• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

Vibro Blades

Uso

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To make things a little easier to find, I'm going to put what I found here rather than in the melee weapons thread.

Vibro-blade benefits:
+ Self Cleaning
+ Better at making more precise cuts (Not necessarily faster or more efficient)
+ Good at cutting brittle material
+ Blade not likely to get stuck in anything


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It doesn't seem like Vibro-blades would be better than a regular blade in terms of "Samurai cutting a dude in half". An armor plate with higher hardness than the blade is still going to stop it. Stab-resistant armor is still going to be reasonably stab-resistant.

We're looking mostly at IRL uses of ultrasonic blades for this comparison.


https://www.sonotec.com/en/column/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/ultrasonic-cutting

https://www.automate.org/blogs/understanding-robotic-ultrasonic-cutting-in-industrial-applications

As an example of a more precise cut not necessarily being a faster or more efficient cut, we can look at this image. It shows an ultrasonic drill cutting through material. It doesn't really cut that much faster, but it does make a neater, cleaner, hole. This has applications for highly precise machinery and surgery but the same paper also seems to confirm that a bur or saw cuts faster than an ultrasonic blade.

1651692950296.png

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So why might you see a vibro-sword?

If you see one, it'll probably be a showy piece. A high tech miniaturized ultrasonic system in the handle would make the blade much easier to clean, and it would keep the blade from getting stuck in whatever you cut.

It won't make the blade into something lightsaber quality, and you likely won't be able to cut anything you wouldn't already be able to cut with a regular blade.

The precision cutting abilities of ultrasonic devices don't really do a lot for practical use.
 

Uso

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Further thoughts on Vibroblades:

The more precise cut might make it easier for the target to heal after getting cut. This might make it easier to take prisoners after the fact.
 

Uso

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Just to make things more complicated, it looks like in addition to making cleaner cuts, vibro technology might be better at cutting certain materials.


And also looking at this stab-test, maybe it is harder to cut into things than we think? Maybe some micro-serration on blades could help with cutting completely through something once the force of the swing starts to get eaten up? Certainly worth looking into.
 
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