Phased Plasma Gun - Similar Weapons in Other Fiction

Similar Weapons in Other Fiction

In the film The Terminator, the eponymous character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger goes to a gun shop in 1984 LA and requests a "phased plasma rifle in a 40 watt range," a weapon from its own time which can be seen being used by resistance fighters and terminators alike during the film's scenes of post "Judgment Day" conflict. (The shop owner replies, "Hey just what ya see, pal.") A larger vehicle mounted version of this weapon appeared to have the power to violently rip a human body into several charred pieces upon impact. In the popular zynga games Mafia Wars this weapon is at the depot.

In Aliens, a film by James Cameron, a "phased plasma pulse rifle" is a weapon that the excitable Private William Hudson (Played by Bill Paxton), jokingly informs Ripley is part of the Marines arsenal (along with knives and sharp sticks). The scene takes place aboard the marine dropship and was omitted from the original version released to theaters. It can been seen in the film's Special Edition, which was first released in 1992 and then later in subsequent DVD box sets.

In the online role-playing game, EVE Online, "Phased Plasma" is a type of ammunition for projectile weapons (firearms) that does considerable thermal-type damage and some kinetic-type damage, described as an equivalent of the particle beam "blaster" built into a conventional artillery round.