Hawking Cannon

Introduction

The Hawking Cannon is a matter based projectile weapon. Developed in 1999 by a coalition of Canadian scientists, little is known about the research and development of the weapon. From declassified documents, it can be determined that the development of the Hawking Cannon (under the code name Falling Horizon) came at a cost of 10.621 billion dollars Canadian. Since the first international demonstration in October 2001, the international community has rallied against the use of the Hawking Cannon for military applications, due to the capacity for extreme collateral damage.

Functionality

Though the Canadian goverment has classified much of the science behind the Hawking Cannon, enough information has been leaked to generate a simple understanding of its design. The design begins with a loading chamber. Because the Hawking Cannon fires small black holes, the ammo for the weapon cannot be handled, and must be generated inside the weapon. Two bullets are used, and composed of a very dense element (Osmium and Lead have been suggested as possibilities for the identity of the ammo precursor, but the actual material remains classified). These bullets are electrically charged and fired into the loading chamber at relativistic speeds. American scientists estimate that this collision must take place a speed exceeding 74.1% of the speed of light. The incredible inertia of the two bullets causes them to fuse into a microscopic singularity. Because the precursor modulus are charged, the resultant micro black hole is also charged. This allows a twin electrified rail system to propel the singularity at a very high rate of speed without contacting the singularity.

Lethality

Once the Hawking Cannon is loaded, it must be fired quickly. As predicted by Stephen Hawking, the micro black hole radiates high energy radiation at an alarming rate, and quickly evaporates completely. As predicted by Hawking, the energy of the radiation is inversely proportional to the size of the black hole. This means that in the final gasp of the micro black hole, tremendous amounts of ionizing radiation are released. Biological samples as far away as 6.5 kilometers have been shown to be damaged fatally in 100% of the test cases. At a range of 10.3 kilometers, the lethality rate drops to 83%. In an isolated test case, a test subject was shown to receive a fatal dose of Hawking radiation at 28.2 kilometers. The radiation is non-persistent, as no matter from the charged black hole remains after evaporation

Debunked Doomsday Scenario

In the days after the North Atlantic Test, scientists were concerned that the micro black hole would absorb material at a rate faster than it evaporated, causing the black hole to grow, and eventually consume the planet. This theory was brought to the forefront by physicists using black hole temperature calculations. As a black hole increases in size, it evaporates more slowly. It was believed that at the density of matter present in the air, the black hole would be able to absorb enough matter to increase in size beyond the fail-safe size. Though the Hawking Cannon has been tested on several occasions, no such chain reactions have occurred. Canadian scientists assure the global community that while the horizon of the micro black hole is large on the Planck scale, the entire volume of the projectile is smaller than a proton, and therefore incapable of consuming nuclei.

Chabot Hawking Cannon Controversy

Main Entry: Chabot Observatory Trans-Dimensional Alien Threat Management Center

There are rumors that part of the equipment at the Chabot Observatory in the hills above Oakland, CA are home to a secret Hawking Cannon disguised as a telescope. It is believed to be comparatively small and based on an early, prototype design. Critics assert that the design is faulty, significantly less refined than the Canadian version, and its being fired in 1989 was the cause of the Loma Prieta earthquake that shook the Bay Area that year.

Officials at the observatory deny that there is a Hawking Cannon on the premises at all, much less one disguised as a telescope.

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