Firearms in science fiction novels...
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Kaylee
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*Heh* Yeah, as I recall a lot of the characters were well under four feet high.. brings a whole new meaning to "short arms" I guess. It's been years (decades?) since I read it -- I just found the book cleaning out my parents' old house this week. Though now that I look again, it doesn't really look like there's room for the carrier to cycle in that thing, does it? Hrm.. I'd remembered the author as being positively OCD over the technical end of things, that ain't like him. Oh well.
jerkface11
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I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet.
The Kill-o-zap gun from the Hitchhikes guide series.
As for firearms working in space I wonder if gunpowder would break down in a vacuum?
The Kill-o-zap gun from the Hitchhikes guide series.
As for firearms working in space I wonder if gunpowder would break down in a vacuum?
Grape Ape
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Akokdo Said:
The same face of the Moon always faces the Earth, but the Moon orbits the Earth every 28 days, so the Moon is in effect rotating at a rate of one revolution per orbit. A 28 Earth day rotation does mean that an object on Moon would get ~336 (allowing for local topography) of un-filtered sunlight per lunar "day".
I think that the insulation in your suite would make this a non-issue. I'd worry more about the cold making the steel brittle (Kb!) or the heat causing a cook-off. Better bring one of those ceramic Glock 7s
The same face of the Moon always faces the Earth, but the Moon orbits the Earth every 28 days, so the Moon is in effect rotating at a rate of one revolution per orbit. A 28 Earth day rotation does mean that an object on Moon would get ~336 (allowing for local topography) of un-filtered sunlight per lunar "day".
I think that the insulation in your suite would make this a non-issue. I'd worry more about the cold making the steel brittle (Kb!) or the heat causing a cook-off. Better bring one of those ceramic Glock 7s
kahr404life
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Just want to save post for my records
Aren't we forgetting Schlock Mercenary's BH-209?
And the AP-130, and BH-250?
http://www.SchlockMercenary.com
Mercenary Strip Search
Chalain's Science Corner
And the AP-130, and BH-250?
http://www.SchlockMercenary.com
Mercenary Strip Search
Chalain's Science Corner
HankB
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Needle Guns & other fun stuff . . .
The Dorsai novels of Gordon R. Dickson have "spring guns" which apparently use stored mechanical energy to fire needlelike darts at high velocity. These conceptually simple weapons are in wide use as electronic countermeasures can monkey with higher-tech weapons.
Keith Laumer used needle guns in A Plague of Demons, published around 1964 or 1965. The propellent wasn't mentioned, but these needles could be coated with particularly deadly venoms.
I particularly like the "X-Plosive" bullets used by E.E. Smith's characters in his Skylark novels. Available in various yields from Mark I to Mark X, from the descriptions a Mark I apparently is about as powerful as a pound or two of C4. A Mark V, when fired at a target over 900 yards away, staggers the shooter and obliterates a large part of the target range. Character commented "I don't want to shoot any Mark X's around here."
Even though the science was shakey by today's standards, some of the old-timers like Edmund Hamilton and John W. Campbell had some active imaginations in arming their characters . . . I remember the "ball lighting guns" from Campbell's The Mightiest Machine published in the mid 1930's . . .
And of course there were the energy handguns of A. E. Van Vogt's Weapon Shop novels which would jump to the user's hand when needed . . . an idea which also surfaced in Harry Harrison's Deathworld novels.
The Dorsai novels of Gordon R. Dickson have "spring guns" which apparently use stored mechanical energy to fire needlelike darts at high velocity. These conceptually simple weapons are in wide use as electronic countermeasures can monkey with higher-tech weapons.
Keith Laumer used needle guns in A Plague of Demons, published around 1964 or 1965. The propellent wasn't mentioned, but these needles could be coated with particularly deadly venoms.
I particularly like the "X-Plosive" bullets used by E.E. Smith's characters in his Skylark novels. Available in various yields from Mark I to Mark X, from the descriptions a Mark I apparently is about as powerful as a pound or two of C4. A Mark V, when fired at a target over 900 yards away, staggers the shooter and obliterates a large part of the target range. Character commented "I don't want to shoot any Mark X's around here."
Even though the science was shakey by today's standards, some of the old-timers like Edmund Hamilton and John W. Campbell had some active imaginations in arming their characters . . . I remember the "ball lighting guns" from Campbell's The Mightiest Machine published in the mid 1930's . . .
