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He should modernise it properly. A projectile is so 20th century. Instead, use two parallel UV lasers to create an ionized air channel to the target - this will allow faster target destruction without the range problem of a long copper wire and a relatively slow projectile.
( , Wed 5 Feb 2025, 14:28, Reply)
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A virtual wire, if you will. A single laser may work less reliably, as the ionization will be 360 degrees around the beam. Having 2 of them creates overlap. You do have to remember to place said lasers behind insulating glass, otherwise the zzzzzap will probably kill the lasers.
This is from a 1996/7 "phaser" project, that was attempting to re-create a Trek phaser type weapon to possibly stun pesky perps evading capture, without the need for a projectile used in tazers. It was the size of a car though, so not very practical. It's also not really a phaser, they just used the name to get funding from nerds.
Still, there is no reason one could not adapt it to guide a far higher zap than that needed to stun a person.
( , Thu 6 Feb 2025, 17:52, Reply)