EPFCGs and Grievous' flagship's guns.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-01-23 12:36pm

I am, of course, referring to Explosively Pumped Flux Compression Generators. What does anyone think of the possibility that the guns on Grievous' flagship were actually being loaded with EPFCGs? It seems possible that such a power transfer device--which does destroy itself in the process of the simultaneous dumping of its energy--may be necessary to concentrate extremely high yields of energy in a very short period of time for rapid-fire guns. Not even capacitors instantaneously dump their entire charge, after all; to modern science, pretty much only an EPFCG can do that. I'm envisioning guns where the capacitor banks energize the EPFCG in the barrel and then initiate it for the gun to fire, but I suppose it could well be possibly to charge them in advance of battle as well, which offers the prospect of a firing reserve for power interruptions.

Adrian Laguna · Post by **Adrian Laguna** » 2008-01-23 05:34pm

How does it explain the properties of the bolt it fires, though?

wjs7744 · Post by **wjs7744** » 2008-01-23 05:37pm

Adrian Laguna wrote:How does it explain the properties of the bolt it fires, though?

You have any specific properties in mind?

Adrian Laguna · Post by **Adrian Laguna** » 2008-01-23 05:51pm

On second thought, the nature of the bolt is not particularly relevant to what powers it.

To answer you question, they are bright relatively slow-moving bolts that transfer a lot of energy at the point of impact. They kind of hit like a particle beam or laser, but don't look like either. They also move too slow to be kinetic weapons.

I figured the guns in the Invisible Hand were a bit like the Primary Beans in the Lensmen series, the emitters burn-out after each shot so they need to be changed. Though Marina's hypothesis would fit with the Invisible Hand's power problems, since EPFCGs don't require a running generator.

FTeik · Post by **FTeik** » 2008-01-24 04:26am

Would such a device be able to accelerate during flight and having a higher velocity after covering a larger distance?

wjs7744 · Post by **wjs7744** » 2008-01-24 04:28am

FTeik wrote:Would such a device be able to accelerate during flight and having a higher velocity after covering a larger distance?

I doubt it, it's simply a method of generating a sudden high-powered burst of energy. Kind of like the electromatic version of the gunpowder in a rifle cartridge, I guess.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-01-24 12:29pm

wjs7744 wrote:
FTeik wrote:Would such a device be able to accelerate during flight and having a higher velocity after covering a larger distance?
I doubt it, it's simply a method of generating a sudden high-powered burst of energy. Kind of like the electromatic version of the gunpowder in a rifle cartridge, I guess.

Precisely.