>phased plasma rifle in the 40-Watt rangeWhy the fuck would a plasma rifle have the same wattage as a dim incandescent lightbulb?
Idk man, plasma rifles aren't real so don't worry about it. Plasma is ionized gas, so maybe whatever fuel source it uses only requires 40 watts to fire? Maybe all plasma weapons are functionally interchangeable in power and effect, so Skynet differentiates them based on how energy efficient they are. Its scifi, make something up.
>>64326965Its short for kilowatt just like people say calorie when they actually mean kilocalories.
>>64326965>Why the fuckIt's very, very efficient at phasing.
Could this be a power supply standard for connecting to a Terminator generator?
>>64326980fpbp
>>64327013I'm a CEST Journeyman Electrician and nobody ever does that
>>6432696540 W is the average/continuous emitter power, not the shot energyThink of it like a laser that runs at a modest continuous power, but fires ultra-short pulses with capacitor banks. Average: 40 W. Peak per pulse: enormous.Example: If the weapon dumps a 1 millisecond pulse at 40 kW (achieved by charging caps between shots), that’s 40 J per pulse focused into a tiny spot, enough to explosively spall metal or flesh given excellent coupling. If the duty cycle is even shorter (say 10 microseconds at several megawatts peak), you’re looking at hundreds to tens of thousands of joules per shot while still averaging ~40 W at the muzzle/optics. That’s how real pulsed systems work: small average, huge peak.
>>64326980>Its scifi, make something up>"made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs".
>>64327095>blah blahYou'll like this: https://youtu.be/-AyCNNcN3bM?si=4ubtFTn03cw0blm9>there are times, my young Jedi, when the "science" in science fiction just sucks
>>64327151>blah blah I can't into physics
>>64327095I had this thought right away too, but I'm afraid it's wrong anon. We never talk about pulsed lasers in terms of averages or power supply, but rather the peak impulse. Like just a few months ago UMich was bragging about now having the "most powerful laser in the US" at 2 petawatts:>https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/05/the-us-has-a-new-most-powerful-laser/and yes it's describing pulse peak. Someone could reasonably argue that a megawatt class military laser capable of actually running for a second or two at a time is "more powerful" based on total energy, but at least in terms of real world descriptors no one averages out a laser over time as that doesn't actually describe the real world effects.So valiant effort at justification but fact is T1 did get a little silly at times, still an awesome movie and T2 was even better.
>>64327061you're not from the Future Journeyman
>>64327198Yes I am and so therefore I know you'll never be a woman and your gravestone will have your birth name (male) on it
>>64327206Stop letting trannies live rent free in your head, obsessed schizo
>>64327061...yet. Power levels in that range won't be common for another hundred years.
>>64327151He's right though you buffoonLook up cutting lasers that can cut metal. The wattage does not seem very high (if you're an idiot who cannot into lasers).
>>64326980Based non-autist.
>>64327351Blah blah. Science is stupid nerd!
>>64327194That's fair, that's fair! I mean, what do we know about the naming conventions that Terminators use though!
Well, put it this way, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a 40W laser
>>64327194>and T2 was even better.T2 was a shitty cash-grab action flick sequel just like Aliens.
>>6432696540 watts could be the rating on some crucial component in the firing process.
>>64327194>We neverYou're not skynet.
>>64328438its still the gold standard of action movies 35 years later
uzi nine milimeter
>>64330384Each watt is kind of like a millimeter in terms of ordnance. 40 watt is equivalent to a 203 round, making the weapon like a plasma based mark 19. >James Cameron told me this at a Hollywood party.
>>64331212>Each watt is kind of like a millimeter in terms of ordnancelolA 5.56 mm round has around 1800 joules or 1800 watt-seconds of energy. Not five.The MARAUDER plasma railgun was specced for 9.5 megajoules.Modern directed energy weapons like anti-drone lasers are typically measured in 10000s of watts.40 watts just isn't a lot of power.It's 40 joules per second. 40 newton-meters per second.48 volts times 833 milliamps.Whatever makes it easiest for you to comprehend.
>>643312574 Gigavolt * 10 Nanoampere
>>64327151>si=
>>64331246okay, but there's a ridiculous amount of batman's shit that gets broken, and if batman's always busy being boohoo sad or working out or going to rich people parties, that means that every single thing has to get fixed by the one old guy who knows his secret, who also has time to buttle a huge old mansion.
