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This sniper-rifle, seen only in "The
Xindi," could be a totally distinct prop from the MACO rifle, but
is more likely a modified pulse rifle with a longer barrel and of course
the pop-up scope. Questions is, do all these rifles have extendable
barrels, or is the barrel a permanent fixture of this variant,? How
long does a plasma-firing weapon's barrel need to be? There's also been
some speculation as to the mechanism within the prop that allows the
scope to pop up: hydraulic/gas-pressured? Clockwork or spring-loaded?
My current assumption is some sort of electric motor.
Matthew Barlow suggests: "What
value a longer barrel would be on a plasma weapon? I think this all
depends on how the plasma is propelled. Plasma is ionized gas - that
is, gas with an electrical charge. As such it can be affected by magnetic
fields. One possible means of propulsion would be to surround the rifle
barrel with ring shaped (toroidal) electro-magnets. By turning these
on and off in sequence they would drag the plasma down the barrel, accelerating
it to phenomenal speed. A longer barrel means more electro-magnets,
hence greater acceleration. It seems reasonable to assume that the plasma
has only a short time in which it is effective (otherwise we have a
weapon with infinite range), and, unlike a beam weapon, may be adversely
affected by climatic conditions, for example being diverted off course
by strong winds. A faster plasma discharge could then be both longer-ranged
and more accurate, making for an effective sniper weapon. One problem
with this idea is that, as the barrel itself is full of components,
it makes it very difficult for the extending barrel idea to work. In
addition the barrel itself could be quite heavy. Coupled with the extra
length, this could make the rifle cumbersome. As a result the MACOs
may prefer the shorter version for most purposes. From what we have
seen of it, its range seems adequate for most purposes. The sniper rifle
could be a specially built version based on the standard model, a custom
built model, or simply a standard model with the normal barrel replaced
with a longer one."
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