B4 Pulsed Energy Rifle

## Overview

The B4 Pulsed Energy Rifle is the fourth installment of the B-series firearms which became available for consumer sale in 2101. It is notably a relatively unconventional and adaptable firearm, firing a pulsed laser at its target in order to deal damage. Like the previous B3, which fired plasma, the B4 is powered by a detachable lithium-tungsten power pack - which can be placed into the weapon's rear, as it follows an ambidextrous bullpup configuration, allowing for ease of usage on the field, especially in close quarters combat. Power stored within the lithium-tungsten cell or 'magazine' is then drawn out into a capacitor, which handles the firing of the weapon.

## Action & Ammunition

The B4 PER, due to not being a projectile weapon, does not quite have an 'action', but does have a system that is comparable to one. To fire, the weapon draws a large amount of power out of the rechargeable lithium-tungsten power pack, gathering it into a capacitor. In this capacitor, the power is stored until it is fired with a trigger pull, resulting in the weapon releasing a pulse from the laser, the bolt travelling almost instantly to the target - essentially making missing almost impossible. While the fact that it fires a beam of heat rather than actual light prevents it from being called a laser by definition, many prefer to simplify it to being a laser gun, rather than just a pulsed energy weapon.

The pulsed laser rifle fires in a series of pulses, the power usage being approximately 2 kJ in total with each usage. Approximately 100 pulses are fired over the period of 1 microsecond (with the pulses themselves being around 1 nanosecond in duration individually), each of which being 20 J in strength. Pulses generally last 3 milliseconds, crating a crater in the target - within which other pulses form their own craters, allowing for the user to dig through their target entirely, which generally causes an agonizing death. The total energy that the pulse train strikes with is similar to that a of a .338 norma, though it can be brought as high as the force of a .408 CheyTac - though it can be noted that the weapon is entirely recoilless. With all pulses taken into account, the laser's width is approximately 1mm, producing a crater with a diameter of around 2.3mm, which has a depth of 6.51cm when fired against RHA steel. When fired against flesh, the total penetration of the pulsed beam would be around 1.55m, on top of the crater itself being 3.19cm wide. Individual pulses generally make holes as deep as they are wide.

Wavelengths can be configured on the field through the use of the touchscreen LCD display - which doubles as an ammo counter when not in use - or be set to automatically adjust to the 'highest' wavelength setting possible, detecting various factors such as humidity and temperature in the surrounding environment, to which the weapon will automatically tweak various settings. Generally, it would be an IR laser focused into a green laser on earth through a lithium triborate crystal - meaning a significantly lower wavelength than usual (approximately half that of a standard IR laser). In a vacuum, the weapon will opt for shorter wavelengths, similar to those seen in a hydrogen laser, around 1520 Å, allowing for the weapon to maximize power. It is worth noting that, due to how the weapon functions, it fires semi-automatically, but some variants have been manufactured to allow for 3 round bursts - though these are ultimately experimental designs.

### Additional Notes

The weapon is notably entirely recoilless, meaning it can be fired by nearly anyone, given they can actually hold and aim the rifle correctly. Also, the weapon is prone to overheating under repeated fire, most notably with the high power mode, which will melt the barrel after a single 3-round burst. Due to this, burst mode does not function on high power mode, and the RPM is lowered to 600 instead of the default 1000. The weapon also can be purchased with various utilities, such as free iron sights, a CRS HUD (Combat Recognition System Heads Up Display) uplink system - for connecting to a CRS - and an ammo counter, which can be attached to the picatinny rails located on the top of the weapon, as an alternative to the default one located on either side of the grip.

The maximum range of the B4 is 1.6km before the bolt dissipates too significantly, with no minimum range being present.

There are also two additional factory variants, the B4C and the B4P. The B4C is a lighter, generally less powerful design, acting as a carbine for usage by those who place an emphasis on moving faster, while the B4P is a compact pistol variant released 16 years after the baseline model, acting as a personal self-defense handgun. It manages to maintain the same sort of power as the standard B4, but is much more expensive and more prone to overheating, and cannot be fired outside of semi auto.

## OOC Notes

This weapon requires permission to be used. Please contact us in our discord to request permission to use this weapon.

Please be aware that this is the most regulated weapon we have, and you will most likely be unable to use it no matter how hard you try due to the sheer power it possesses.