>>64331289>if batman's always busy being boohoo sad or working out or going to rich people parties, that means that every single thing has to get fixed by the one old guy who knows his secretNo it doesn't. It means nobody fixes Batman's broken equipment, because it's a story about a rich dude dressing up as a bat and fighting crime, and not a story about logistics. This is some "OH YEAH MR JRR TOLKIEN?! YOU SAY ARAGORN WENT ON TO BECOME A BELOVED, FAIR AND JUST RULER? LIKELY STORY. I'M GOING TO NEED A THOUSAND PAGE DISSERTATION ON HIS ECONOMIC POLICY"-tier shit.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKhGqWcJGY
>>64331257Energy is a garbage way to talk about bullets but somehow you've found a worse way.
>>64331289>ok, but...yeah nahwho fucking cares
>>64326965Laser Wattage = PowermW lasers are basically for visual aids and usageSingle digit W lasers are good for etching/cutting plastica 40W laser would be able to cut metal.
>>64326965>Why the fuck would a plasma rifle have the same wattage as a dim incandescent lightbulb?maybe the weapon uses cartridges that need 40 watts of external power to be able operate?
>>64328438>AliensActually a better move that the first one.
>>64331579Nta but aliens turned the xenomorph from a truly alien conniving creature into giant dumb bugs
>>64331734The Aliens in Aliens actually show tactics. They never attack all at once and do probing measures.
>>64326965Because fucking faggots like (you) can't tell the fucking difference anyway. Fuck you
>>64326965its not that kind of movie, kid
>>64331394We're talking plasma here which is far less efficient than lasers
>>64327194>>64327095>>64331394>>64331797The Westinghouse plasma gun the termies use fires a laser Tu burn a channel through the atmosphere for the plasma bolt to follow.It's the pointy thing at the end of the gun
>>64327061Yes. Because you’re a specialist. Once John Q. Butlerian Jihad gets involved, he’s going to make everything into slang. So. 40-watt it is.
>>64326965everytime this discussion comes up and everytime half the retard dont understand that a watt of energy is measured over time.a lightbulb is typically rated over an houra 40 watt plasma rifle will be 40 watts of energy per shot. so think about all the energy a dim incandescent bulbs puts out over an hour and concentrate that into a single blast.
>>64331882>a lightbulb is typically rated over an hourholdup, according to my internet search watts are measured over period of one second, watt hours are a separate measure and the bulb box doesn't say watt hours but watts
>>64331882>all the energy a dim incandescent bulbs puts out over an hourThen he would have said "40 Watt-hours". THAT is energy. 40W is just power.That said maybe the Terminator didnt want the rifle for killing people, maybe he just wanted it to fry himself a single shrimp.
>>64327140>have to get from point A to point B>in between A and B is a fuckton of hazards>most ships take a lengthy route to avoid the worst of it>falcon is fast and maneuverable enough to cut right throughAlways been my interpretation
>>64326965What baffled me is that he was supposed to have an advanced database that told him about all the weapons ever made. So, why did he think they would have Plasma rifles in some random gunshop in 1984
>>64331852>John Q. Butlerian JihadWhat the fuck are you talking about?
>>64331983IIRC either it's approximately for some reason or by going back in time Arnie influenced R+D somehow.
Why does a killing machine slowly pull out its gun and slowly aim at its target instead of being super fast about it or just running up to its target and snapping its neck or pulling its heart out?
>>64331206You sure know your weapons buddy anyone of these would be ideal for home defense
>>64332076>Why does a killing machine slowly pull out its gun and slowly aim at its target instead of being super fast about itplausible deniability with witnesses present
>>64331317Energy is a good way to compare simple kinetic projectiles and power isn't too bad of a way to compare energy weapons.Tens of watts just isn't much, no matter how you want to spin it.Existing directed energy weapons need at least 3 orders of magnitude more power.Of course we can make the argument that it's not the output power of the plasma rifle, but the rating of some component. But I think we all know that's bullshit--occam's razor suggests it's just a nonsense dialog for a silly action movie, the author probably was clueless.
>>64331394>a 40W laser would be able to cut metal.Nah, that's only good for engraving.It'll need more power just to cut thin sheets of aluminum. And that's in *industrial* application.Laser *weapons* that just burn little plastic drones are closer to 40 kW than 40 W.
>>64331882>>64331928Watt is power, not energy.Go back to whichever elementary school grade you dropped out of.
>>64327095This guy gets it. 40w gives you a certain range with carrier wave along which the plasma bolt travels when the shot is made.>terminator got this right as plasma is often pinkish to the human eye.
>>64333497>the SI unit of power, equivalent to one joule per secondjoule is unit of energy
>>64326965While visible for miles and miles to the naked eye, 40W lasers tend to remain “coherent” from a few hundred meters to a kilometer or so depending on altitude and other atmospheric conditions like humidity, etc. In other words, appropriate for small arms.