And of course there were the energy handguns of A. E. Van Vogt's Weapon Shop novels which would jump to the user's hand when needed . . . an idea which also surfaced in Harry Harrison's Deathworld novels.
dfariswheel
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I forgot about possibly the ultimate pistol.
It's from "The Death World Trilogy" by Harry Harrison.
There's a planet so insanely deadly that animals and plants seem to be genetically engineered specifically to kill humans.
The people who try to survive on the planet wear pistols on their inner forearms.
When the hand is formed to fit a pistol grip and the trigger finger is tensed, the gun is automatically slapped at extremely high speed into the hand.
If you hold your finger just right, the gun fires the instant it deploys, including in full auto.
With practice, when you need the gun, it's in your hand, and when you don't need it it returns to the holster.
The users quickly become so used to the them, that they become entirely instinctive, and the guns seem to deploy themselves.
It's from "The Death World Trilogy" by Harry Harrison.
There's a planet so insanely deadly that animals and plants seem to be genetically engineered specifically to kill humans.
The people who try to survive on the planet wear pistols on their inner forearms.
When the hand is formed to fit a pistol grip and the trigger finger is tensed, the gun is automatically slapped at extremely high speed into the hand.
If you hold your finger just right, the gun fires the instant it deploys, including in full auto.
With practice, when you need the gun, it's in your hand, and when you don't need it it returns to the holster.
The users quickly become so used to the them, that they become entirely instinctive, and the guns seem to deploy themselves.
Randy in Arizona
Member
Sounds like a Glock to me!! G36-UK
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There was a short mention in Peter Telep's Descent: Stealing Thunder, of a gun that made our/your standard of "concealed carry" seem a little tame.
It was an automatic rifle called a "flight-piece". Judging by the small part it has in the novel, it sounds about the size of an M4. The reason for the expense was that it could project a cloaking field around itself, rendering it invisible to all visual and electronic scanning devices, which would probably include X-Ray scanners.
The gun gets a short description in a single paragraph, when the father of the boy that was murdered for a secret control chip walks up to the offices of the murderer's employers, and opens fire, killing security, civilians, and even a child.
It was an automatic rifle called a "flight-piece". Judging by the small part it has in the novel, it sounds about the size of an M4. The reason for the expense was that it could project a cloaking field around itself, rendering it invisible to all visual and electronic scanning devices, which would probably include X-Ray scanners.
The gun gets a short description in a single paragraph, when the father of the boy that was murdered for a secret control chip walks up to the offices of the murderer's employers, and opens fire, killing security, civilians, and even a child.
Husker1911
Member
"The people who try to survive on the planet wear pistols on their inner forearms.
When the hand is formed to fit a pistol grip and the trigger finger is tensed, the gun is automatically slapped at extremely high speed into the hand."
You know, I was watching James West just last night!
When the hand is formed to fit a pistol grip and the trigger finger is tensed, the gun is automatically slapped at extremely high speed into the hand."
You know, I was watching James West just last night!
Right now, I'm reading Richard K. Morgan's sequel to "Altered Carbon", "Broken Angels". The protagonist carries twin "Kalashnikov interface guns". It's not clear exactly what they are, but they appear to be some sort of concealable chemical-propellant firearms that are tied in to the character's genetically-engineered enhanced combat body, and somehow are attracted back to the user even if dropped or grabbed, at least at certain distances. Much as I like the author and the book (and Kalashnikovs, for that matter), it seems unlikely that "Kalashnikov" would be a brand name/manufacturer in a 25th-century interstellar civilization, since, strictly speaking, it's a platform, not a brand name/manufacturer such as S&W, Colt, etc. I've seen Norinco "Kalashnikovs", but never a Kalashnikov "MAK-90".
Stiletto Null
Member
Well, Mikhail Kalashnikov IS a person. Maybe there's a company in the future named after him?
Interface guns are just normal guns, with personal coding (smart guns, tied into the interface plates inside a given sleeve's palms) and small antigrav devices to make them fly toward their coded operators when called. Wrong user can't fire them, and they will come back to you if you drop them in, say, water.
IMO, Morgan should have kept going with the stack/sleeve universe. Market Forces just wasn't as badass as Altered Carbon or Broken Angels. Still OK, I guess, for what it was.
Interface guns are just normal guns, with personal coding (smart guns, tied into the interface plates inside a given sleeve's palms) and small antigrav devices to make them fly toward their coded operators when called. Wrong user can't fire them, and they will come back to you if you drop them in, say, water.
