[General Battuta]

If the beam was precisely controlled photons, you'd never see the beam because the photons would be traveling to the target, not your eyes.  If you're seeing the beam, it's because energy is being dissipated outward from the beam along its length, meaning at some point the beam would indeed lose both energy and intensity.  Assuming the beam actually behaves logically on any physical level.

You don't see laser beams, you see what they reflect from.  Beams must be something other than aligned photons.

Yes, I'm aware of that, but Rule of Cool and Rule of Perception dictate that we must see the beam.   You can no more draw a conclusion from that than you can draw a conclusion from explosions having sounds in space.

I prefer the magnetically confined plasma theory because it allows you to **** around with stuff like beam jamming with slightly more plausibility.

[chief1983]

Yeah something plasma related always made more sense to me.

[Rga_Noris]

They're made of magic and cinnamon.

Duh.

[Goober5000]

If you're going more by that than by science, then we can make them dissipate, fade, or widen, whatever looks cooler, without regard to science.  You just negated your previous argument

wat

Then let me fall back on Occam's Razor in its original form, "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity".  If the beam must be visible, let it behave normally in all other respects.

Where is it said that the beams are aligned photons anyway?

"Power up photon beam cannon"?

[Delta_V]

Vasudan beams are definitely referred to as photon beams, but, if I remember right, Terran beams were referred to as plasma at least once.  Of course, this doesn't really make sense, because they are both derived from the Lucifer's beams, so you would expect them to be similar in basic function, if not execution.

[Solatar]

A case can be made for Vasudan's being plasma. "Commence plasma core insertion".

I feel it's all technobabble.  They look cool and kill stuff.

[sigtau]

I feel it's all technobabble.  They look cool and kill stuff.

^ That.

[Kolgena]

That plasma releases photons, which kill stuff.

All of it depends on a sophisticated subspace/phlebotinum array though.

[General Battuta]

Where is it said that the beams are aligned photons anyway?

"Power up photon beam cannon"?

Just like photon torpedoes are made of photons, right?

HA

[MatthTheGeek]

ZING

Technobabble iz babble.

[pecenipicek]

no offense to anyone, but why is this thread even open anymore? the vote is intensely in the "i hate beam fade" camp.

[General Battuta]

no offense to anyone, but why is this thread even open anymore? the vote is intensely in the "i hate beam fade" camp.

It's already out of the MVPs SVN.

[The E]

On that note, lock0red.

[Goober5000]

Photon torpedos emit photons.

[General Battuta]

Photon torpedos emit photons.

So do beams!