Mysteron Gun

[DartBrat701]

Fact: The Mysteron Gun utilizes a powerful beam of electrons to kill Mysteron duplicates.

Questions, What would happen to non-Mysterons, who happen to accidently get in its line of fire?

And, could the Mysteron Gun theoretically be used to destroy mysteronized objects?


Finally, what would the voltage equivalent be, of the gun's output?

[Sage]

Can see how it would appeal from a plot perspective for it to only kill mysterons but am not sure there'd be a convincing explanation.So I should imagine it would kill them as well. Seeing as it's elecricity and that's definetly harmful to people.

Hmm in a way; perhaps it wouldn't destroy the object per se only the mysteron hold over it. As seen in 'flight 104' radiation/elecricity [from the power station they flew over] allowed Blue & Scarlet to gain control of the plane. Which would be rather handy really, must get quite expensive to have to keep replacing things.

Uh no idea

[shaqui]

At the end of 'Operation Time', Colonel White did state it was 'high voltage electricity' so one presumes the charge would have to be close to lethal for humans too...

[chrisbishop]

I agree that it would certainly be lethal for humans too, because as stated, it's high voltage electricity. The jury is still out for Scarlet, though... It is as yet unclear if high voltage electricity will actually kill him for good. I did write a few times in fanfic that it does disrupt his retrometabolism enough for him to not 'heal' properly or as quickly enough, but it's only a theory.

As for mysteronised object - I have to agree with Sage's too. That would break the hold over the object, in a similar way seen in Flight 104.

[Doc Denim]

Hey all;

The electron gun - as presented as its prototype - always bothered me quite a lot. At some point I more or less adopted the more satisfying version of it that appeared in the John Theydon novel 'The Silent Sabatoeur' - which at least sounded a lot more portable and field-effective than the over-the-shoulder model from the series.

So I came up with the following (relatively easy-to-live-with) pseudo-technical explanation for them:

The electron guns had improved immeasurably since the successful demonstration of the original, if cumbersome prototype. The upgraded versions looked like guns now, though they operated on totally different principles. They were not projectile weapons; if anything they were far more like portable linear accelerators with a laser targeting beam and a tiny, shielded chamber that housed a radioactive alpha-particle source in the barrel. They were engineered such that the laser emission and a split second burst of focused hard radiation between them served to ionize an accurate path to target and kept the following nano-second long discharge of high-energy electrons from grounding out on any nearby object before it could find its mark. The Mysteron guns were remarkably effective and compact, even if they were heavy as sin to haul around, and limited in the amount of charge that they could carry.

I never did establish the exact lethal voltage for it - only that the capacitors are good for 6 or 7 discharges that will do the job - and yes, it comes up later (this is an excerpt from Operation Minerva, BTW)(sorry - it's cut and paste day!) - that any such discharge IS sufficient to kill a human as well as a Mysteron. I guess I should try to look this up and put a number to it.

Doc Denim

PS - it has (since I originally penned this, that is) come to my attention that a very small crystal of something called lithium tantalite is capable of putting out a 100,000 volt discharge - this sounds quite useful in this particular regard. Gerry Anderson & Co. were quite ahead of their time with all of this!

[Kambei]

I am wondering if the Anti-Mysteron gun operates on a similar system to the stun guns currently in use by law enforcement and military units. Found this on Wikipedia:

Hand-held projectile stun gun
The most commercially recognized brand is the Taser line of electro shock guns made by TASER International. The name Taser is an acronym: "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle", named for the science-fiction teenage inventor and adventurer character Tom Swift. It was designed in 1969 by Arizona inventor Jack Cover. Modern projectile stun guns fire small dart-like electrodes with attached metal wires that connect to the device, propelled by small gas charges similar to air rifle propellants. The maximum range is up to 10 meters (30 feet). Earlier models of Taser required the dart-like electrodes to embed in the skin and superficial muscle tissues layers, while newer versions of the projectiles use a shaped pulse / arc of electricity which allow neuromuscular disruption without necessarily requiring the metal prongs on the projectile to make actual skin penetration. While early models had difficulty in penetrating sufficiently thick clothing, the 'pulse' models are designed to bring down a subject wearing up to a Level III body armor vest. Taser electro-shock guns are currently in use by a number of police forces world-wide in attempts to reduce lethal firearms related deaths. There are images of tasers and other police kit at this link