IMO, Morgan should have kept going with the stack/sleeve universe. Market Forces just wasn't as badass as Altered Carbon or Broken Angels. Still OK, I guess, for what it was.
Stiletto Null, that's pretty much exactly how I justified it in my own head. Did you read "Woken Furies"? I have it on order, hopefully it will arrive before I finish "Broken Angels". Thanks for the explanation on the "interface gun", I'm about halfway through the book, he's used them a couple of times, but they haven't been clearly described yet.
Did you read "Woken Furies"? I have it on order, hopefully it will arrive before I finish "Broken Angels". Thanks for the explanation on the "interface gun", I'm about halfway through the book, he's used them a couple of times, but they haven't been clearly described yet.Stiletto Null
Member
Yeah, I think Morgan was just thin on explaining the interface guns because there wasn't that much to explain. You're thinking too hard.
Never heard of Woken Furies, but I'll check it out at some point.
Never heard of Woken Furies, but I'll check it out at some point.
Stiletto Null
Member
OH SHI-
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Definitely buying it, then, just on principle.
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
Definitely buying it, then, just on principle.
Brian Williams
Moderator Emeritus
In The Diadem series by Jo Clayton, they used a dart/needle gun that had various reserviors that contained sleep drugs, poison, etc. The gun pulled water vapor from the air and froze it into a needle with the drug of choice and then using self contained compressed air shot it out. It recharged it's own battery from surrounding light and kept it's compressed air cylinder recharged internally. The only thing that had to be refreshed was the chemicals for the darts.
juggler
Member
Funny how this thread came up at a time when I am trying to remember a specific SciFi series of books. Hopefully someone can identify it from this description of the firearm of choice.
The basic premise followed a time-corp/peackeeper force that used a weapon capable of manufacturing it's own ammo……created from raw stock (shavings, pennies, etc.), that was able to change direction in flight.
One of the best parts was it's ability to lock onto a target and the projectile would follow until impact/penetration.
If it's any help, the last book of the trilogy had the hero back in time where one of the protagonists had given the Roman Empire bicycles.
Any ideas?
The basic premise followed a time-corp/peackeeper force that used a weapon capable of manufacturing it's own ammo……created from raw stock (shavings, pennies, etc.), that was able to change direction in flight.
One of the best parts was it's ability to lock onto a target and the projectile would follow until impact/penetration.
If it's any help, the last book of the trilogy had the hero back in time where one of the protagonists had given the Roman Empire bicycles.
Any ideas?
Carl N. Brown
Member
fixurgun #35 said:
The Soviet Soyuz space capsule includes a survival weapon that is
basicly a double 20 ga. plus a .22 centerfire barrel. The ordinary
lacquer sealant of primer and friction crimp seal of bullet seems to work
exposed to vacuum.
I would suspect that eventually any air left in the cartridge would
eventually leak out rather than push the bullet or primer out.
But this subject is a job for .... MYTHBUSTERS IN SPACE. Can I go?
fixyurgun
Member
Mr. Brown, Thank you for your answer. jim
Carl N. Brown
Member
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
The pressure differential is inconsequential. It's only 14.7 psi. Considering the 20k psi in a 9mm, the differential between sea-level pressure and vacuum will be negligible.
Temperature may be an issue. The blackbody temperature of space is only 3 degrees or so above absolute zero. There is an easy solution tho...a little electric heater will warm up your piece right quick. If you don't want it to get hot, just shade it from sunlight.
The temperature buildup from firing will be a problem. Without some sort of gaseous convection, getting rid of heat wil be a problem. Good thing cartridge cases do a pretty good job of that.
Temperature may be an issue. The blackbody temperature of space is only 3 degrees or so above absolute zero. There is an easy solution tho...a little electric heater will warm up your piece right quick. If you don't want it to get hot, just shade it from sunlight.
The temperature buildup from firing will be a problem. Without some sort of gaseous convection, getting rid of heat wil be a problem. Good thing cartridge cases do a pretty good job of that.
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
Carl,
Are you trying to say that a sideways thompson won't have horizontal muzzle climb?
edited: nevermind Carl, one day i'll figure out those darn quote things
Are you trying to say that a sideways thompson won't have horizontal muzzle climb?
edited: nevermind Carl, one day i'll figure out those darn quote things
Owen
Moderator Emeritus
What about the capacitor guns in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?"
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