell you that tires are round. :lol:

 

[Reynard]

So the weapon's descriptor is untrue, it in fact does run out of ammunition. It would make far more sense if it was written more clearly. That should also mean there is a some sort of recharging cost unless you have a regular source of hydrogen. Maybe its assumed everyone has a starship.

 

[Matt Wilson]

If you wanted to tweak the idea a bit to make them a little less magic-tech, you could take some ideas from 2300's plasma lasers.

The plasma gun contains a laser ignition system in the weapon that superheats a hydrogen-telluride fuel pellet to a plasma state. The plasma is contained in the ignition chamber briefly and then allowed to escape through a magnetically focused field along the weapon's barrel.

The ammunition for the weapon consists of photonic core plaser cells, each containing a fast discharge battery to pump the weapon’s laser ignition and pathfinder beam and the fuel pellet for the plasma bolt. After firing, the spent cells are ejected and are not reusable.

How much energy do you need to convert something to a plasma state?

 

[GypsyComet]

Prior editions, which may or may not be relevant (YTMV), state that the "ammunition" carried is sufficient for 24-36 hours of frequent usage, which is essentially unlimited in the context of all but the worst combat conditions. This applies to the PGMP-13 and above. The PGMP-12 is more limited.

 

[sideranautae]

Prior editions, which may or may not be relevant (YTMV), state that the "ammunition" carried is sufficient for 24-36 hours of frequent usage, which is essentially unlimited in the context of all but the worst combat conditions. This applies to the PGMP-13 and above. The PGMP-12 is more limited.

There are many items in MGT that have been lifted verbatim from prior (especially MT) versions. This one is almost verbatim but truncated. You nailed it.

 

[sideranautae]

How much energy do you need to convert something to a plasma state?

Paschen's law will give you an idea. Although ignore the air gap data for the shooting range. Many MW's.