A raygun is a

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

directed-energy weapon A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include w ...

that releases energy, usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have various alternate names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, laser pistol, phaser, zap gun, etc. In most stories, when activated, a raygun emits a ray, typically visible, usually lethal if it hits a human target, often destructive if it hits mechanical objects, with properties and other effects unspecified or varying. Real-world analogues are

s or electrolasers: electroshock weapons which send current along an electrically conductive laser-induced plasma channel.

History

A very early example of a raygun is the

Heat-Ray The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the fictional race of extraterrestrials from the H.G. Wells 1898 novel ''The War of the Worlds''. They are the main antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of the Ear ...

featured in

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' (1898).Van Riper, op. cit., p. 46. Science fiction during the 1920s described

death ray The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon first theorized around the 1920s and 1930s. Around that time, notable inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Harry Grindell Matthews, Edwin R. Sco ...

s. Early science fiction often described or depicted raygun beams making bright light and loud noise like

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

or large

electric arc An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma; the plasma may produce visible light. An ...

s. According to ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

'', the word "ray gun" was first used by

Victor Rousseau Victor Rousseau ( Feluy, 16 December 1865 – Forest, 17 March 1954) also known as M. Victor Rousseau, was a Belgian sculptor and medalist. Biography Rousseau was of Walloon heritage and descended from a line of stonemasons. He began carv ...

in 1917, in a passage from ''The Messiah of the Cylinder'':

All is not going well, Arnold: the ray-rods are emptying fast, and our attack upon the lower level of the wing has failed. Sanson has placed a ray-gun there. All depends on the air-scouts, and we must hold our positions until the battle-planes arrive.

The variant "ray projector" was used by

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

in ''

The Black Star Passes ''The Black Star Passes'' is a fixup of science fiction short stories by American author John W. Campbell Jr. It was first published in 1953 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 2,951 copies. The book is the first in Campbell's Arcot, Morey and Wa ...

'' in 1930. Related terms "disintegrator ray" dates to 1898 in Garrett P. Serviss' ''

Edison's Conquest of Mars ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to ''Fighters from Mars'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story '' ...

''; "blaster" dates to 1925 in

Nictzin Dyalhis Nictzin Wilstone Dyalhis (June 4, 1873 – May 8, 1942) was an American chemist and short story writer who specialized in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. He wrote as Nictzin Dyalhis. During his lifetime he attained a measure of cel ...

' story "When the Green Star Waned"; and "needle ray" and "needler" date to 1934 in E. E. Smith's ''

The Skylark of Valeron ''Skylark of Valeron'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer E. E. Smith, the third in his Skylark series. Originally serialized in the magazine '' Astounding'' in 1934, it was first collected in book form in 1949 by Fantasy Press. P ...

''.Winchell Chung
"Introduction to Sidearms"
''Project Rho: Atomic Rockets'' (accessed 3 March 2016). Buck Rogers in the 25th Century U-238 Atomic Pistol-NMAH-AHB2015q029270

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century U-238 Atomic Pistol-NMAH-AHB2015q029270

Ray guns were so common on magazine covers during the

Golden Age of Science Fiction The first Golden Age of Science Fiction, often recognized in the United States as the period from 1938 to 1946, was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. ...

that Campbell's ''

Astounding ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'' was unusual for not depicting them. The term "ray gun" had already become cliché by the 1940s,"Ray Gun"
''TV Tropes'' (accessed 3 March 2016). in part due to association with the comic strips (and later

film serials A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, ge ...

)

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily US newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books ...

and Flash Gordon. Soon after the invention of

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

s during 1960, such devices became briefly fashionable as a directed-energy weapon for science fiction stories. For instance, characters of the ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' TV series (1965–1968) and of the '' Star Trek'' pilot episode " The Cage" (1964) carried handheld laser weapons. By the late 1960s and 1970s, as the laser's limits as a weapon became evident, rayguns were dubbed " phasers" (for '' Star Trek''), " blasters" ('' Star Wars''), "pulse rifles", " plasma rifles", and so forth. In his book ''Physics of the Impossible'',

Michio Kaku Michio Kaku (, ; born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist, futurist, and popularizer of science ( science communicator). He is a professor of theoretical physics in the City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center. Kak ...

used

gamma ray burst In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten millise ...

s as an evidence to illustrate that extremely powerful rayguns such as the

Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the '' Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves t ...

's primary weapon in the ''Star Wars'' franchise do not violate known physical laws and theories. He further analyses the problem of rayguns' power sources.

Function

Ray guns as described by

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

do not have the disadvantages that have, so far, made

s largely impractical as weapons in real life, needing a suspension of disbelief by a technologically educated audience: *Ray guns draw seemingly limitless power from often unspecified sources. In contrast to their real-world counterparts, the batteries or power packs of even handheld weapons are minute, durable, and do not seem to need frequent recharging. *Ray guns in movies are often shown as shooting discrete pulses of energy visible from off-axis, traveling slowly enough for people to see them emerge, or even for the target to evade them, although real-life

laser light A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...

is invisible from off-axis and travels at the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit ...

. This effect could sometimes be attributed to the beam heating atmosphere that it was passing through. A possible evasion tactic is dodging the firing axis of the gun, theorized in the early story of ''

Mobile Suit Gundam , also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an anime television series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcastin ...