>>64326980Based.>>64327140Yes.
>>64326965They just made it that efficient.
>>64332100Why do Terminators always throw people around and grapple instead of just snapping necks? Even non-main characters?
>>64333908For machines called "Terminators" they're not very good at their job. No wonder Skynet lost.
>>64333908Dunno. The first terminator movie started out pretty brutal where he just punched through the first guy’s torso. But you’re right, he should basically be punching through heads and rib cages every time when not concerned about drawing unwanted attention.
>>64333908Ironically enough the mandalorian shows the opposite when he's fighting the darktrooper droids.One picks him up and immediately tries to cave his head in with a punch, no fuss
>>64331983I always saw it as a flaw in the terminators design.He's a machine so he thinks like a machine.>The gun store owner asks you what you want >you want the best gun available so you ask for the best gun you know of, which is a plasma rifle
>>64334221He's an AI, not a mindless machine
>>64334425He's not mindless but he's still a machine, which is my point
>>64331201It wasn't even the gold standard of action movies when it came out
>>64331734>Nta but aliens turned the xenomorph from a truly alien conniving creature into giant dumb bugsI said this in the last thread, but the Xenomorphs in Aliens are pretty damned effective, and smart. >Take out the squad leader and both medics at the start of the ambush, nailing the lead fireteam's Corporal shortly thereafter>In the next few minutes they inflict more than 50% casualties on the Marine squad. Only a handful of Xenomorphs are seen getting hit in this sequence, even in the extended edition. Most of the Marines firing hit walls or thin air, including a green-on-green kill from a flamer.>Knock out the APC during the retreat>Fan out, scout, and kill the other exfiltration vehicle, removing the unit's logistics>Marine casualties are now 75% of the ~5 additional Xenomorphs killed, assuming the one in the dropper gets scratchedOnce the few remaining Marines retreat, fortify, and establish a perimiter, the Xenomorphs repeatedly probe it. With the most generous (to the Marines) version of events in the Extended edition, they then>Assault drone guns, taking heavy casualties>break off after ~10 onscreen kills. Extrapolating the same kill ratios to the remaining shots and ammo expenditure, they took a couple dozen casualties.>They come through the ceiling2-3 additional Xenomorphs die in the room, with several more wounded or killed by grenades. Let's call it 15 to be nice. The Marines lose their officer, hacker/sapper, and all remaining heavy weapons. They are now down to two combatants, three weapons, and an android, and the Xenomorphs have captured most of the squad for conversionNot bad for a dozen eggs.
>>64331957That's literally the explanation in Solo. Yes I am one of maybe a dozen people that saw it and only to see how'd they'd explain the 12 parsecs
>>64335244It's also the explanation in Darksaber (Solo even has the Maw), and the first time I saw someone propose it was back in the Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine letters section sometime in the mid-eighties.>>64333919>>64333908Terminators are a terror weapon designed to flush Human hiding places, assassinate specific targets, and call in heavier support if they can. They seem to go for inflicting massive casualties and bulldozing everything between them and their objective. The T-800s clearly have limited programming and flexibility outside "find thing, shoot thing until dead". The T-1000 is smarter but still predictable, and still goes for the juggernaut approach once it has the target locked.
>>64326965Would you buy a turkish plasma rifle?
If they were going to infiltrate rebel territory and operate, shouldn't they have created individual variations instead of mass-producing the Schwarzenegger model?
>>64326965>how the fuck can a 5mW laser fuck up my eyesight?
>>64335354They did. The infiltrator that Kyle Reese has a nightmare about wasn't an Arnold model.
>>64335354They did create different models but in most cases it doesn't really matter since the terminator only really needs to pass inspection to get close enough
>>64326965It's watts per second
>>64332076Why does it need a laser?
>>64331957>>64335244>>64335293While I still lean towards it just being a silly bit of technobabble oversight, I guess that's actually not an unreasonable retro explanation. There are IRL races after all where the challenge is about things like "shortest navigable route" even if it took longer, and if you're bragging about challenge then that can be a way to normalize for technological and money differences. >"Yeah I'm good enough and have tuned my ride enough to dodge blackholes and don't simply have a faster drive, which means I'm good enough to run blockades and shit too"seems like a reasonable self-marketing brag in that kinda job.
>>64336857Even killing machines understand the rule of cool.
>>64334466lying isnt going to make your gay fathers love you anon
>>64326965its not just a plasma rifle, its a PHASED plasma rifle
