CTD - Alien Grenade

[K-Tana]

Alien Grenade

 

Despite early reservations of opening an Alien grenade to take a look – many scientists simply said it wasn’t a good idea – research into this remarkably simple piece of technology has been completed. Far from the micro-fusion power source originally theorised, the alien grenade uses a chemical explosive for it’s devastating payload. Based on Promethium, an as of yet badly understood but easily produced element, the explosive is triggered by an electronic pulse generated by a simple timer. The compound then destabilises, releasing stored energy in the process, heating the surrounding air and causing standard combustion.

 

We hope to begin synthesis of this explosive mixture just as soon as we understand it fully. Clearly, the most obvious use would be to upgrade our own explosive devices to be more powerful and lighter – the alien explosive weighs considerably less than anything we use in explosive devices.

[Cpl. Facehugger]

Promethium? Aren't we using Xenium-122 for our elerium role? And since alien grenades use elerium, like all alien tech, xenocide alien stuff should use Xenium. If I didn't make sense there, I apologize, i'm very tired.

 

Lets see, it needs to be longer. Plus some fluff text would be nice.

For instance: "My colleuges thought it was a bad idea to open up an alien grenade, and I damn near blew my arm off with it, but I figured out how it worked!" -Bob Phallus, X-Corps Physicist.

[coolp]

The word xenium sounds a little too cheesy... maybe theres a better word we can use for it, I can't think of any at the time. I like it a lot Ktana! They don't HAVE to use [Elerium], since the Aliens probably have other elements also... maybe with one sample of this new mixture the scientists can sythesize it, which would fix that problem right there...

[Cpl. Facehugger]

Yeah, but what is to prevent the player from cranking out superior alien grenades? In the original, elerium was required, so it was instantly balanced. And Xenium is only the working term we will use until something better comes along.

[K-Tana]

Right then, I'll add to it and use Xenium-122 as the explosive. Give me a few minutes...

[K-Tana]

here we go, what do you think?

 

Alien Grenade

 

Despite early reservations of opening an Alien grenade to take a look – many scientists simply said it wasn’t a good idea – research into this remarkably simple piece of technology has been completed. Far from the micro-fusion power source originally theorised, the alien grenade uses a chemical explosive for it’s devastating payload. Based on Xenium-123, an isotope of Xenium-122 (A staple of alien technology), the explosive is triggered by an electronic pulse generated by a simple timer. The compound then destabilises, releasing stored energy in the process, heating the surrounding air and causing standard combustion.

 

We hope to begin synthesis of Xenium–123 as soon as we understand it fully. We are unable to produce Xenium-122; so recovered stocks will be required. If insufficient Xenium-122 can be recovered, we believe that a similar principal will work with the element Dubnium, as this shares a similar electron structure to Xenium – 123, although the explosive power will not nearly be as effective, it is a compromise until we find a way to produce Xenium-122 (If that ever happens).

 

Xenium-123 is produced when we bombard Xenium-122 with neutrons, until one sticks in place, causing the element to be heavier. At least, that is the theory. In reality, we have yet to be successful in the mass production of Xenium-123. Xenium-123 is extremely unstable – most of what we can produce in an accelerator decomposes before we can store it in a magnetic field. We theorise therefore – that the aliens have access to a bigger particle accelerator than us, and a better storage method than us (possibly related to the shape of the grenade – more later) and consequently can produce Xenium-123 with a higher success rate. The alien grenade itself prevents Xenium-decomposition by an odd virtue of its shape. It would appear that the very fact that the grenade is the shape that it is prevents Xenium-123 from decomposing. We do not understand the reasons or the cause of this phenomenon, but we can reproduce it easily.

 

Clearly, the most obvious use would be to upgrade our own explosive devices to be more powerful and lighter – the alien explosive weighs considerably less than anything we use in explosive devices. The explosion is also much hotter than standard grenades, and consequently will be more effective against armoured opponents.

 

“At first, no-one dared so much as go near the thing, so we drew straws to see who would open it up. I drew the short one, although I’m sure the competition was rigged. So, despite my protests that a robot could do the job better, I was thrust into a bomb-shelter and set to work, being observed my by comrades who were two miles away in a command bunker, watching me via camera. Fortunately, I didn’t die, although I might never walk again...” Tom O’Rourke – X-Corps Physicist, Coffee maker and Scapegoat.

Edited November 26, 2003 by K-Tana

[mikker]

hmmm, make "xenium-123" "plasma". its pretty cheap to turn 122 into 123

 

most of the stuff about plasma being unstable have been clerified in the elerium thread. i like the fluff text, but it would been better if it acturly DID explode, but he lived to tell the tale.

