Pulsed energy weapon

A pulsed energy weapon is any weapon that:

• uses pulses of electricity to fire a projectile, or
• operates by transferring electric current to its target.

These weapons often use large capacitors to build up a charge which is released when the weapon is fired. Large high-end systems sometimes use compulsators which store energy using rotational inertia. Weapons which do not use projectiles, such as the stun gun and laser gun, do not need any ammunition other than a power source.

Common pulsed energy weapons

• Taser - A combination of a conventional weapon & electrical weapon
• Stun gun

Experimental pulsed energy weapons

• Railgun
• Coilgun
• Certain lasers

Fictional pulsed energy weapons

• Some rayguns and plasma rifles
• Leyden ball rifles, of Jules Verne origin
• Weapons mounted on space ships in the Star Trek universe
• Most weapons used by advanced species in the Stargate universe
• The most common weapon type in the Farscape television series

Laser guns in computer games are usually pulsed as the game would be too easy if the weapon emitted a continuous beam (when a continuous beam weapon does exist, it is typically either one of the strongest weapons in the game (burning through both the toughest of enemies or obstacles and its entire ammo or energy supply in a few seconds) or one of the weakest).

References

See also

Directed energy weapon