Such technology was far better understood during the dawn age of the Imperium, if still somewhat unsafe.Д«y the time of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, Plasma Weapon technology was at a dangerous phase in its development. Pre-Heresy Emperor's Children Legion Assault Squad armed with Plasma Pistols.Дespite their drawbacks, Plasma Weapons have remained part of the Imperium's arsenal for thousands of Terran years, since at least its inception. However, the sheer power and deadliness of Plasma Weapons often outweigh the hazards that come with their use.

This unfortunate quality makes a Plasma Weapon potentially as deadly to the wielder as it is to the target. Plasma Weapons vary greatly in form and size ranging from small and compact Plasma Pistols to huge starship batteries that can obliterate entire cities in a single salvo.ДЄgainst all forms of armoured infantry and light vehicles, the superheated bolts fired by smaller Plasma Weapons impact with the fury of a supernova, scything through steel, flesh and bone as if they were nothing.Дue to the enormous temperatures and deadly energies that Plasma Weapons generate when fired, most such weapons are prone to overheating, destabilisation and misfire, particularly those deployed by the Imperium of Man, which no longer has a firm command of the technology in the 41st Millennium. The plasma 'bolts' fired by these weapons explode on impact and generate the destructive heat of a small sun, and the sheer amount of energy released by the impact of superheated plasma is often enough to completely vaporise the target. Most Plasma Weapons work by delivering pulses of searing energy and superheated matter that have been transmuted into a gaseous plasma state that carries an electrical charge. Plasma Weapons are highly potent and destructive directed energy weapons utilised in many forms by the advanced intelligent species of the Milky Way Galaxy. Schematics for the ubiquitous Imperial Plasma Gun and Plasma Pistol

Warhammer 40k plasma gun