[K-Tana]

I dunno, I just theorised that if Xenium-122 can produce a lot of energy, and it's isotope is unstable...

 

I'll change the fluff text, having it explode might be fun. ::

[Deimos]

Reading the elerium thread the xenium we're using seems to be going down the road that the xenium crystals are actually the product of fold space. Following that idea, wouldn't it be simpler to just use that with a simple chemical trigger to set the xenium reaction going and use the huge energy potential of xenium to unfold itself, expending its energy in a milisecond and therefore cause the huge amounts of damage the alien grenades do?

[Cartesian]

we cant have xenium123 as an isotope, xenium is a fold in space time and sint normal matter that we are familiar with (which is why we cant make it).

 

for continuity the alien grenade needs to say something like:

 

the alien grenade is a hard dense shell of alien alloy surrounding a lump of xenium 122 and the trigger mechnism. the xenium is destablised using (particle bombardment/resonant magnetic fields) and will completely convert into radiant energy and atomic particles within a nanosecond resulting in a massive detonation as the surrounding area is instantly converted into plasma.

 

the alien alloy which is dense provides some mass to be converted if/when we do stuff in space/cydonia.

 

we will have to modify the explosions in vacuum btw in the game for realism. just thought id mention it now.

[K-Tana]

ok, ok. No Xenium isotopes. Give a while and I'll re-do the origional theory behind the grenade.

[K-Tana]

I've completely rewritten this, so any more hole for you to pick?

 

 

Alien Grenade

 

Initial report’s of the alien grenade’s effectiveness in the field, gave rise to a number of speculations as to how it might function, the most popular being that it was a micro-fusion device, and consequently very complicated. Such a device would give off radiation, and once we were able to capture an unused grenade, we detected no radiation. Our next theory was that the grenade used Xenium-122 in an uncontrolled reaction. One problem with this theory is that the grenade has a magnetic resonance emitter, which would appear to serve no purpose in this theory, save maybe using it to stick to armoured vehicles for maximum penetration.

 

Two of our top scientists attempted to test the theory by opening the grenade. The transcript of the last few minutes of the test follows:

 

“Dr. Thomas O’Rourke: Ok, trigger and magnet array removed. Hmm, would you mind taking this and putting it next door in the containment field. I don’t want it interfering with the instruments.

 

Dr. Hannah Seinberg: Sure thing.

 

Dr. O’Rourke: Oh, and would you mind getting the diamond saw, I need it to get through the alloy shell. (Dr. O’Rourke places the grenade in a vice ready for cutting)

 

Dr. Seinburg: Ok. (Proceeds to head next door, store the firing mechanism, and retrieves an electric diamond buzz saw from the tool cupboard)

 

Dr. O’Rourke: Now, if this thing does contain Xenium, it should be stable, so here we go. (Picks up and starts the buzz saw) Hmmm, the grenade’s outer casing is thinner along this line, I shall cut along it. (Proceeds to cut) Almost there… (Outer casing cracks open) There…”

 

Transcript End.

 

What followed was a massive explosion, killing both scientists. The grenade did contain Xenium, but it was highly unstable. Further research showed that the magnetic resonance emitter served as a stabiliser to prevent an outer layer of Xenium balls from exploding prematurely.

 

The Grenade contains two layers of Xenium. The inner layer is like all other Xenium we know, it’s stable, but if triggered, it unfolds and releases a terrifying amount of energy. This is the main charge, and is detonated when the electronic firing mechanism fires a pulse of electricity into the core. The mechanism can be put on a timer, anything from zero up to 2438 seconds (The significance of this time is not known).

 

The outer shell of Xenium balls is separated from the core by a layer of alien alloys. These Xenium balls have been treated with electromagnetic radiation, which seems to partially unfold the Xenium, making it highly unstable. The tiniest amount of kinetic energy is all that is required to fully unfold them. On earth, these balls seem to show no purpose, they are detonated along with the rest of the Xenium. But in space, or vacuum, they serve a distinct purpose (more later)

 

When the Xenium explodes in an atmosphere, the resultant energy heats up the air, plasmerising it, and causing catastrophic damage to anything around. All the alien alloy casing is vaporised by this too, and the unstable balls are detonated by the plasma (but crucially, not by the detonation)

 

In a vacuum however, there is no gas to plasmerise, and consequently, the Xenium balls do not detonate, instead, they fly out at a vast rate. If they collide with anything, the kinetic energy causes a detonation, which damages the target significantly. The alloy casing also fragments along predetermined weakened lines, so these can also cause significant damage.

