[ weird things ] | world of weird things podcast: sci-fi’s worst weapons

world of weird things podcast: sci-fi’s worst weapons

Some of the most frequently seen and impressive sci-fi weapons in movies and TV shows have a dirty little secret. They wouldn’t actually work as advertised, if they work at all.
planetary death ray

Science fiction universes have an impressive array of horrifying weapons. From antimatter bombs to plasma rifles, to the many iterations of death stars, fictional characters often face certain death facing down glowing barrels that would produce little more than a fizzle and a spray of sparks if fired in the real world, be so ridiculously unstable and overpowered, they’d destroy anyone crazy enough to use them, do far more damage to the person or alien using them, or just plain violate the laws of physics and impossible to build in the first place. We’re going to take a critical look at some of the most popular examples and explain why if you’re trying to design a doomsday weapon or a game-changing gun, you might want to look for inspiration somewhere other than comic books.

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Articles covered or touched on in this episode…

Sci-fi Writers, Hold Your Fire
Sci-fi Saturday: Chapter 002
Why We’d Want To Make Some More Antimatter
Two Grams Of Your Finest Antimatter Please…
Spaceships, Now With Black Hole Reactors?

Intro/outro by Absolute Valentine, courtesy of Lazerdiscs Records

# podcast // science fiction / skepticism / weapons


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