? ? ?? 離子武器

? ? ? ?離子武器是鈦帝國火氏族使用的先進定向能量武器。離子武器通常能夠用高能電離亞原子粒子流在遠距離與敵人交戰(zhàn)，同樣容易蒸發(fā)肉體和金屬。這些含有電荷的高能離子被電磁場加速，并由于在原子水平上直接傳遞能量而與目標發(fā)生爆炸性反應。

? ? ???離子武器技術(shù)最初是由鈦人獲得的，作為德米烏格的錫爾托克兄弟會和達力斯家門世界的水氏族聯(lián)盟之間的一部分成果。然而，盡管離子武器最終在鈦帝國的第二次擴張，便攜式離子武器由于其動力源的龐大仍然是不可能的。只有在第三次擴張期間發(fā)現(xiàn)了莫托尼姆合金，才使小型鈦離子武器的高效供電成為可能。

? ? ???在鈦帝國的第三次擴張期間，莫托尼姆合金的發(fā)現(xiàn)徹底改變了離子武器的技術(shù)可能性，允許制造更小的武器并為現(xiàn)有的離子武器添加附加功能?，F(xiàn)在，所有離子武器設計都允許武器通過將高反應性莫托尼姆動力核心暴露在環(huán)境中來過度充電。這會使持用者或車輛暴露在莫托尼姆發(fā)出的危險電離輻射下，并有可能使武器的主電池過載。然而，離子武器的過度充電使其能夠產(chǎn)生廣泛的爆炸性爆炸，與正常開火模式相比，傷害更高，使其能夠在一次齊射中蒸發(fā)整個敵方步兵小隊。

? ? ???lon Weapons are advanced directed energy weapons utilised by the?Fire Caste?of the?Tau Empire. Ion Weapons typically are capable of engaging enemies at long range with high-energy streams of ionised subatomic particles, vaporising flesh and metal with equal ease. These high-energy ions containing an electric charge are accelerated by an electromagnetic field and react explosively with the target as a result of the direct transfer of energy at an atomic level.

? ? ???Ion Weapon technology was originally acquired by the the?Tau?as part of a fruitful alliance between the Syrr'Tok Brotherhood of the?Demiurg?and the?Water Caste?of the?Dal'yth?Sept. However, despite the eventual widespread dissemination of Ion Weapons during the Tau Empire's?Second Sphere Expansion, man-portable Ion Weapons remained an impossibility due to the bulkiness of their power sources. It was only the discovery of a?Mor'tonium?power source during the?Third Sphere Expansion?that made the efficient powering of small-scale Tau Ion Weapons possible.

? ? ???During the Tau Empire's Third Sphere Expansion, the discovery of a?Mor'tonium?power source revolutionised the technological possibilities for Ion Weapons, allowing smaller weapons to be built and the adding of an additional feature to existing Ion Weapons. Now, all Ion Weapon designs allow for the weapon to be overcharged by exposing the highly-reactive?Mor'tonium?power core to the environment. This exposes the wielder or vehicle to the dangerous ionising radiation emitted by the?Mor'tonium, and risks overloading the weapon's primary power cells. However, overcharging an Ion Weapon allows it to generate a wide, explosive blast with increased damage compared to its normal fire mode, allowing it to vaporise entire squads of enemy infantry in a single salvo.