History Main / PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo

This sometimes results in [[ArtisticLicensePhysics hilariously unrealistic]] weapon names for people with a knowledge of the properties of said particles. A "Meson Cannon," for example, would be a terribly pointless weapon and a "[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Gluon Gun]]" wouldn't be much use either. This, however, can be averted by creating your own fictional particles [[MinovskyPhysics with fictional properties]], or by simply doing a bit of research so that the weapon's properties ''do'' match the particle it's named after. A "[[CallARabbitASmeerp Photon Beam Cannon]]", for example, could realistically denote a laser or any electromagnetic radiation-based EnergyWeapon, a regular Photon Cannon could just be a flashlight, and "Positron Warhead" could refer to an explosive that uses {{antimatter}} annihilation as its energy source.

->''"Fry, cover us buddy! You got the only wounded-up positron shooter!"''

This sometimes results in [[ArtisticLicensePhysics hilariously unrealistic]] weapon names for people with a knowledge of the properties of said particles. A "Meson Cannon," for example, would be a terribly pointless weapon and a "[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Gluon Gun]]" wouldn't be much use either. This however can be averted by creating your own fictional particles [[MinovskyPhysics with fictional properties]], or by simply doing a bit of research so that the weapon's properties ''do'' match the particle it's named after. A "[[CallARabbitASmeerp Photon Beam Cannon]]" for example could realistically denote a laser or any electromagnetic radiation based EnergyWeapon, a regular Photon Cannon could just be a flashlight, and "Positron Warhead" could refer to an explosive that uses {{antimatter}} annihilation as its energy source.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Zigfrak}}'' in the form high level fusion engine cells going from hydrogen cells to protium cells to deuterium cells and finally to the legendary tier fuel of "Liquid Swarzenegger".
** The BackStory for "Hawk" includes his family being wiped out in the "proton bombing" of his homeworld.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has the Reapers' {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, which are not beams but are actually "magnetohydrodynamic cannons"... Subverted, as this is actually a perfectly accurate descriptor of the weapon: it fires a stream of molten metal at relativistic speeds. Other starship weapon names are similarly straightforward: mass accelerators,[[note]]Large coilguns/railguns that accelerate slugs to relativistic speeds.[[/note]] fusion torpedoes,[[note]]Small ship-launched nuclear missiles.[[/note]] point-defense lasers, disruptor torpedoes,[[note]]They warp space-time in a localized area, causing the target to rip itself apart, fitting the literal definition of "disruption."[[/note]], particle beams, and so on.

** Mostly ditched in ''Nova'', which just calls most of its guns "blasters" (except for the [[MagneticWeapons railguns]] and [[MoreDakka chainguns]]). It does have an "ion cannon", but explains that it really does shoot ions -- charged helium atoms, to be precise. However, the Auroran "Fusion Pulse Cannon" stands out as a Dubious Science Alert.

** Plasma Torpedoes, which are a [[PlasmaCannon ball of plasma]] that are somehow fired at warp speed. Compared to the other torpedoes, this one is a WaveMotionGun, capable of completely destroying [[SpaceStation starbases]] and starships in one hit. It's drawbacks are the fact that it has a has a limited range, and due to power constraints, it cannot not be fired while the ship was cloaked.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has the Reapers' {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, which are not beams but are actually "magnetohydrodynamic cannons"... Subverted, as this is actually a perfectly accurate descriptor of the weapon: it fires a stream of molten metal at relativistic speeds. Other starship weapon names are similarly straightforward: mass accelerators,[[note]]Large coilguns/railguns that accelerate slugs to relativistic speeds.[[/note]] fusion torpedoes,[[note]]Small ship-launched nuclear missiles.[[/note]] antimatter warheads,[[note]]Notable because they easily could have called them something fancier like "photon torpedoes", "neutrino missiles", or "positron warheads" and still have been technically correct.[[/note]] point-defense lasers, disruptor torpedoes,[[note]]They warp space-time in a localized area, causing the target to rip itself apart, fitting the literal definition of "disruption."[[/note]] particle beams, and so on.

* ''VideoGame/MechWarrior'' and its related games featured the weapon known as the PPC, which stands for 'particle projector cannon', derived from the tabletop source material. It is often compared to man-made lightning, but the fiction suggests the weapon fires beams of charged particles. A large percentage of the time, it is rendered as a blue stream of energy with some lead time. The version in the ''Mechwarrior 2'' trilogy fires what the guides term 'plasma balls'.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has the Reapers' {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, which are not beams but are actually "magnetohydrodynamic cannons"... subverted, as this is actually a perfectly accurate descriptor of the weapon: it fires a stream of molten metal at relativistic speeds. Other starship weapon names are similarly straightforward: mass accelerators,[[note]]Large coilguns/railguns that accelerate slugs to relativistic speeds.[[/note]] fusion torpedoes,[[note]]Small ship-launched nuclear missiles.[[/note]] antimatter warheads,[[note]]Notable because they easily could have called them something fancier like "photon torpedoes", "neutrino missiles", or "positron warheads" and still have been technically correct.[[/note]] point-defense lasers, disruptor torpedoes,[[note]]They warp space-time in a localized area, causing the target to rip itself apart, fitting the literal definition of "disruption."[[/note]] particle beams, and so on.

