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[Gorp]

68. Well, I would have to dig out my college text books, but yes, I know the physics.

I was one class away from a third degree (physics) but the professor for one of the requisite classes was perhaps the worst example of a teacher I've ever encountered and he was the only one who taught it. I know the math. I know the other things you mentioned. I even know the optics involved were one to watch such a creation fire.

That tensile strength is easily compensated for by an increase in the thickness of the material, similar to reinforcing bunkers with concrete or lasagne trays with Pyrex. They haven't figured out how to print nanotubes yet, but give them some time. Integrate some spider silk and you've got all the tensile strength you could possibly want or need. And not all polymers are cheap or light.

The physics behind it isn't that much different from a Super Soaker. The human body has rather poor defenses from projectiles. A paintball is painfull, and even a Nerf dart can hurt if it hits the right spot. That rubber-band gattling gun I mentioned packs a pretty serious whallop. It will happen, and soon.

There was a time when plastic explosives were considered impossible, but C-4 has been around since 1956 and surpassed all expectations of capacity and performance. Synthetic materials have been taking over traditional techniques for a long time, in a similar manner as steel replaced iron as a preferred construction material. Copper is the optimal water supply line but PVC is the optimal waste line.

I spent many long nights dealing with such issues (homework, as they called it) and I really don't see a problem that can't be solved (well, other than time travel into the past - into the future has already been proven). And as I said, such guns are already in existence, just not at the fully automatic stage - and again, all that means is that you don't have to pull the trigger for each shot. It has nothing to do with how rapidly the weapon can fire.

If there's a way to kill more people more efficiently, humans have proven time and again that they will find it. And for the record, I haven't pulled out those text books in over 25 years. But I know the material and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a dual major and concentrations in physics and foreign language. I think I'm well qualified to comment on the matter.