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 Terminology of the Imperium, the glossary of the novel Dune, Herbert provides the following definition:

LASGUN: continuous-wave laser projector. Its use as a weapon is limited 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 Holtzman; 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 Holtzman's entire estate and much of the surrounding countryside and the city of Starda on Poritrin.

According to the Warhammer 40,000 Las-technology is used primarily by The Imperial forces of mankind. Its forms range from basic rifles and pistols to heavy cannons and armour guns. Due to its simple design, Imperial armouries can produce millions of rifles and arms at an extremely low cost. These rifles although crude and out-of-date compared to their alien counterparts, serve as the perfect weapon to a typical Imperial Guardsman, expendable! Although basic las-rifles do little damage on their own, the Imperial Guard's strenghs lie in their sheer numbers. The total force of the Imperial Guard is drawn from over a million worlds at such a rate, that not even the Imperium's own administratums can keep count.