Equipment/Ammunition/Rifle Particle Accelerator

UFOpaedia Entry

Proposal

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

FROM: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Proposal: Man-Portable Particle Beams

Commander, we've decided that more research is badly needed on the particle beam weaponry, especially their mysterious power source, the magazines which we've been utterly unable to examine. No amount of finesse or ingenuity has been able to open them. That's why I'm hereby proposing extreme measures.

I want to use our lab's radiation chamber to bombard one of the magazines with electromagnetic pulses. destroying most of the internal electronics, and hopefully causing it to shut down. Once it's safely deactivated, we can use brute force to open it up.

Destroying a magazine to find out how it works may seem crude and backwards, but we have no other choice at the moment. Even blasted to hell by EMP, it should help us answer a lot of questions about the aliens' particle beam technology. It may also give us clues as to how we can get inside an undamaged magazine.

Once we know how the magazine works, we can reassess the weapons and we'll hopefully be able to tell you how it all fits together, Commander.

--Cdr. Navarre

Result

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

FROM: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Re: Man-Portable Particle Beams

Commander, my method worked. I think we've managed to crack the secrets of the mysterious particle beam weaponry. Here are my conclusions.

The appearance of man-portable particle beam weaponry suggests a serious escalation in this war. Prior to being shot at with it, we had no idea that the aliens possessed such advanced technology, and we have no idea why it was not deployed before now. The aliens' motivations and strategy remain a complete mystery to us. Still, I don't believe I'm overstating the issue that these weapons change everything.

When I try to describe this, you have to understand that I'm not talking about the actual weapons. As I've mentioned in my reports, the weapons themselves are basically nothing more than a metal shell around a set of magnets and electrostatic lenses, all used for focusing and constricting the particle beam. The real magic happens in a space about the size of my fist. I'm talking about what we have previously thought of as the 'magazine', until now. What it actually is is unbelievable.

Each individual magazine is actually a synchrotron particle accelerator of mind-blowingly tiny proportions, wrapped around a battery pack so small that we can't even begin to imagine how they built it. The synchrotron speeds particles round and round in a very small circle -- less than the diameter of the magazine -- until they've achieved sufficient velocity. The particles are then diverted via a magnetic field into the focusing array, where they are magnetically constricted -- 'pinched' -- into a coherent beam.

Commander, there is no chance in hell that we can build accelerators this complex this small. Not in our lifetimes. Neither we at PHALANX nor the rest of the world have the precision machinery or the knowledge necessary to duplicate the alien technology. We've documented how the weapons works, and they're simple enough to produce, but if we actually want to use them we're going to have to scrounge magazines off the aliens. Worse, these little accelerators are put under tremendous amounts of strain in their lifetimes, and they'll start to malfunction after being used only a few times. Our ammo supply will be spotty at best, limited to whatever we can recover in the field.

If the aliens have widespread access to this sort of technology, and they obviously do, I couldn't tell you why they haven't just waltzed in and mashed humanity into paste. Their war machine is several orders of magnitude greater than ours. Their technology is more advanced, they have more numbers and better aircraft, and yet they're still coming at us in fits and starts. It's baffling. However, any good soldier will tell you that 'why' doesn't matter right now. They're the ones making the mistake and it's up to us to take advantage of it.

We need to upgrade, upgun, and uptrain everything we have, Commander. Everything. We have to be ready before they start getting really serious about this war.

--Cdr. Navarre

Research Tree Data

(This information for reference only; do not translate or include in-game.)

Prerequisites:
 Particle Beam Pistol
 Particle Beam Rifle
 Particle Beam Cannon

Opens: