Blaster

Blasters are weapons which fire bolts of high-energy plasma. Generally weaker and shorter-ranged than lasers and turbolasers, blasters are used primarily by infantry and ground vehicles.

A blaster uses Tibanna gas, a gas with a high potential energy rating, as the basis for its plasma bolts. The gas is first energized by a power pack, and then forced out of the barrel of the weapon by a series of magnetic accelerator rings. Since plasma is by nature highly explosive, an additional field must be applied to the bolt to keep it coherent until it strikes a target.

Blasters have a number of both advantages and drawbacks. The drawbacks include a relatively low rate of fire, overheating issues, the relatively low speed of the bolt, and the fact that plasma weapons are somewhat difficult to aim properly (probably due to some unusual recoil property). On the other hand, they can easily carry far more ammunition than conventional projectile weapons, and provide a great deal of firepower - which is useful against the kinetic-resistant armor often employed on SW battlefields. Yields for infantry blaster rifles are often measured in megajoules.

Blasters are by far the most common ground weapons in Star Wars, filling niches from 'pistol' all the way up to 'tank cannon.' They are also mounted on some aircraft, and can be made small enough to fit inside small droids such as seeker drones.

Record 802 - technology - Last update 28 Mar 2007, 23:09:41

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