* Parodied in {{VideoGame/Zigfrak}} in the form high level fusion engine cells going from hydrogen cells to protium cells to deuterium cells and finally to the legendary tier fuel of "Liquid Swarzenegger".

This sometimes results in [[ArtisticLicensePhysics hilariously unrealistic]] weapon names for people with a knowledge of the properties of said particles. A "Meson Cannon", for example, would be a terribly pointless weapon and a "[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Gluon Gun]]" wouldn't be much use either. This however can be averted by creating your own fictional particles [[MinovskyPhysics with fictional properties]], or by simply doing a bit of research so that the weapon's properties ''do'' match the particle it's named after- '[[CallARabbitASmeerp Photon Beam Cannon]]' for example could realistically denote a laser or any electromagnetic radiation based EnergyWeapon, a regular Photon Cannon could just be a flashlight, and 'Positron Warhead' could refer to an explosive that uses {{antimatter}} annihilation as its energy source.

** [=KouRyu=], and by extension [=TenRyuJin=], also used MASER attack in FINAL, although they were rendered as pink lightning bolts. Also, the King J-der's EvilCounterpart, the Pia Decem PEAK (modeled after an aircraft carrier), launched kamikaze planes which were designated MASER Fighters and Anti-Meson Fighters.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has the Reapers' {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, which are not beams but are actually "magnetohydrodynamic cannons"... subverted, as this is actually a perfectly accurate descriptor of the weapon: it fires a stream of molten metal at relativistic speeds.

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' the bounty hunter Sylux uses a weapon that fires neutrinos. In RealLife these particles so ubiquitous that about 100 trillion of them pass through your body harmlessly every second.

* An obscure Russian 4X game called ''RememberTomorrow'' might as well be the poster boy for this trope. In a slightly misguided effort to create variety in types of available weapons, engines, and power systems, the designers seem to have found a list of particle names and matter states, and stapled entries from it in front of various "cannons", "engines" and "generators". Highlights include "ion generators", "proton missiles", and cannons in "proton", "gluon", "meson", "antimeson", "graviton", "boson" and "baryon" varieties, culminating in the ultimate beam-type weapon, the "neutrino accelerator".

* The VideoGame/{{Homeworld}} games have the Ion Cannon, which is the heaviest weapon available save for the [[WaveMotionGun Progenitor Phased Cannon Array]]. It is exclusively a starship weapon (and a ludicrously big one at that) - except for the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Bentusi]], who managed to put two of them on ''fighters''.

* Several ships in ''StarTrekKlingonAcademy'' are armed with muon cannons (known in-game as "shieldbreakers").

** The Quantum Torpedoes were introduced as a new kind of torpedo to replace the old photon torpedoes. However, [[InformedAbility they are functionally identical to photon torpedoes,]] albeit more powerful with the only visual difference being [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience their color,]].

** The Quantum Torpedoes were introduced as a new kind of torpedo to replace the old photon torpedoes. however, [[InformedAbility they are functionally identical to photon torpedoes,]] with the only difference being [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience their color,]] and even then, only sometimes.

* ''Gradius'' gives us Photon Torpedoes which pass through multiple one-hit enemies at once.

* The fairies of ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' use neutrino charges to [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]] at one point.
** One of the main LEP weapons is the Neutrino handgun series, which has variable power settings that let it gently heat substances, stun perps, or provide lethal blasts of powerful energy.
** This is subverted in a later book, which specifies that "Neutrino" is actually a brand name (note the capital letter) and the gun is actually a laser.

* ''Franchise/StarWars''
** The proton torpedoes of ''Film/ANewHope'' count as these.
** So does the Ion Cannon in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
** ''Film/RogueOne'' introduces Ion Torpedoes, which are functionally similar to the Ion Cannon, but on a smaller scale. Where the Ion Cannon could one-shot a Star Destroyer to disable it, a volley of Ion Torpedoes could only do the same once the Star Destroyer's shields were disabled.
*** It arguably also makes the most sense, since it's supposed to disable electronics (like Solar storms do to our satellites). Also, a land-mounted Ion Cannon has a higher-yield power source than Ion Torpedoes equipped to fighter-bombers.

*** It arguably also makes the most sense, since it's supposed to disable electronics (like Solar storms do to our satellites)

* One character in ''Fantastic Voyage II'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov jokingly suggests that the military should start researching neutrino bombs. [[ActualPacifist As he sees it]], they'd have all the positive effects of weapons development -- scientific advancement, job creation, and so on -- and none of the negative effects -- such as the ability to actually kill people.
** Some RealLife models of supernovae claim that it's outrushing neutrinos from the collapsing core that ignite the star's outer layers. So maybe it ''is'' possible to use neutrinos to kill people....
*** It is -- all but one-in-a-quadrillion-or-so neutrinos pass through the body without effect, but the ones that do get stopped have the same sort of effect as any other form of ionizing radiation. If you were on a planet around a supernova and were shielded from everything else, the neutrinos would give a lethal radiation dose.
** Indeed, if you can generate enough neutrinos to kill someone, you could probably kill them even if they were on the other side of a planet...

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