Bungie Universe
This topic has moved here: Subject: Question about MAC yield
  • Subject: Question about MAC yield
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • of 3
Subject: Question about MAC yield


Posted by: PLUT0NIUM 235
yeah the standard rule with coil-guns or rail-guns is A) the longer the barrel, the higher the muzzle velocity and B) the more current applied, the higher the muzzle velocity, would assume larger ships can accomplish both of these due to having superior reactors and longer barrel. also, they don't have any explosives in them, they are called 'slugs' not 'shells' which suggests they kill using purely kinetic energy, which makes sense since a 600 ton rounds travelling at 35,000 metres/second imparts a huge amount of energy to whatever it is impacting, any secondary explosion is going to be negligible in comparison, unless its was nuclear triggered by the actual impact with the target, similar to a 'gun' type of fission device.

also the Pillar rounds, or 'shredder' rounds are much less massive than standard rounds, about 1/3 the mass. yet the Autumn is capable of collapsing the shields on a Covenant ship with a single volley from its MAC, three consecutive lightweight shots, where-as it takes several standard MAC rounds to accomplish the same feat, suggesting that its not the energy imparted to the shield by the rounds that caused it to collapse, or at least not entirely. since the lighter rounds would result in much lower energy on target than the more massive one, but has the same effect, so perhaps the shield isn't very good at coping with being hit by fast moving projectiles, regardless of their mass (within reason of course!), either that or its caused by some sort of cumulative effect from numerous rounds hitting in quick succession, something like resonance. think of these weapons being like rifles, a standard MAC round is like a .50 bullet, the Autumn is like an assault rifle firing a three round burst.

another thing worth noting about the Autumns effectiveness in combat might be due to the design of these shredder rounds, maybe the hard Tungsten Carbide outer layer allows it to transfer its energy more effectively, also perhaps could be shaped differently to concentrate more energy on a smaller point, if that was the case then a Destroyer with 'shredder' rounds would be devastating, since it would fire six lighter rounds in quick succession, three of which would collapse the shield and the other three tear into the hull, combined with Archer missiles would equal one well and truly devastated Covenant ship.

another question, if a couple of kiloton MAC rounds can overwhelm the defences of a Covenant ship, does a nuclear missile junk it, assuming it hits the shield directly? or perhaps the nuclear weapon is less effective due to the fact they radiate all their energy equally in a sphere, unless the explosive energy is directed somehow, that is theoretically possible right, to 'shape' a nuclear explosion?


Spot on about the nuke vs. MAC thing. Some people seem to think that a 30 megaton nuke, for example, is a a shining example of a 30 megaton weapon. In reality, nukes aren't the most efficient weapons; being explosives, a lot of the energy is departed into the air, or into an expanding cloud of radiation in space.

Which is why Covenant's energy projector, though rated at 20 kilotons per second during glassing operations, is much more devestating then the Fat Man bomb. All of the energy is directed straight into the target, nothing is lost to space, forcing all 20 kilos into the dirt or ship or whatever, turning it into a magma chamber.

Same rule applies for kinetic MAC rounds. With no explosive ordinance, everything is directed by the slug's forward momentum, making 64 kilotons seem like much more power.

  • 06.03.2011 5:14 AM PDT
  • gamertag: tsassi
  • user homepage:

Has anyone taken into account that the speed of 40% from the speed of light combined with shape of a MAC round doesn't really cause explosive force, but penetrating force. 600 ton round with 25 km/s causes a much bigger explosion than same sized round with 120,000 km/s, especially if the round has a small surface area in front.This is because of pressure. Surface area of one m^2 with kinetic energy of 1.17 Teratons has a pressure of 4.9 ZPa (zettapascal). For comparison, a pressure of five megapascals is needed to penetrate the skin.

Basically a MAC round shot with 40% from speed of light would just penetrate Earth, not destroy it. But this doesn't mean MAC rounds are that fast. It's hard to believe UNSC has magnets powerful enough to launch 600 tons at almost half the speed of light. But damage output definitely isn't a problem.

  • 06.03.2011 5:24 AM PDT

not really, shoot a thick brick wall with a .50 calibre round and you get a 'crater' in the wall, even though the bullet is geared toward penetration. when talking about weapons like this, penetration power becomes remote, due to the fact the round would be incinerated on impact without a doubt, like an asteroid hitting a planet. also contrary to popular belief, higher velocity doesn't always translate into 'penetrating power', since you'll reach a point when hitting the target will annihilate your projectile, rendering penetrating power worthless.

  • 06.04.2011 1:30 PM PDT

  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • of 3