Disruptors pistols, not the Star Trek kind. A question

[THEHOOLIGANJEDI]

I'm curious about something here, anybody ever read the Han Solo Adventures? Well if you did then you've heard of the hand weapon known as the disruptor. If not then you've probably read through Mike's site. Those who don't know a disruptor is a pistor of rifle that fires powerful explosive energy bolts that can molecularly disintergrate through almost anything (it can probably be deflected by a Lightsaber though). Even at it's normal setting it can disintergrate a human, and at the overcharge setting it could take out an armed speeder. But this weapon is illiegal in the New Republic b/c it is considered a cruel weapon. Plus it's far stronger than any Trek hand held particle weapon.

Now my question, do you think there is a blaster or laser cannon equivalent for the Disruptor, and if so how powerful would it be? I know it would be pretty damn deadly, but since I'm planning on writing a fanfic I need some more specific info.

[NecronLord]

It could possibly be related to the galxy gun.

[THEHOOLIGANJEDI]

It could possibly be related to the galxy gun.

How? I though the Galaxy Gun Fired High yield warheads.

[Pablo Sanchez]

No, I don't think that there's a large cannon equivalent to the disruptor. Its power is tremendous, but it's inefficient and short-ranged.

When you look at it, the SW Disruptors are basically the energy weapon equivalent to shotguns. They have a short effective range (<50m), small magazine capacity (5 shots) and require a second or two to charge up each shot. They also have tremendous power at short range and are used to breach doors and hulls.

Shotguns have short effective ranges (<50 meters), small magazine capacities (<9 shells), and many require a second or two to operate the action. They also have tremendous power at short range, and are used to breach doors.

Admittedly there are some differences--a shotgun merely blows the door's lock to pieces, while the disruptor destroys the entire door and most anything behind it.

[Pablo Sanchez]

It could possibly be related to the galxy gun.

How? I though the Galaxy Gun Fired High yield warheads.

The warhead is actually some kind of energy bomb that disrupts the bonds holding matter together, either reducing it to the atoms or molecules, I can't remember which. Kind of like the ST weapons NDF.

[THEHOOLIGANJEDI]

No, I don't think that there's a large cannon equivalent to the disruptor. Its power is tremendous, but it's inefficient and short-ranged.

When you look at it, the SW Disruptors are basically the energy weapon equivalent to shotguns. They have a short effective range (<50m), small magazine capacity (5 shots) and require a second or two to charge up each shot. They also have tremendous power at short range and are used to breach doors and hulls.

Shotguns have short effective ranges (<50 meters), small magazine capacities (<9 shells), and many require a second or two to operate the action. They also have tremendous power at short range, and are used to breach doors.

Admittedly there are some differences--a shotgun merely blows the door's lock to pieces, while the disruptor destroys the entire door and most anything behind it.

Well let's say that the there were improvements on the disruptor though, how powerful would a disruptor cannon be?

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

It could possibly be related to the galxy gun.

How? I though the Galaxy Gun Fired High yield warheads.

The warhead is actually some kind of energy bomb that disrupts the bonds holding matter together, either reducing it to the atoms or molecules, I can't remember which. Kind of like the ST weapons NDF.

Um, it turns matter to energy IIRC.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Well let's say that the there were improvements on the disruptor though, how powerful would a disruptor cannon be?

What do you mean by "improvements?" The strengths of the Disruptor are directly related to its weaknesses.

If you're talking about a disruptor cannon about the size of the anti-armor blasters we saw in ESB, I'd say that you'd be have enough power to crack an AT-AT. Your main problems would be range, rate of fire, and power supply. If I understand blasters correctly, you could increase the range by extending the barrel. Rate of fire and power supply are virtually impossible to solve, because they result directly from the firepower of the weapon; you'd have to reduce the power dramatically to make it better.

Why are you asking about this? Writing a fanfic or something?

[Pablo Sanchez]

Um, it turns matter to energy IIRC.

Could be, but I don't think so. The SWEGWT entry says that it disrupts molecular bonds within a given volume of space, which can be adjusted to destroy varying areas. It also says that it leaves most everything outside the dialed radius intact.

If it turned matter into energy, you'd essentially be detonating a M/AM bomb, albeit one with a dial-a-yield setting.

[THEHOOLIGANJEDI]

Well let's say that the there were improvements on the disruptor though, how powerful would a disruptor cannon be?

