sideranautae
Mongoose
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 said: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.
Reynard said: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.
Matt Wilson said: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.
Reynard said:"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.
Reynard said: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.
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.
GypsyComet said: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.
Matt Wilson said:How much energy do you need to convert something to a plasma state?