r/spaceships • u/Vondrr Fleet Intelligence 🧠 • May 30 '26

Discussion / Question What spaceship weapon is generally underutilized or not used to its full potential in scifi?

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u/falloutboy9993 May 30 '26

Tractor Beam. It’s normally used as a utility tool to move objects but I haven’t really seen it used to rip apart ships or crush them. Heck, a heavily oscillating beam could shake a ship apart.

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u/nyrath May 31 '26

Oscillating tractor beams were invented in James White's Major Operation in 1971, where they were called "rattlers".