Mon, Apr 5, 2021 at 3:17 PM
David,
I've put together some of the base mechanics of the lantern gun beam arm. The lantern gun shares the base used by the thruster drone. I've left the tanks in place but reduced them somewhat in size. I should imagine that the on-board fusion generator needs a hefty amount of fuel to power the lantern gun when it has to put out those immense field charges.
There are still some things to be done on this one, but I thought you should put eyes on it first.
Regards,
- Ignatz
Mon, Apr 5, 2021 at 3:51 PM
Ignatz,
That looks wonderful! So smooth and compact when folded up.
The lantern guns work in pairs, as you know, with a polarization quality to the beams. I would imagine that if an energy circuit for the guns has to be completed, it goes through the outer hull of the cargo box, which is insulated/isolated from the inner hull. Then again, the analogy to electrical circuits could be spurious, since this is a fictional technology.
As for the energy emitter, itself, the only description I've ever given in the stories for the actual gun is that it sort-of resembles an oversized lantern, which is where the name comes from. That doesn't help you much. I don't know...lozenge-shaped, with a glass-covered dish or something? I'm sure you have better ideas than I do.
This drone looks amazing!
-David