Unfortunately, I'm observant on details on things I see in tv series. I've been watching Battlestar Galactica episodes, and enjoying them quite a bit... once you get past the idea that the alien culture they have somehow has a lot of things that could be found in our contemporary time. I've noticed US military field phones of various types and configurations, inflatable tents, a grasshopper oil pump and lots of antique electronics. In "Stargate - SG1" I've seen a fair amount of IKEA furniture, and in Stargate Atlantis it's surprising the amount of old TVs you find, as well as obsolete radio gear.
Now, I realize a lot of the hardware is pretty exotic to folks who haven't seen it before - and when your idea of something pretty neat is an IPhone then it's obvious that something pretty amazing and exotic must be in that large box with all the dials on it.
But occasionally I run across something that's just plain funny. In an episode of Battlestar Galactica, in a tense firefight scene, I briefly got a good glimpse of a scope mounted on top of a rifle. A little bit of searching - and it turns out it's an Elcan.. Okay, I'll accept the premise that these guys are humans, searching for the lost trible that moved to Earth. I'll accept the idea that technologies will develop to fit the need, and I'll even accept the idea that firearms are gonna look pretty similar. After all, there seem only so many ways you can develop something that chemically propells projectiles. (Um, that actually WORK. The Gyrojet was something different, but it just didn't work well enough.) And given human physiology, there's only so many ways you can configure handguns and rifles.
But you ain't gonna convince me that light-years away, they developed a company that produced a scope with the same name using the same model numbers. That's just stretching things TOO far!
J.
Comments (2)
The worst thing about the Gyrojet was the low accuracy (about 12" at 25 yards), which gave the things a terrible reputation, but that was largely due to manufacturing problems with the ammunition; the projectiles (you can't REALLY call them bullets...) were completely machined, and the spacing and canting of the exhaust nozzles was particularly critical, and the manufacturer just didn't make them precisely enough. It had a number of other problems (see the Wikipedia article linked in the entry), but they could have been dealt with if there had been enough demand. Long lock time (the amount of time it takes for a gun to physically go through its firing procedure) would still be a problem, though; even increasing the burn rate of the propellant to increase the acceleration to get rid of other problems would not change it appreciably, and sometimes you need to shoot FAST...
Posted by John C. | September 6, 2007 8:06 AM
Posted on September 6, 2007 08:06
The GyroJet could certainly benefit from some high tech! Add in a guidance system and micromachined nozzles to do some thrust vectoring and you would have a bullet with a 'flat trajectory' as it would self-compensate across gravity and wind: always flies straight and true as long as the fuel holds out. Do that with an electronic firing circuit to power a small set of capacitors to keep the electronics running while the fuel lasts and you are *golden*.
Variants on that would be lovely things to see!
Make a sabot version so that when it reaches near the end of its fuel, a small charge then opens the casing to propel a small metal dart the rest of the way. Put in a small cluster of these with a bit of neurotoxin for either pain or immediate muscle spasms (the 'Needler' charge of the DS Sandman gun!). Good across an array of targets if the needles are packed in at slight angles...
An IR version would lock onto heat signatures and *not let go* (the 'Homer' charge of the DS Sandman gun!).
Damn, I'm recreating the DS Sandman gun... small explosive tip gets you another of those charge and one that uses thermbaric explosives and a time to distance calculation gets you another (perfect for percussion work in rooms or taking out walls). Replace the major explosive with a tiny one and compacted ground red pepper....
You know, the more I look at it, the GyroJet would be damned nasty as its own pistol system with modern electronics and guidance ability. It would be a gun system, so the charges would not be fired from other weapons... and you would need to replace the batteries in it... but... hmmmmm... true it would be a 'thinking man's weapon', and you would choose your round based on need... throw in the MetalStorm interlock system for their guns...
It isn't so much about shooting 'fast' as 'taking care of a number of targets'. Choose the right charge to chamber and go from pepper spray or needles to discourage, a thermobaric to hurt... then single shots for those still around...
I always did like the concept of the DS Sandman gun from the novels. It encouraged 'situational awareness' not just shooting. Some things you just can't shoot your way out of, but if you can blast a back door for yourself...
Posted by ajacksonian | September 6, 2007 9:16 AM
Posted on September 6, 2007 09:16