Energy weapon

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference

Energy weapon were any device that intended to use directed energy in a destructive manner. Energy weapons ranged in size and type from handheld anti-personnel weapons to massive cannons for combat in the vacuum of space, mounted on space ships or even planetary bases.

Anti-personnel energy weapons

An energy weapon could be a handheld weapon that fired energy rather than a projectile of some sort. This energy might be a laser, plasma, or some more esoteric variety. Advantages of energy weapons over firearms included their ability to do significantly more damage than a projectile, and, ironically, their ability to be designed to incapacitate rather than kill. They were often informally referred to as blasters.

Large-scale energy weapons

See also