 

In conclusion of this damage analysis, an alien grenade in an atmosphere will cause greater damage, but with a shorter range, whilst in space, it will do less damage, but have a longer range (Technically infinite in a weightless environment, but the spread of shrapnel and Xenium balls will render the grenade harmless beyond a certain range).

 

So what can be drawn from this? Well, it is clear that the alien grenade was designed specifically to be able to be used in a airless environment – The aliens may therefore expect space combat, or us taking the fight to them. The design of the grenade is quite complicated, although could be replicated now that we know how to destabilise the Xenium, although clearly, production of the grenades will be impossible without a supply of Xenium of the aliens.

[Cpl. Facehugger]

Much Better! I like it.

[Deimos]

Cool writeup.

[j'ordos]

Indeed, that's more the level of detail we're after than the first draft you did.

BTW, researching that grenade killed 2 scientist, apparently. Will it do that ingame? Research alien grenade: 2 kills, research fusion ball launcher: 20 scientists dead, and so on...

[K-Tana]

You never know, might add an element of realism...

[Cartesian]

The amount of xenium we'd be talking about here is on the order or a nanogram or microgram, so we wouldnt have balls and spheres/shells of xenium, we'd have a speck of xenium (like a mote of dust), with a detonator like an electromagnet or exotic radioactive source surrounded by combustible material (like alien alloy) to hold it together..

 

its the KISS principle. you dont make something complicated if you can make something simple. And there is no chance of making unstable xenium and then "making it stable" with another field since the field strength would have to be immense, and if the field failed even partially for an instant a cataclysmic problem would arise for the bearer/storage area.

 

As for the bit about vacuum, we dont have to include it in the description of how the grenade works, I just thought it should be mentioned at some stage and why not earlier in the grenade thread?

 

in the example of vacuum, the xenium will destabilise, heating up the alien alloy, so a nomial amount of plasma will be generated, but there will be a lot of light left over. it will flash fry everything within a certain radius (intensity proportional to 1/r^2). think of the shadows burnt onto walls in hiroshima/nagasaki. so smaller "boom" and more stuff burns.

 

in atmosphere, larger boom, less burns. in both cases you have both effects, just varying amounts.

 

hope this helps.

Edited November 28, 2003 by Cartesian

[K-Tana]

Sigh. Revision number 4 coming soon...

[Breunor]

It's a good write-up IMO, looking good. Don't worry, no matter how many changes you make, everybody will still have a comment regarding personal preferences. It has nothing to do with your creative writing skills. I think your next write-up will be the winner. Another suggestion to reduce the number of revisions for future work, let a version sit for a few days to gather comments, then you can work in several ideas at once, or we can resolve conflicting comments that would otherwise pull you in different directions. I remember a art concept that was tweaked at least a dozen times, mostly because everybody had conflicting ideas. It can wear a person out.

 

We really appreciate your efforts!

[K-Tana]

Thanks. I think I'll leave the current version for a while to gather comments (That and I have masses of homework to do)

[[dipstick]]

Sorry to be a pain, but have we used the word 'exothermic' anywhere?? It is a great word, and actually makes sense in a context like this. In case anyone is wondering about my sanity I have just had a chemistry exam

 

Oh, and a great revised text

Edited November 28, 2003 by dipstick

[Cartesian]

i suppose we could make the detonator involve titration somehow as well...

[K-Tana]

, I've got a Chemistry Practical Exam on monday, based on titration.

 

I don't know why I'm laughing, I'm crap at titrating stuff... :crying:

[[dipstick]]

Titrat-what?

 

I love chemistry, yes, but just what level are you lot studying it at?? I get the distinct feeling at a level somewhat higher than me

 

I am at the 'here is the periodic table' stage. Well, just a bit further anyway.

 

I can't wait until something REALLY interesting comes up, but that won't be until A-Level I suppose. :crying:

[mikker]

'here is the periodic table'

were? i can't see it....

[Cartesian]

Last time I did chem seriously was about 6 years ago at the end of highschool. It doesnt get very good till second year uni IMO. Too much remembering colour changes even in first year.

 

As for titration, we always used to do it in groups, and since i didnt want to poison myself I'd do all the theoretical calculations instead, which suited my partners fine since they werent absolutely paranoid like me.

[[dipstick]]

What IS it????