'' by the character

Char Aznable , born and also gone by the name , is a fictional character from the '' Gundam'' franchise. He is originally one of the main antagonists in ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' working for the Principality of Zeon, named after his late father Zeon Zum Deikun ...

when he first encountered the series protagonist's machine's beam rifle and seemingly dodging it without any difficulty. Some of the effects are what would be expected from a powerful directed-energy beam if it could be generated in reality: *Ray guns are often shown as transmitting

heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

, as with Wells' heat rays. *Ray guns may be used to cut through hard materials like a

blowtorch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking. Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attach ...

. But sometimes not: *In movies, rays are often depicted as having effect instantaneously, with a touch of the beam sufficing for the intended purpose. Raygun victims are generally killed instantaneously, often – as in the ''Star Wars'' films – without showing visible wounds or even holes in their clothing. *Some rayguns cause their targets to disappear ("de-materialize", disintegrate, vaporize or evaporate) entirely, personal equipment and all. *Visible barrel

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...

. This would only happen if the momentum of the beam were comparable to that of a bullet shot from a gun. *A wide range of non-lethal functions as determined by the requirements of the story: for instance, they may stun, paralyze or knock down a target, much like modern

electroshock weapon An electroshock weapon is a less-lethal weapon that utilizes an electric shock to incapacitate a target by either temporarily disrupting voluntary muscle control and/or through pain compliance. There are several different types of electroshock w ...

s. Occasionally the rays may have other effects, such as the "freeze rays" in the TV series '' Batman'' (1966–1968) and ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

'' (1964–1970). Many of the more implausible functions are almost farcical and include rayguns that age or de-age people (various cartoons);

shrink ray In science fiction, a shrink ray is any device which uses energy to reduce the physical size of matter. Many are also capable of enlarging items as well. A growth ray typically only has the ability to enlarge. Scientific Science fiction writer an ...

s (''

Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who are shrunk to micros ...

'', ''

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kri ...

)'', and a "dehydration ray" (''

Megamind ''Megamind'' is a 2010 American computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, the film stars ...

''). Ultimately, rayguns have whatever properties are required for their dramatic purpose. They bear little resemblance to real-world directed-energy weapons, even if they are given the names of existing technologies such as lasers,

maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...

s, or

particle beam A particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles. In particle accelerators, these particles can move with a velocity close to the speed of light. There is a difference between the creation and control of charged particle beams and ne ...

s. This can be compared with real-type firearms as commonly depicted by

action movie Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

s, as tending infallibly to hit whatever they are aimed at (when wielded by the heroes) and seldom depleting their ammunition.Van Riper, op.cit., p. 47. Rayguns by their various names have various sizes and forms: pistol-like; two-handed (often called a rifle); mounted on a vehicle;

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

-sized mounted on a spaceship or space base or asteroid or

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

. Rayguns have a great variety of shapes and sizes, according to the imagination of the story writers or movie

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

makers. Most pistol rayguns have a conventional grip and

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

, but some (e.g. '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' phasers) do not. Sometimes the end of the barrel expands into a shield, as if to protect the user from back-flash from the emitted beam.

Types

The "rays" the guns use vary. They are sometimes equated to real life technologies such as: *

s *

s, e.g. protons and/or

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...

s from the

proton pack The proton pack is a fictional energy-based capture device, used for capturing and entrapping ghosts in the ''Ghostbusters'' universe. First depicted in the film ''Ghostbusters'', it has a hand-held wand ("Neutrona Wand" or particle thrower) con ...

s in ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

'' * plasma, e.g. plasma rifles, Star Wars "Blasters" Alternately, the weapon mechanics can be purely fictional. Fictional ray types include: *" Minovsky particles" in the ''

Gundam is a Japanese military fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ''Mobile ...

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series * " Rapid Nadion particles" utilized by the phasers in '' Star Trek''

List of rayguns

The following is a list of notable rayguns.

Literature

, weapons used by the Martians in the novel ''

'' by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The Garin Death Ray, title weapon in '' The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin'' (1927): "hyperboloid", a highly concentrated

collimated light A collimated beam of light or other electromagnetic radiation has parallel rays, and therefore will spread minimally as it propagates. A perfectly collimated light beam, with no divergence, would not disperse with distance. However, diffraction ...

beam weapon *

Lasgun Technology is a key aspect of the fictional setting of the ''Dune (franchise), Dune series'' of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. Herbert's concepts and inventions have been analyzed and deconstructed in at lea ...

, a

laser projector A laser projector is a device that projects changing laser beams on a screen to create a moving image for entertainment or professional use. It consists of a housing that contains lasers, mirrors, galvanometer scanners, and other optical component ...

from the '' Dune'' series of books

Film and television

Proton pack The proton pack is a fictional energy-based capture device, used for capturing and entrapping ghosts in the ''Ghostbusters'' universe. First depicted in the film ''Ghostbusters'', it has a hand-held wand ("Neutrona Wand" or particle thrower) con ...

, an energy weapon used for weakening ghosts and aiding in capturing them in the film ''

'' * Phasers, disruptors, and plasma cannons are a few of the many weapons of Star Trek * Blasters, standard weapons of the '' Star Wars'' universe.

Games

* BFG, a large gun in the ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

'' and '' Quake'' series of games

References

{{Reflist

External links

Atomic Rocket
descriptions and technology and many images of handguns and rifle-sized guns used in space including rayguns.

Computer-generated ray gun art by various artists. Fictional energy weapons