What is the Doom BFG9000?

This thread was mostly meant as a joke in response to Pritch's comment in "What is the Doom pistol?", but I decided I could make use of this thread as well.

Something I always liked about some science-fiction is their crappy off-the-wall attempts to explain the workings of their technology. I was hoping that some of the more physics-knowledgable people here would be willing to discuss in a similar fashion how the plasma rifle and BFG9K in Doom work, including the BFG's tracer effect.

do you want the techinal thing(as in how it would work if it was real) or how it works in doom world?

Zell said:

do you want the techinal thing(as in how it would work if it was real) or how it works in doom world?

I'm talking about (fake) theoretical takes on how the weapons would function if they really existed.

There's some huge explaination of the BFG9000 somewhere on the net, I read some of it once. I forgot where it was though.

Obligatory link.

But I guess you'd have a really hard time explaining the BFG's behaviour in physically realistic terms. Especially things like how the traces can be emitted behind you, why their timing depends on the fireball's time of impact, or why they can be emitted miles away from where the blast occurred (e.g. if you teleport in between).

Already read the BFG FAQ long ago, and I have specified that that is not what I am looking for. Nice try, though. :P

Yes, but it does describe in detail the issues that would need to be addressed by anyone seeking to explain its workings in the way you request. It would probably need some quantum mechanics BS to sound at all convincing.

Hmmmm....ok here is my take.
During the firing/warming up of the gun, it is really freezing the ball of Eneergy known as the blasts. Due to the volume and size of the ball, it doesnt collide with the floor. It hits its target, exploding. We do not see the *clusters* of BFG porjectile after hitting its target becuase it is execellerate at high speeds due to the impact. the clusters kill all the other surronding targets.

Ultraviolet said:

I was hoping that some of the more physics-knowledgable people here...

Zell said:

Hmmmm....ok here is my take.
During the firing/warming up of the gun, it is really freezing the ball of Eneergy known as the blasts. Due to the volume and size of the ball, it doesnt collide with the floor. It hits its target, exploding. We do not see the *clusters* of BFG porjectile after hitting its target becuase it is execellerate at high speeds due to the impact. the clusters kill all the other surronding targets.

Shhyeah.

Zell said:

Hmmmm....ok here is my take.
During the firing/warming up of the gun, it is really freezing the ball of Eneergy known as the blasts. Due to the volume and size of the ball, it doesnt collide with the floor. It hits its target, exploding. We do not see the *clusters* of BFG porjectile after hitting its target becuase it is execellerate at high speeds due to the impact. the clusters kill all the other surronding targets.

Yes, but how do these 'clusters' know what their targets are?

they fly everywhere...hence hitting *anything* in the general vicinity...

ravage said:

Yes, but how do these 'clusters' know what their targets are?

More importantly, what's a porjectile?

You can't try to explain magical video game physics with real physics.

Carmack's Law states that the BFG works just because the engine can handle it.

Ultraviolet said:

Shhyeah.

cmon i got as creative as i could without over stepping the boundrays(whihc i did =p )

Zell said:

they fly everywhere...hence hitting *anything* in the general vicinity...

Then why doesn't it hurt the walls, or torches, pillars, or you? Why only enemies and barrels?

Uhhhhh...(runs up and steals the BFG) muahahahhaahahah! (runs aways as fast as possible)

*thieves and gets off a shot quick*

...in the distance a loud explosion can be heard as Zell attempts to use a fake BFG9000. Seconds later, most of the forum is showered in blood and small body parts...

Ichor said:

...in the distance a loud explosion can be heard as Zell attempts to use a fake BFG9000. Seconds later, most of the forum is showered in blood and small body parts...

And everyone rejoiced.

Ichor said:

...in the distance a loud explosion can be heard as Zell attempts to use a fake BFG9000. Seconds later, most of the forum is showered in blood and small body parts...

Good thing I'm not much of a thief. :)

IMO the BFG works like this :

The Plasma Rifle shoots out balls of very very hot liquid charged with electric and is propelled by being launched out via a form of electromagnetic propolsion (sp?), the shot being positively charged and the electromagnet being negative. The BFG works the same way, except infused in the ball is a chemical that reacts upon the sudden heat caused by the explosion. This chemical attacks anything that has blood (as it is attracted to stuff in the blood and when it "finds" the target, it gives off a sudden and very lethal burst of electric), but, the chemical will NOT attack the shooter because after the shot, a gas is emitted that repells the chemical from attacking the shooter.


Yeah, pretty shitty, but meh...

Plasma is the fourth state of matter. It is not a liquid.

BBG said:

IMO the BFG works like this :

The Plasma Rifle shoots out balls of very very hot liquid charged with electric and is propelled by being launched out via a form of electromagnetic propolsion (sp?), the shot being positively charged and the electromagnet being negative. The BFG works the same way, except infused in the ball is a chemical that reacts upon the sudden heat caused by the explosion. This chemical attacks anything that has blood (as it is attracted to stuff in the blood and when it "finds" the target, it gives off a sudden and very lethal burst of electric), but, the chemical will NOT attack the shooter because after the shot, a gas is emitted that repells the chemical from attacking the shooter.


Yeah, pretty shitty, but meh...

Couldn't be liquid. The plasma rifle and the BFG use the same cells -- just energy cells -- and according to your explanation the fluids have different properties.

Bloodshedder said:

Plasma is the fourth state of matter. It is not a liquid.

Fourth state? I though plasma was superhot ionized gas.

It is, and thus it becomes the fourth state of matter.

5hfifty said:

There's some huge explaination of the BFG9000 somewhere on the net, I read some of it once. I forgot where it was though.

yeah i read that good it was too.

BBG said:

This chemical attacks anything that has blood

The nukage barrels contain blood?

And corpses/blood lakes/etc don't? :P

The behaviour of the BFG is due to quantic physic. Remember the universe is made of something like a dozen dimensions in which different types of energy (gravitational and magnetic) travel many different ways (that is they do travel into these dimensions with different concentrations, configurations and speeds).

The plasma ball you launch is just a host that contains a great concentration of electromagnetic energy, preventing it from evaporating into another dimension than space or time (let's call this dimension the Magnetic-Dimension or M-Dimension). When the ball explodes, the electromagnetic energy suddenly unleashed, dissipates itself into the M-Dimension (provoking a huge explosion). In the process though, and after a few seconds, echoes occur: energy suddenly pops out of the M-Dimension, around the point of dissipation, on spots that have specific magnetic configurations.

The UAC labs went into a lot of testings and happened to find a lot of differently charged magnetic energies. One type was charged such a way that the echoes were attracted by magnetic fields generated by animated bodies (auras). Unfortunatly, most nuclear wastes seemed to have a compatible configuration which explains why barrels happen to be affected by the echoes.

On a side note, given living deads are affected by the echoes, some religious zealots state zombies have a soul. Go figure.

What is the Doom BFG9000?

It's a portable microwave oven, enough said.

Microwaves (or other forms of highly energetic electromagnetic radiation) are plausible.