system
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human
[Half-life/Portal] Which "Portal gun" was actually better?

Both Black Mesa and Aperture Science were working hard on moving objects from one place to another through the use of hand held devices. The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device functionality seems to be very well known now with having limited zero point manipulation (must be in very close range) and being able to open effectively Wormholes between two designated points of the user. On the other side we have the Displacer Cannon from Black Mesa which at the time of the incident seemed to still be in testing and required ammunition which the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device did not.

 Also while there are some offensive uses to the Aperture version, it was mostly seeming to be utility based while the Displacer Cannon actually had offensive capabilities, possibly due to safeties not yet designed at the point it started to go into use. The other big difference is that the energy projectile from the cannon seems to move much slower but doesn't need a surface and instead it will transport whatever the projectile becomes in contact with as long as the object is only having the mass approx that of a human or less. The other part of it that goes along with the seemingly weaponization (or lack of safeties installed) is when the transport happens, anything around the energy ball when it discharges is damaged. 

The final thing is with it that it seems the Displacer cannon, while able to use the same slingshot technology that was used in the larger stationary teleporters implemented by Black Mesa, due to that it seemingly sent anything on earth to Xen when used and any target on Xen was sent to earth. It is unclear if it had the ability to set destinations for it's target. The one man who was last in possession of it being not a scientist but rather a Soldier and he used it without any clear training or idea how it operated. To which he is lucky that he didn't get harmed by it's self teleport feature.

So to come back around, which is better? The non-weaponized and highly and thoroughly tested Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device or the weaponized Black Mesa Displacement Cannon prototype? I see the ease of use of Aperture's device a strong benefit due to little to no training seems necessary to operate it to the point they tested it's operation with not just the greatest minds but the least of minds, but in a world ravaged by rifts, dangerous alien attackers, and more a weapon that can be so effective in banishing them and damaging if not killing those around it as well as providing easy escape for it's user seems to be quite advantageous, even if it uses rare radioactive material as ammunition.
gpt
Aperture Science's portal technology is vastly superior to Black Mesa's (and even the Combine's). The main difference is that Black Mesa's portals require a slingshot around the border world, Xen. This makes them dangerous, error-prone, imprecise, and unreliable. The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device requires no interdimensional travel; it uses a quantum tunneling effect that is completely safe. The "offensive capabilities" of the displacer cannon that you mention are a side effect of the slingshot to Xen; they are not the intended function of the device and they make it absurdly dangerous to use.

The ASHPD has surprisingly low power requirements, requires only line of sight to a large enough portal-conductive surface (most white surfaces will do, though some materials, such as moon dust, conduct portals better than others), and allows you to see through both ends of the portal. And who says you can't use it offensively? You could use it to ambush enemies behind their lines, open portals below enemies, use them to deliver explosives, rapidly advance on an enemy position, sneak past security, change cover without the enemy knowing... it's pretty easy to imagine what someone like Gordon Freeman could do if he got his hands on the portal gun. That's part of the reason the *Borealis* is so important.