[K-Tana]

It's combining two chemicals to neutralise one another, such as an acid and a base. You'l learn about it if you do AS level chemistry.

[Ancalagon]

Is the grenade going to use the fragmentation principle used in human grenades or not? just wondering. The ctd is good.

[Cartesian]

I would guess not since the material will be vapourised.

[K-Tana]

If used in vacuum, the alien alloy shell is designed to fragment and be thrown out. In an atmosphere, the alloy shell is vapourised as the air around it plasmerises.

[Cartesian]

I'm trying to offer some help as a trained physicist, but I am getting tired of repeating myself.

 

Atom bombs dont throw out fragments in vacuum in exactly the same way they dont throw out fragments in atmosphere. The fragments get atomised (or ionised but this is a technical term and the layman might not know what it is. im sure they can figure out what we mean by atomised, even if it is less correct).

 

Perhaps you should be thinking of the alien grenade as a *really really* low yield atom bomb.

 

So to clarify further (after a colleague has seen this thread), a normal human grenade has a chemical charge. the charge combusts, creating heat and hence pressure. the grenade casing explodes into fragments or shrapnel, which then proceed to embed themselves in things such as humans.

 

The alien grenade does not have shrapnel. it explodes releasing light primarily. this heats up the surrounding area, cooking the humans. it cooks up nearby matter sufficiently to ionise it (turns it into plasma). the reason the casing for the grenade doesnt turn into shrapnel is because it is heated up so quickly it becomes a gas. hot gases expand, and it is hotter nearer the alien grenade. so there is a pressure gradient and gas will flow outwards radially quickly (there will be a shockwave/pressurewave of air).

 

watch the nuclear explosion in T2 as it is done well (when sarah conner is standing at the chain link fence as the bomb goes off). she burns first, and then gets hit by the shockwave. another better but less avaliable source is the trinity documentary.

 

plasmarised isnt a word. ionised is. google it if you are curious.

Edited December 1, 2003 by Cartesian

[Breunor]

So it seems if you change the line to state that even in a vacuum the grenade ionised sufficiently to be considered a dangerous weapon, we're set on this entry? I think it looks very good, and should be considred complete. Thanks to everyone for their input and discussion!

[K-Tana]

Ok, i'll edit my writeup to take into effect the fact that minimal quantities of Xenium are required, that plasmerising isn't a word (Your right there), and that the grenade works by ionising a living creature's cellular atoms. (Am i right i saying that ionisation is the addition of energy to an atom, causing the electrons to become excited and in effect, leap off the atom, positivly charging it?) Edited December 1, 2003 by K-Tana

[K-Tana]

Ok, here we go. Cartesian, if any mistakes are present, do point them out for correction, particulary is my knowledge of ionisation is incomplete or incorect, although I must point out, that not all players of Xenocide will have a grounding in physics, and although it is ecessary for the information presented to be correct and consistant, and stress that too much complexity may scare away players. Also, this version requires flavour text to spice it up a little, any suggestions? I'm too tired to think...

 

Alien Grenade MK. 5

As any soldier with experience fighting the alien menace will tell you, the alien's main strength lies in their weaponry, and it’s superiority to our equivalents. In no case is this more obvious, than in the comparison of the alien grenade, and our own fragmentation grenade.

 

Although both aim for similar goals, (i.e. an area effect, hand thrown explosive weapon) both achieve this aim in remarkably different ways, both in principal and complexity. A human grenade uses a chemical explosive to propel fragments of the grenade’s shell outwards at high velocity, cutting into anything in its path. Despite it’s crudeness in comparison to the alien equivalent, it must not be forgotten that it remains an effective an powerful anti-personnel weapon, capable of cutting down aliens and humans alike.

 

The alien grenade uses a more complex method for it’s destructive capability. A small core of Xenium, surrounded by a chemical detonating compound comprises the main bulk of the weapon. When the device is to be detonated, an electric charge (Which can be timed for a delayed detonation) is generated, which ignites the detonating compound (Which comprises mainly of Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen, and is not too dissimilar to our own TNT, indeed TNT could be used in place of this alien mixture), which in turn, provides sufficient energy to unfold the Xenium.

 

As the Xenium within the grenade unfolds, its stored energy is released at a vast rate, mainly in the forms of heat and light. (Note, staring directly at an alien grenade detonation can lead to temporary or permanent damage to the retina, and should be avoided at all costs) The heat energy produced is easily sufficient to reach the first ionisation energies of almost all known atoms, and will probably reach the second, third or fourth. The ionisation of an atom causes electrons to be torn away from the pull of the nucleus, positively charging the atom. This causes catastrophic damage to the affected material, and in a biological case, may cause a very rapid death.

