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The idea is that specific types of industrial plasma cutters were adapted in a compacted form for mechs in case of melee combat and for bunker-buster missiles (easier to go through meters of reinforced concrete when they are molten slag).

It uses pressurized air in order to make an ultra thin, ultra long (3 to 5 meters of length) jet of air, an inductively coupled microwave/radiowave antenna is activated at the base of this jet in order to turn it into super heated plasma.Essentially making something like a light saber, capable of cutting through anything with laser-like precision without the absurd cost of the delicate high power lasers.

Laminar Flow plasma jets This picture is from this article where they achieved 3 meters of jet length (with a 5 meter mentioned with 8.5 l/mm of N2/Ar gas), but these use electrodes connected to the torch and to the target, which wouldn't be practical in a combat situation.

And the most direct way of doing it is by using shockwave diamonds, but the problem is that they are normally seen in rocket nozzles and jet aircraft afterburners.

Shockwave diamond of a experimental rocket

So, how much air pressure and air flow I would need in order to make a ultra thin and long air jet for a plasma cutter-sword with a ideal de-laval nozzle?

As asked by the comments:

  • The jet of air can be turned off or on and it will last as long the compressed air tank or compressor supplies air, the conversion to plasma will happen with a pull of a trigger and last as long as it is being pulled. Essentially a two trigger system.
  • Assume it is being used in earth's atmosphere at sea level.
  • Ignore atmospheric conditions such as hurricanes or the like, but if a simple blow of a wind is enough to make the jet go into the direction of the wilder, it could be good to point that out.
  • The diameter of the jet is based on its length, and its length is based on the amount of air flow and pressure used, but I was thinking of millimeters of diameter in order to reduce the amount of matter vaporized by the plasma as much as possible.
  • The jet of air must be 3 to 5 meters long.
  • In relation to air pressure: how much pressure would be necessary to make the de laval nozzle to make such long and laminar jet stream.
  • In relation to air flow: how many liters of air per minute (or second) to maintain the jet stream.
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    $\begingroup$ what does that have to do with propulsion if you want to use it as a sword? $\endgroup$ Commented May 25, 2025 at 21:13
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    $\begingroup$ @JBH I edited the question with what you asked $\endgroup$ Commented May 25, 2025 at 21:40
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    $\begingroup$ Keep in mind that even if you build such a thing, it will still cut like a blowtorch and not like a sword, i.e., with a slow, even cutting motion, not a fast slice. The target material needs to spend time in the beam to be cut, so the faster you move it the less effective it will be. $\endgroup$ Commented May 26, 2025 at 0:27
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks, @Fulano. I've deleted my other comments and +1. $\endgroup$ Commented May 26, 2025 at 2:59
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    $\begingroup$ The problem with this question is the hard-science tag. I doubt that anyone could answer this without experimentation, and questions with this tag require citations, which I doubt will exist. Consider science-based instead? $\endgroup$ Commented May 26, 2025 at 11:05

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