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7/11/2015 4:07:05 AM
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Dumb science question
In science fiction laser/energy weapons are depicted as having no recoil (such as a phaser in Star trek.) Now my question: If humans were to develop energy weapons would they actually be recoil-less or would they have recoil? The reason I'm asking is because physics isn't my strong suit.
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No because light does not have mass therefor no recoil is produced on a laser actuated weapon but a plasma rifle or some sort will because plasma does contain mass.
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1 ReplyShort answer, no Long answer, laser weaponry is a horrible weapon. For the amount of energy it takes to fire one damage dealing laser blast, I could superheat, and fire, a few dozen of charged plasma rounds the size of your head.
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They mass of the bullet is what causes the recoil. Since the laser has no mass, there will be no recoil. Wouldn't that mean fusion rifles have no recoil then? They look like lasers to me.
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Energy weapons? Energy can definitely have recoil, just not all types, lasers for example offer no recoil. Anything that projects a physical mass will.
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2 RepliesEnergy has no mass. No mass=nothing to push against. NO RECOIL.
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2 RepliesEdited by Snappy: 7/11/2015 4:13:37 AMDidn't the U.S. Military create a energy weapon? Science already answered for you
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1 ReplyA laser involves light, I believe, and light is weightless, so it wouldn't have any weight or send off recoil.
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9 RepliesNo recoil. I'll try to say as understandable as possible: -Photons contain no mass. Bullets do. -The recoil in a gun is caused by a force:an opposite and equal force (All forces have an opposite and equal reaction) of the bullet leaving the chamber. -So what you can conclude, is if photons have no mass, there won't be any recoil, because there is no mass to be exerted. I hope this helped. My dream one day is to be an astrophysicist, so yeah ask me anything.
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No, the states has a laser now
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You're creating an object/mass/force, not expelling it. Expelling something takes effort and thrust while creating something (like a laser from photons) it requires no thrust.
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Laser weapons would not have recoil Plasma weapons would have recoil
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1 ReplyThink of it this way: When you turn a lightbulb on, do you suddenly feel the light pounding on you, exerting a force? Figure it out.
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Yes, there would, indeed, be recoil but it would be so insignificant that for all practical purposes it would be non-existent. It's similar to how light can push a solar sail on a much smaller scale.
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6 RepliesI like eggs
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Photons don't have mass. Recoil is caused by an equal and opposite reaction of the bullet leaving the gun. Since f=ma and photons have no mass, there would be no force. So no, a laser gun wouldn't have a recoil.
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It's not a dumb question
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Lazers have existed for a while now, man. Welcome to the space year twenty-fifteen.
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2 RepliesThey wouldn't have recoil. What causes recoil in guns is the energy released where the gun powder explodes. There isn't anything like that in energy based (ie laser) weapons.
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Laser weapons don't have recoil. And they do exist.
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When you eliminate mass from the equation of force, you end up w 0. The recoil of firing a pure energy weapon would be non-existent. Throw in a projectile and there would be recoil.
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I imagine kick exists because of a strong kinetic force in the weapon's function(gunpowder combustion) and how that force relates to the weapon's mass. If you kind of eliminated that and instead just focused energy in one direction, I doubt there would be a lot of recoil, if at all. Alright, that's enough shitty pseudo science for the day.
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Edited by ~wolfBTM~: 7/11/2015 4:15:25 AMIt depends. Recoil exists due to forces used to fire the bullet or other projectile "kicking back" (Newton's third law). Energy weapons wouldn't necessarily need a large force (if any) to propel them, but if some force was needed to fire it then it would have some form of recoil...
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Edited by Magiktako: 7/11/2015 4:16:07 AMI know nothing about physics either, but I think it would depend on how the gun is made and how it fires (what generates/triggers the light energy, etc).