Why are you asking about this? Writing a fanfic or something?

Exactly

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

There was a disruptor in the old SOTE video game. It didn't disinegrate everything in it's radius, though. It acted like some high-tech e.

[Master of Ossus]

Incidetnally, the disruptor in JKII was clearly different than this weapon. It was a sniper rifle (the exact opposite of a disruptor pistol), but books precede games, so JKII is wrong.

Disruptors are VERY powerful, but also very limited. While more controllable than a thermal detonator (or similar), they also suffer from limited range and ammunition capacity. Usually they are used only by people who are more concerned with image than ability, or by people who are obsessed with high-power. While potentially useful, they are also very limiting. One must be careful in using them, both in writing and in the SW universe.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Incidetnally, the disruptor in JKII was clearly different than this weapon. It was a sniper rifle (the exact opposite of a disruptor pistol), but books precede games, so JKII is wrong.

Disruptors are VERY powerful, but also very limited. While more controllable than a thermal detonator (or similar), they also suffer from limited range and ammunition capacity. Usually they are used only by people who are more concerned with image than ability, or by people who are obsessed with high-power. While potentially useful, they are also very limiting. One must be careful in using them, both in writing and in the SW universe.

I could see a disruptor used as a fast and dirty close defense weapon against armored vehicles, and to breach hulls. But in normal infantry combat, you'd want a nice blaster rifle.

[Doomriser]

Yeah, if you're going to go all crazy with these weapon concepts, I always thought that the best would be to put a giant light sabre on a capital ship or transport/gunship for ramming/boarding purposes. Or on a speeder to wreck walkers.

[StarshipTitanic]

Incidetnally, the disruptor in JKII was clearly different than this weapon. It was a sniper rifle (the exact opposite of a disruptor pistol), but books precede games, so JKII is wrong.

Actually, there are disruptor rifles and pistols, according to the essential guide previously mentioned. I think they had a good idea in JKII. It uses up an unholy amount of ammo per regular shot and the long-range sniper mode charge up eats even more.

[Master of Ossus]

I could see a disruptor used as a fast and dirty close defense weapon against armored vehicles, and to breach hulls. But in normal infantry combat, you'd want a nice blaster rifle.

Exactly. It has its uses, but it also has serious limitations. As an aside, remember that it is seriously illegal in most systems.

[Setesh]

Thank you, a new notch has been carved on my list of reasons the NR would go to war with the federation

[Patrick Ogaard]

In Han Solo at Stars' End, a short-lived acquaintance of Han overloads a large disruptor pistol. The gun is ruined, the barrel white-hot, Rekkon's (the acquaintance's) hands are burned, his face is seared and sweating from the dicharge's waste heat, and the massive blast of energy splashes across the windshield and cowling of the hovervan of the CSA Security Police (Espos).

Later, in Han Solo and the Lost Legacy, another acquaintance of Han's uses a disruptor pistol to blast apart warbots of Xim the Despot. The warbots were large and heavily armored, and the pistol had no apparent trouble blasting through their chest armor or blowing off limbs. That indicates strongly that a regular disruptor pistol shot has (very roughly) power equivalent to a Clonetrooper heavy blaster rifle.

[Darth_Shinji]

The swegwt makes says that a disruptor process the same gas blasters use, just in greater volume and the weapons "galven cylinders" focuses the beams high energy particles. The rifles optimum range is ten meters, and its maxium range is twenty meters.

What I would suggest to make a blaster version of a dirupter fesible is to incase the blast in a magentic field (they do it alot with plasma weapons in sci-fi). It would increase the range a bit, but the magnetic packet would only last an "infinismale" period of time.

This is just to explain why disruptor models are never used in bigger than rifles. The size increase and low range is prob why it isn't used already in space or vechile combate. By using a MF, you could make the range equal to a normal blaster, but the weapon is still alot bigger than a normal blaster.

At least this way you can explain why a larger diruptor was never made before.

[THEHOOLIGANJEDI]

Thanks you guy for some of the info that I didn't know, such as clarifying the differences between the disruptors in the games and the Han Solo trilogy, and specific power levels.

BTW what color would you think disruptor bolt are?

[Darth Garden Gnome]

I was always under this weird impression that SW disrupter bolts would be purple, don't ask why. In any event I'd pick a good old fashioned heavy blaster rifle over a disrupter pistol any day, which are probably abotu equivilent to each other.