Chapter 258: Pulse Rifle
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Inside the movie, the Cousar Crowe Pulse Rifle was a portable weapon specifically designed for targeting humans and large vehicles.
This was an easy to control and lightly-built gun. Its relatively short range was compensated with immense power. The rifle also came with a set of anti-propulsion piston muzzle system, greatly reducing its recoil.
It was coated with a layer of pure black nitrate oxide paint, a single-point burst with a fully-automatic switch rifle that was not much larger than the common rifle. The sleeve of the gun was built extremely thick, giving it a powerful and st.u.r.dy feel.
There were two barrels at the front of its body. One of them was a gun barrel while the other barrel served as a pipeline to host a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell with a diameter of 3 centimeters and a length of 20 centimeters was slotted inside it. Its instantaneous discharge voltage could reach up to 400V.
The barrel was inlaid with a ring layer of superconducting material. There was no need for any form of rifling installation as the bullets were propelled using electromagnetic force in accordance with the principle of Lorentz force, which spun the bullet at extreme speed using electric pressure.
Additionally, the bullets were crafted using magnetic metal. Based on the diamagnetic principle of superconducting materials, the propelled bullets should not make any form of contact with the gun barrel itself, thus essentially improving the lifespan of the firearm.
This form of electromagnetic rifle used the same gunpowder as the weapons which Chen Chen previously had Professor Charles design, which were powered by the Galaxy pendant. The traditional method of cartridge cased gunpowder was subst.i.tuted with a modern solution, which allowed the magazine to be loaded with more bullets.
The electromagnetic rifle in discussion used a 5 x 20-millimeter shuttle-shaped hollow bullet. A regular magazine the size of a palm could hold up to 200 rounds.
Apart from the hollow rounds, there were also several other ammunition such as the spiral-shaped armor-piercing rounds and explosive rounds to choose from.
Apart from several core components such as the barrel, most of the gun was manufactured using engineered plastic, greatly reducing the weight of the gun. The gun was 54 centimeters long and 23 centimeters tall, weighing only 4.5 kilograms.
There was also a built-in biometric authentication system which prevented opponents from effectively using them.
Beholding the midnight-black, st.u.r.dy weapon designed for killing, Chen Chen switched it to single-burst mode. With his right hand, he set the b.u.t.t of the gun on his right shoulder and supported the front of the gun with his left hand. He aimed at a target a hundred meters out with a three-point single-line motion aiming method.
After that, he gently held down the trigger.
Following a swift “swoosh”, a large hole of 3 centimeters in diameter was punctured into the steel plank a hundred meters away!
“This sound...”
A spark surfaced in Chen Chen’s eyes. As opposed to the usual popping sounds similar to that of a firecracker emitted by traditional gunpowder weaponry, this sound was closer to a short whistle caused by the friction produced in the air by an extremely fast-moving object, only mixed with a hint of the spark of electric current.
The decibel of a traditional firearm firing was extremely significant. Even when firing in a bustling city, the sound of gunshots could still be heard half a kilometer away. However, the noise produced by this weaponry barely reached 50 decibels. This was drastically lower than the usual decibel frequency produced by traditional gunpowder firearms which bordered around 145 to 160 decibels.
On top of that, thanks to the “anti-propulsion piston muzzle system” installation, Chen Chen only felt a tiny amount of recoil which was just like the recoil of a pistol.
“The reason that regular firearms are loud is caused by the difference of air pressure on its inside and the surroundings. The moment the bullet exits the barrel, it causes a sudden decrease of chamber pressure which produces a thunderous noise.”
Little X explained, “Since the new variant of the rifle doesn’t require chamber pressure, there’s only the sound of bullets slicing through the air.”
Chen Chen nodded, his eyes flashing with amus.e.m.e.nt. In his time in Namibia, he had tried his hands with a good amount of firearms, but this was the first time he had such a comfortable experience with a gun.
This was the legendary sci-fi gun as they called it. Perfect, perfect...
After that, Chen Chen experimented with the shooting speed. The Cousar Crowe Pulse Rifle could be shifted into either semi-automatic or fully-automatic modes. After switching into the fully-automatic mode, Chen Chen pulled the trigger. He instantly felt the gun coming to life in his hands.
