EMP gun (weapon)

The EMP gun (also colloquially known as the 'lightning gun') is the design of a class 7 weapon from a fragment of memory originating from iteration 232. It's primary role is a non-lethal weapon capable of disabling vehicular systems (such as tanks, jets and even class 9 spacecraft with a weakness to electricity), as well as electrical components.

Other variants of the EMP gun include the EMP turret and the make-shift EMP missile. In the case of iteration 232, the EMP gun is a prototype unit and therefore flawed.

Design
Due to recall issues, the entire design of the unit isn't entirely clear (as most of it's appearance is obscured by the metal faraday cage housing), but parts are noticeable. The unit's main discharge point is the large, vertical flashbulb (as flashbulbs generate an EMP  ), which sits housed inside a rectangular shaped mirror-esque 'parabolic dish ' (to ensure discharge fires forward and not back into the unit). The flash bulb is hooked to a step-up voltage converter that converts the 12/24v fuel cell battery into a many hundreds of thousands (if not higher) voltage discharge for the flashplate.

As the voltage step-up produces a lot of waste heat, a copper (to prevent corrosion) metal tube (to prevent any break in the faraday cage design or melt-down from extreme heat) pipe pulls the heat to external of the unit, which makes use of possibly some sort of gel coolant unit to 'bleed off' the heat from the primary transformer.

It makes use of a fuel-cell as lead-acid batteries give off toxic , possibly ignitable vapors  (which can be ignited by EMP discharge and result in explosion  ), especially during high voltage feedback malfunctions. Due to the limitations of lithium-ion storage (and inconsistent discharge rates of the battery), a fuel-cell is the preferred method in the design process.

The main bulk of the unit is housed in a metal faraday cage, possibly stainless steel,

A wooden stock houses the back section to prevent accidental contact of bodily parts to the possibly electrified metal faraday cage outer-casing, and a wooden handle is used to prevent accidental shock when holding the unit.

The forward charge pump is attached to a resistor circuit which prevents accidental discharge until it's pulled back, of which the resistance is dropped sufficient for it to start charging (once the resistance is dropped it 'locks' into a charging cycle and thus the charge pump doesn't have to be held in place). Naturally occurring magnetostriction indicates charge amount.

Discharge is carried by the heavy amount of airborne ionisation  by the flashbulb (similar to an electrolaser ), which focuses into a vertical electric 'beam' of white light. The photons break down the air molecles allowing for a path for the electrical ionisation to travel through, of which once it makes contact with a device or object, tries to ground  or find the path of least resistance.

Purpose
Due to the pacifist-esque nature of Josh in iteration 232, and looming militarisation (as well as spacecraft landing), the EMP gun was designed such that dangerous vehicles could be disabled without hurting the operators (as opposed to using conventional explosives).

It's primary goal was to disable a class 9 spacecraft to force a stalemate (by trapping the craft on soon-to-be-naturally-destroyed earth, the aliens would be forced to negotiate and thus start rescuing other members of the human race). Unfortunately, Josh had failed to factor in the fact the spacecraft was grounded and thus allowed a return-feed back to earth - the shot made contact with the outer metal hull, routed through a supercapacitance system (causing it to overload/discharge) and caused the entire supercapaitance bank to explode as it conducted back through earth. The end result was an exploding class 9 spacecraft.

Usage
The unit can be carried on the back via a cord strap, and when a threat has been spotted, the unit can be flung into place. A hit can be scored on any point of the target to disable it, but targetting preference should be towards computer systems or engines.

Assuming there is no fuel cell, it is loaded from the underneath of the unit. Discharged fuel cells can be dropped at the press of a button (the fuel cells are rechargeable). When a fuel cell has been loaded, the operator then powers the unit by pulling back on the charge activation pump, which will make (if functioning correctly) a loud upwards whining noise as the charge cycle completes (the noise caused by magnetosctriction ). The operator can discharge (suboptimally) at any time, but the lower the whine, the weaker the shot and the shorter the distance.

If the charge activation pump results in only a weak whine or no whine at all, it's usually indicative of a flat fuel cell and a new one should be placed.

Ideally the operator should wait until the high-power whining subsides (fully charged shot) before pulling the trigger. Pulling the trigger without pulling the charge activation pump results in nothing happening. Once the charge cycle completes it's not recommended to withhold pressing the trigger as the charge decays rapidly.

Between each shot the operator should wait one hour for the transformer unit to cool down (or at least 30 minutes) to prevent meltdown. Realistically an operator should never be engaging more than one large-scale hostile at any one time, however limitations are largely due to technology of the time period.

Capabilities
The approximate maximum range of the EMP gun range from between 100-150 meters, capable of 3 shots per fuel cell. It's capable of disabling vehicles, aircraft and spacecraft, often by destroying the computer components and engines (which, with onboard ECU are particularly vulnerable). Conversely, older equipment and living creatures remain intact.

As per the intention of the design, the unit is ineffective against living beings (it's cumbersome, difficult to aim, has a long charge cycle, and melts if too rapidly used, ideal for larger and slower targets). A direct hit will likely result in similarities to injuries caused by lightning strikes but typically would leave them (ideally) alive. This may not be the case in airborne craft as an onboard ECU failure would likely result in a crash. Contact with any fuel lines might also result in an explosion so some caution in targetting has to be used to avoid this.

The weapon is relatively inaccurate, works better at close range (but too close might result in blowback from any accidental fuel-line ignition), requires a clear line of sight, and is weather dependent in that it cannot operate during rain, snow, hail or similarly wet conditions (there is also risk of electrical shock to the operator in these conditions as a wet line to the operators hand might be formed).

EMP guns are, as required, intrinsically immune to EMP, being self-contained inside a faraday cage housing. Wooden handle and wooden stock, as well as plastic charge activation pump provide insulation (as holding the faraday cage when a discharge occurs will polarise the cage and cause the operator a shock). It has no safety setting (with the charge activation pump the only mechanism preventing misfire).

Flaws (prototype unit)
The unit in iteration 232 is prone to overheating and even melting the internal components of the unit when shots are fired in succession due to the amount of heat produced during the voltage conversion phase. Although a metal coolant pipe is supplied, it's insufficient to deal with 3 successive shots (it can take an hour or so before coolant is achieved per shot, and 3 shots is sufficient to render the unit useless).

The unit is also particularly cumbersome to carry (factoring in the amount of metal, fuel cell size and size of the transformer unit) and weighs in at approximately several kilograms, making it burdensome to wield and carry.

Due to flaws, it's easier to replace the entire gun than to reload it (reloading itself is also difficult due to carry weights of the fuel cell).

As noted, it is weather dependent, cannot be used in rain or wet conditions, and may shock the user if it is.

Variants
In another iteration (possibly even within 232, but most likely a sub-iteration) is the fuel-cell is replaced with a backpack power supply (which is also protected in a faraday cage to prevent accidental self-EMPing), which connects directly into the fuel-cell slot with a fuel-cell shaped plug socket. This proposed variant allows the EMP gun more than 3 shots (classically, 10 shots), however, due to meltdown limitations keeping it to 3-shots, the fuel-cell variant was preferred as it didn't add additional weight for little benefit.

Another variant, as seen in the war with the aliens, is the EMP turret.

Iteration 532
In present iteration 532, devices similar to the EMP gun exist, with the design of home devices possible , including the HERF gun. There are EMP gun variants that make use of the parabolic dish  akin to the EMP gun, as well as the Bofors HPM Blackout which, like the EMP gun's intended role, is stated to be non-lethal to humans. The closest variant in 532 to the EMP gun is an electrolaser, which uses a laser to act as path guidance for electrical discharge.