 

Unlike fragmentation grenades, alien grenades can cause severe damage to hardened metals, and consequently, may prove effective against armoured opponents. This may prove useful against enemy heavy weapon platform equivilants or any other metal-based foe.

 

An alien grenade also works in a vacuum. The explosive compound has vast quantities of oxygen trapped within its particles, and consequently, can react with the oxygen, even in an airless environment. The grenade retains it’s ionising effect, despite weightlessness and vacuum.

 

Unfortunately, we are unable to produce Xenium at all, and no acceptable alternatives present themselves. We must rely on the aliens to bring us our supplies, an interesting relationship I must say, but one we must persevere with. Xenium is most prevalent in alien space-ship engines, so it is imperative that we recover the maximum quantity of intact UFOs possible.

Edited December 1, 2003 by K-Tana

[[dipstick]]

Alright, alright. I know enough about ionisation to know it isn't very nice, but when you start talking about ionisation energies???? It sort of puts what you know into perspective doesn't it???

 

Good CT though!!

 

Also Re: titration. We have probably covered some of that in essence, but without a fancy name

[j'ordos]

This may prove useful against enemy cyberdisks or any other metal-based foe.

I'd leave this out, as you can research the grenade before you even have encountered Cyberdisks (ok, maybe not very likely, but it is possible)

 

Other than that I think it's good

[K-Tana]

Ok, I'll edit it to leave that out.

[Breunor]

I agree with leaving out cyberdisk references, perhaps you can just say "Unlike fragmentation grenades, alien grenades can cause severe damage to hardened metals. This may prove more effective against heavily-armoured alien forces."

 

I'd leave out the reference line to Xenium, the player will have that information in the Xenium text. There are a couple spots regarding grammar, but that can be resolved when it's "ready to print".

[Cartesian]

taken K-Tanas post and edited for typos, grammar and consistency.

 

there is one issue of whether we want to have the greande activated by magnetic fields/pparticles

 

this is apparent in the etxt and is easily modifiable in the future once that isssue is settled by deletion of the other.

alien_grenade.txt

Edited December 2, 2003 by Cartesian

[K-Tana]

Right, as soon as the triggering mechanism is sorted, I believe that Cartesian's version is more or less the finished version. Any more problems that need correcting?

[Breunor]

I made some adjustments to the text as well, and picked the resonant magnetic field option. Attached is the text in rtf format. I'll link it to the CT list, if there are any other changes let me know and I'll update the text. Thanks to everyone for your effort with this!

alien_grenade.rtf

[[Blehm 98]]

okay dippy, 9th? entry today:

alien_grenade_ctd.txt

[Guest Azrael]

ALIEN GRENADE

X-Net://Pegasus.net/Alien/Weapons/Grenade

 

As any soldier with experience fighting the Alien menace will probably say, the Aliens' main strength lies in their weaponry and its superiority to our equivalents. In no case is this more obvious than in the comparison between Alien grenades and our own fragmentation grenades. Although each design aims for identical goals (i.e. an area effect, hand thrown explosive weapon), they achieve this aim in remarkably different ways, both in principal and complexity.

 

The Xenium-122 within the Alien grenade is critically destabilized by application of a resonant magnetic field. As the Xenium within the grenade unfolds, its stored energy is released at a vast rate, mainly in the forms of radiation and high-energy atomic particles. (Note: Staring directly at an Alien grenade’s explosion can lead to temporary or permanent damage to the retina, and should be avoided at all costs). The ionization on a large scale is apparent in the form of high-energy plasma. The resulting plasma shockwave causes catastrophic damage to the affected material, surrounding environment, and in a biological case is likely to cause a very rapid death. Radiation burns will also be present in non-shielded targets within line of sight.

 

Unlike fragmentation grenades, Alien grenades can cause severe damage to hardened metals by melting them and consequently may prove effective against armored Alien opponents or any other metal-based foe.

 

In a vacuum there is less material for the grenade to ionize and the plasma will cool rapidly resulting in a less severe shockwave. The majority to the energy will escape as hard radiation, which will flash fry the surrounding area sufficiently to cause noticeable damage to hard targets at medium range.

 

While we are able to produce this weapon, Xenium-122 is required for its manufacturing; no substitutions of any kind can be done.

 

"Take that you buggers! The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!"

*BOOM*

"Heh heh heh... Nothing beats the Holy Hand Grenade!"