BattleMech Weapons

Particle Projector Cannon:
Lightning Made to Order

by Precentor Janos Abu Hassan

This is a general weapons class which includes a variety of related weapons. All are powered from the Mech's on-board fusion plant and are classified as energy weapons. They cause damage by using magnetic fields to direct beams of highenergy charged particles-either electrons or protons-at the target. Damage is inflicted on the target by a combination of intense heat, kinetic energy, and electrical overload.

Man-Made Lightning: The PPC is one of the most devastating BattleMech weapons on the modern battlefield. Particle cannons such as the Donal PPCs mounted on the Warharnmer (left) deliver as much as 5 megajoules of energy in a single destructive burst. BattleMechs must be heavily shielded against the effects of PPC discharges which can seriously damage unshielded electrical systems.

PPCs deliver on the order of 5 megajoules of energy in a short, intense bolt. The destructive force of the bolt is greatly increased by the purely kinetic energy inflicted by subatomic particles travelling at close to the speed of light, and by creating a massive electrical overload within the target. This last can cause additional damage by discharging as a bolt of lightning. Poorly shielded Mech electronics can be burned out and rendered useless by the secondary electrical discharge of a solid PPC hit.

The generally accepted effective range of BattleMech PPCs is about half a kilometer. As with lasers, however, there is no theoretical limit to a particle cannon's range, though the beam loses energy in atmosphere and attenuates rapidly. On the other hand, particle beams are unaffected by smoke, haze, or aerosols. In practice, particle cannons are limited to line-of-sight ranges, a range which is further restricted, like lasers, by the possibility of hitting a rapidly moving target at a range of several kilometers.

A particle cannon's biggest disadvantages are its mass-the magnetic coils, generators, and cooling units constitute well over half of the 7-ton weight of most 'Mech-mounted PPC systems-and the large amount of heat it generates with each shot. Particle cannons generate far more heat with each shot than any other BattleMech weapon, so much heat in fact that some 'Mechs with PPCs as primary weapons, such as the Thunderbolt, must seek pools of waterto stand in in orderto use their weapons with maximum effectiveness.

The PPC's weight creates an added disadvantage at extremely short ranges. The weapon is so heavy and bulky that it is difficult for the 'Mech to move the weapon quickly enough to align with rapidly-moving targets at ranges of less than about 90 meters. For this reason, accuracy with PPCs actually tends to decrease at a range of 90 meters or less.

BattleMech Weapons Crisis of Range and Accuracy

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