Taser International recently said they had finished developing a long-range wire-less electro-shock projectile which can be fired from any 12-gauge shotgun; the range is currently 100 feet, but the U.S. Department of Defense, which has funded development of the technology, expects delivery of a 300-foot-range projectile from the company in 2007.[1]

Prototype designs
Due to increased interest in developing less-lethal weapons, mainly from the US military, a number of new types of stun gun are being researched. They are designed to provide a "ranged" non-lethal weapon.

Weapons that administer electric shock through a stream of fluid
Prototype stun guns exist which replace the solid wire with a stream of conductive liquid (essentially salty water) which offers the range of a taser (or better) and the possibility of multiple shots, though the water tank makes it much more bulky. See Electrified water cannon.

Another design, announced by Rheinmetall W&M as a prototype in 2003, uses an aerosol as the conductive medium. The manufacturers dubbed a "Plasma Taser", however it is unclear whether the aerosol is truly a plasma.[2]

Electrolaser
Other known or rumored variants include the electrolaser, which uses blooming of a laser beam to create a steam of ionised air (plasma) to carry the electric shock.

Principles of operation
Stun gun technology uses a temporary high-voltage low current to override the body's superficial muscle-triggering mechanisms. The recipient is immobilized via two metal probes (darts) connected via metal wires from the stun gun usually penetrating the human skin, and superficial muscle. The recipient that is 'connected' to a stun gun feels great pain and can be momentarily paralyzed (only so long as there is an electrical current being applied) because his muscles are receiving electrical 'shock'. The (relatively) low electric current must be pushed by (relatively) high voltage to overcome the electrical resistance of the human body. The resultant 'shock' is caused by muscles twitching uncontrollably, appearing as muscle spasms. However, because the amount of current is relatively low, there is considered to be a 'margin' of safety by a number of medical experts upon usage on humans. To date, scientific experiments to determine the effects on human cardio-pulomonary and respiratory functions have shown no significant findings of lasting effect.

In current stun-gun models, the amperage is relatively low (2.1mA to 3.6mA) which is based in part on the electrical supply, (for example M-26 Taser models use 8 x AAs batteries). Electrical current above 100mA is considered to be potentially lethal to humans.

The internal circuits of most stun-guns are fairly simple, either based on an oscillator, resonant circuit and step-up transformer or diode-capacitor voltage multipliers to achieve the continuous, direct or alternating high-voltage discharge may be powered by one or more 9 V battery depending on manufacturer, and model. The output voltages without external "load" (which would be the target's body) can range from 50 kV up to 900 kV, with the most common being in the 200–300 kV range. The output current upon contact with the target will depend on various factors such as target's resistance, skin type, moisture, bodily salinity, clothing, the stun-gun's internal circuitry and battery conditions.

According to the many sources, a shock of half a second duration will cause intense pain and muscle contractions startling most people greatly. Two to three seconds will often cause the subject to become dazed and drop to the ground, and over three seconds will usually completely disorient and drop an attacker for at least several minutes and possibly for up to fifteen minutes.

To kill a human with electricity, you are not just looking at voltage, but also amperage. A lethal dose of electricity would be only 6 milliamps crossing the heart. If it is just voltage that will kill a Mysteron, or disrupt their control, as evidenced in Flight 104, then the amperage would not necessarily matter.

Here is the link to the Wiki page on stun guns:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrosho ... e_stun_gun

[chrisbishop]

A couple of years ago, I found an article about this item on the net and shared it with the others - I think it was on the Mark I forum, which sadly disappeared only after a few months of activity.

At the time dubbed "Electric Jacket" (name now apparently officially changed to "No-contact jacket"), this item had been designed as a defensive weapon of protection for women against would-be attacker.

