Lasgun

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This article is about the weapon described in the novel Dune. For the weapons in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, see Weapons and Equipment of the Imperium (Warhammer 40,000).

A lasgun is a fictional 'Directed-energy weapon' in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert in the 'Dune' series. According to Herbert, it is a 'continuous-wave laser projector' with limited use in a field-generator-shield culture 'because of the explosive pyrotechnics (technically, subatomic fusion) created when its beam intersects a shield.'

The weapon is available in a variety of sizes, ranging from hand-held to ship-mounted. Lasguns have enormous destructive potential; using an arc ray consisting of some sort of subatomic energy, the lasgun is capable of decimating large areas and structures. If the ray meets a Holtzman shield, a pseudo-atomic explosion may occur due to the high energy levels disrupting the stability of the shield creating the Holtzman effect. This effect was predicted by Norma Cenva during the Butlerian Jihad, where the shield was first developed by Tio Holtzmann; Norma, a woman possessing extraordinary mental abilities at the cost of a stunted growth, noticed it in Holtzman's calculations despite Holtzman's insistence against it. A test upon a shielded asteroid proved him wrong, and, ironically enough, the same effect ultimately caused his death when Aliid, a Zenshiite rebel leader, fired a lasgun at him while he was shielded during a slave uprising, destroying Holtzmann's entire estate and much of the surrounding countryside and the city of Starda on Poritrin.