Phasers were a type of weapon. Phaser was an acronym for Perpetually Heat-Activated Sonic-Emmitted Ray. They differed from the usual "laser" weapons in that they did not rapidly shoot out gas-induced plasma beams, but instead shot long beams of pure radio-active heat-light rays activated by a special type of sonic conductor. Bounty hunters often preferred to use them as sniper rifles because they were lighter weight than plasma-beam sniper rifles and a lot easier to handle, but finding one was very difficult. Phaser weapons were exceedingly rare and worth a lot of money as relics.[1]