We thought it could be a neat piece of optional equipment for Spectrum officers during 'undercover' mission involving the Mysterons .

[Kambei]

It would be quite easy to incorporate that technology into the tunics worn by Spectrum personel.

[Kambei]

I was hoping to generate a bit of debate with that article.

Well, anyway, I am developing an idea for a Mk II Mysteron Gun. Basically a short 6 round shotgun type weapon. Carries batteries like shotgun shells. Highly charged high-voltage cartridges, low amperage. Once the energy is released, a ball of plasma charged electricity is fired from the gun at the target. Fatal to Mysterons, but will only stun a healthy human subject. Going by todays technology, that is a distinct possibility in sixty years time.
It will be less cumbersome than the original.
Might have a go at redesigning the Mysteron Detector as well. After all, with current digital tech, they should have something the size of a palm pilot by 2068.

[Marion]

Kambei, whilst knowing absolutely nothing about the technology that might make these things possible, I speculated in a couple of my stories that both the electron gun and the Mysteron detector would be 'miniaturised' before long. The only ones we see on the TV show are prototypes after all.
Given that the ideas and original models for these devices were created almost 40 years ago, when - as far as I'm aware - micro-processors, silicon chips and the like weren't even thought of, (or at least, weren't widely used) they didn't do too badly.
Besides, the clumpy technology goes along with the helpful habit of labelling things - such as, 'self-destruct button' and 'Top-Secret Maximum Security Building' or 'press this to save the world' - that forms part of the charm of the original series for me.

[Mary]

I was hoping to generate a bit of debate with that article.

Well, anyway, I am developing an idea for a Mk II Mysteron Gun. Basically a short 6 round shotgun type weapon. Carries batteries like shotgun shells. Highly charged high-voltage cartridges, low amperage. Once the energy is released, a ball of plasma charged electricity is fired from the gun at the target. Fatal to Mysterons, but will only stun a healthy human subject. Going by todays technology, that is a distinct possibility in sixty years time.
It will be less cumbersome than the original.
Might have a go at redesigning the Mysteron Detector as well. After all, with current digital tech, they should have something the size of a palm pilot by 2068.

Way ahead of you, pardner...

I *did* write that the Spectrum Research Center was working on a handgun-size Mysteron Gun, just that they were having trouble with it and also a collapsible shoulder stock for the original Gun, to be used until such time as the handgun becomes available... (see "Mixed Doubles" and "War of Nerve")...

[Kambei]

Besides, the clumpy technology goes along with the helpful habit of labelling things - such as, 'self-destruct button' and 'Top-Secret Maximum Security Building' or 'press this to save the world' - that forms part of the charm of the original series for me.

And a big sign with an arrow saying: This Way To The Mad Scientist's Secret Laboratory!

[shaqui]

At some point I more or less adopted the more satisfying version of it that appeared in the John Theydon novel 'The Silent Sabatoeur' - which at least sounded a lot more portable and field-effective than the over-the-shoulder model from the series.

It's been a while since I read that novel but did the description match the version used in TV21?:

[Kambei]

At some point I more or less adopted the more satisfying version of it that appeared in the John Theydon novel 'The Silent Sabatoeur' - which at least sounded a lot more portable and field-effective than the over-the-shoulder model from the series.

It's been a while since I read that novel but did the description match the version used in TV21?:

I reread the first novelisation recently, and from what it says in that and from what I can remember about The Silent Saboteur, Spectrum agents always have a 'Mysteron Gun' with them. I think it is implied in the book that it is now the colour coded pistol. I could be wrong about this, I will have to read Silent Saboteur again soon.

[DartBrat701]

It would be quite easy to incorporate that technology into the tunics worn by Spectrum personel.

Quite so.

It could consist of a fine conductive mesh that can be sewn on the exterior of the garment, and resemble quilted stitching.

The power unit would be about the size of a cell phone and can be worn at the waist, opposite the weapons holster.

It would feature an on/off switch and is powered by a removable & rechargable power pack. The unit also would not impede with communication devices.