Colour of Energy Weapons

[SavetheGate]

No... I think it is based on the construct of the energy or the type of energy it is... but I could be wrong...

[Splitsecond]

The colour of the beam is governed by the energy of the photons produced. The overall energy of the beam is governed by the number of photons in the beam. Blue photons are at higher energies than red photons, so for a red beam to be as powerful as a blue beam, it has to be denser/bigger. Question solved.

[thekillman]

The colour of the beam is governed by the energy of the photons produced. The overall energy of the beam is governed by the number of photons in the beam. Blue photons are at higher energies than red photons, so for a red beam to be as powerful as a blue beam, it has to be denser/bigger. Question solved

thats nonsense. it has NEVER been shown that the energy lies within these photons. i rather see it as a byproduct. besides, Gamma radiation is thousands of times more powerfull than red or blue, so if you were right, beams would always be invisible because gamma rays would be used.


anything hot gives off photons. also, different types of atoms give off different types of photons. so it would be more the type of matter used than the power of the weapon.

[Splitsecond]

It is true of all energy weapons, because energy weapons are EM rays (photons). It is true of lasers, which is why UV lasers (invisible) are used for mining. In real life if you were going to use energy weapons you would use gamma ray bursts as long as you had a good source, or you would use IR in order to superheat the ship. The weapons shown are probably not energy weapons, they are more likely high energy charged particle streams or ejected balls of high velocity plasma. In these situations the colour will be related to the energy lost by the pulse in transit, due to synchrotron radiation (these must be very low energy beams for visible light to come off) produced from the charged particles forcing each other away or from the cooling of the beam (must be very low temperature to produce visible light).

[thekillman]

so you actually prove my point. color has NOTHING to do with power of the energy weapon

[Splitsecond]

Energy weapons are pulses of photons, the colour of the pulse denotes the energy of the photons, which is related to the energy of the pulse. Plasma weapons are expelled balls of high velocity ionised nuclei, the colour denotes the relative drop in velocity of the pulse, which is related to the energy of the pulse. Particle beams are pulses of sub-atomic charged particles, the colour is related to the relative transverse growth of the pulse, which is related to the charge of the pulse, hence the energy of the pulse. Shorter wave-length = higher energy, higher energy photons = greater energy loss, greater energy loss = higher original energy. Bright blue beams are more energetic than dull red beams, no matter what the beam is made of.

[thekillman]

if you say so, in my world color still has nothing to do with weaponspower, or some energy figures will have a MAJOR screwup.

you are theoretically right. but that would make some energy weapons WAY too weak and others WAY too strong. so in stargate, it doesnt work

[Splitsecond]

This is perfectly true, however ignoring the correlation between colour and energy means ignoring a basic physical principle and if you're going to do that then you can ignore or assume anything you want, therefore turning Stargate into a fantasy show and not a sci-fi show. A lot of sci-fi shows 'jump the shark' with regards to the liberties they take with science.

[thekillman]

well if you were right, then an ori beam would be terribly weak, and the x-699 would be uberly strong

[tjoflojt]

couldn't the the lack of strength be made up for by higher density? i thought he said that on the last page.