After a wave of gentle vibration barely lasting ten seconds, the rifle produced a clicking sound, indicating that its bullets had been emptied.
“Such shooting speed is double that of an ordinary machine gun...”
Chen Chen touched the barrel of the gun and only felt mild heat on its surface. Needless to say, this was the diamagnetic effect of the superconductor at play. With this implementation, the metal should not experience any wear and tear even after firing tens of thousands of rounds.
Upon testing, it was concluded that this gun could fire more than 1,200 rounds per minute, blowing the regular 17 shots per second of common guns out of the water.
In the end, the firearms statistics as tested by Chen Chen was: 545mm long, weighed 4545g after loading, aiming baseline 203mm, barrel diameter 8mm, magazine capacity 200 rounds, initial speed 1200m/s, kinetic energy 2500J, and effective range of 600m.
Chen Chen was admittedly floored by such ridiculous statistics. Even a bullet shot from a regular rifle could not reach velocity up to 800m/s as its velocity should be hovering around 1000J and effective range merely 400 meters. Even a bullet shot from a sniper rifle could not achieve the bullet speed as displayed by this rifle.
As far as its destructiveness was concerned, though it may not reach the heights of high-caliber sniper rifles, it still held up well enough on its own. With the help of armor-piercing rounds, it had no trouble piercing through 50 millimeters thick steel panels.
“Not bad at all.”
After concluding the tests, Chen Chen let out a sigh. “No muzzle friction, comparable to a silencer, low recoil, destructiveness close to a sniper rifle... With all these features perfectly incorporated together, it belongs to a cla.s.s of its own. With the Black Knights fully fitted with these weapons, who would dare challenge us on the battlefield?”
“These are only the middle to low range electromagnetic weapons only.”
Little X explained, “The superior firepower belongs to the high range electromagnetic weapons such as the electromagnetic railguns. Using an enormous amount of electric pressure, it compresses hundreds of kilograms of sh.e.l.ls and accelerates them to first cosmic velocity. The resulting blast can instantly flatten a mountain or obliterate an entire city in an instant.”
Chen Chen broke into a smile. “We sure can manufacture such weapons, but then how do we hit the city? These aren’t anti-aircraft weaponry, not unless we mount these electromagnetic cannons on top of satellites and fire from above.”
“That’s true.”
Little X pondered on the subject. “Which is to say that the most viable option on Earth are still missiles?”
“Yes. For instance, intercontinental missiles that can pa.s.s through the atmosphere and then dive at several times the speed of sound are conventional weapons of warfare on Earth.”
Chen Chen nodded. “So, unless we have missiles and established air dominance, we cannot let the Earth Federation find out what we’re doing. Otherwise, what good is a superior military force if we don’t have an established air dominance? We’re just live targets.”
“According to the information extracted from the Elysium universe, there’s a mini aircraft called the ‘Bugatti-Folge Luxury Transporter’. It can pa.s.s through the atmosphere layer and travels back and forth between the Earth and Elysium. It’s only the size of a car.”
Little X considered for a moment. “Can you try to acc.u.mulate enough energy to extract it?”
It was then when Chen Chen suddenly recalled that John Carlyle, the misfortunate bloke in the movie who was the CEO of Armadyne, seemed to have boarded the aircraft.
Inside the movie, after the protagonist shot down the aircraft John Carlyle was in, John’s memory was taken away by the protagonist before his death. He was probably the upper-cla.s.s member who died the most embarra.s.sing death.
After giving it some more thought, Chen Chen shook his head and shot down Little X’s theory. “This aircraft doesn’t have any built-in invisibility feature. My list of requirements for an aircraft includes optical, infrared, and radar invisibility capabilities. Besides, simply having one or two of such aircraft won’t change things in the grand scheme. What I need is an aircraft that can be infinitely reproduced.”
“Which means that at the end of the day, it’s still an issue of industrial development.”
Chen Chen expressed, “If memory serves me correctly, most of these aircraft use nuclear fusion engines to traverse s.p.a.ce. Although we have our hands on information concerning nuclear fusion engines, we still have a long way to go before we can reproduce them.”
“So, for our next step, we will still have to tackle the issue of nuclear fusion...”