Weaponized lasers in the news...

[planters]

all this technology and yet we have people dying from hunger and mosquitos in africa

Blame that on the thugs that run those countries,and the backwards mindsets of the populations.

Not all the idiots and corrupt manipulators live in those countries. Silent Spring is an environmental science book written by Rachel Carson. This A-hole arguably has caused more deaths than Stalin. Although, less directly.

I'm not advocating the use of "any" weapon, but I'm fascinated by the technology that pushes the limits of laser power, beam quality and optical systems that aim them and that's all.

[buffo]

I would like to see a laser (or any directed energy weapon) pierce 1/4"-1/2" steel (of any painted color) at 1KM

If you inbound target has a 1/2 inch thick steel hull, punching a hole in it with a directed energy weapon isn't going to stop it. That's the job of a torpedo or an anti-ship missile. (Hint: 1/2 inch steel hull means something quite a bit bigger than a 23 ft long semi-rigid inflatable boat, which is what took out the USS Cole.)

These laser weapons are not designed to replace the Harpoon missile. They are designed to augment the Phalanx CIWS in cases of small, rapid-moving, low-profile boats trying to make a close approach to a vulnerable ship (a mission for which the Harpoon is hopelessly not qualified for). Yes, it's probably a suicide mission for those aboard the boat, but as we saw with the USS Cole, it can be an effective tactic, especially if the CWIS can't gimbal low enough or get a strong enough return to lock onto the incoming.

A high-energy weapon is yet another tool that might be able to stop one of these attacks, but as others have already observed, the power isn't there yet. Fortunately, most ships have a surplus of electrical generating capacity, and firing a laser is a lot cheaper than burning through 4500 rounds of 20 mm every minute... (That's how fast the CIWS shoots.)

Adam

[LaNeK779]

aaaw crap~!
4500 rounds of 20mm per minute???

the closest I have been to rapid fire was 1200 20mm rounds per minute and it was ... remarkable


so we have found a weapon that will pop ballons
but will it light matches???

[swamidog]

Yes, of course. DDT is yummy. Spoon it right in

Not all the idiots and corrupt manipulators live in those countries. Silent Spring is an environmental science book written by Rachel Carson. This A-hole arguably has caused more deaths than Stalin. Although, less directly.

I'm not advocating the use of "any" weapon, but I'm fascinated by the technology that pushes the limits of laser power, beam quality and optical systems that aim them and that's all.

[DrEvil]

Watch the video in the link I posted. That was from 30,000 feet.

I'm just sayin' (and I ain't professin' to be some kind of an expert on laser weaponry) that I would like to see a laser (or any directed energy weapon) pierce 1/4"-1/2" steel (of any painted color) at 1KM .. that's all .. whether it be IR, UV, microwave, gamma, X, or pre-pulsed-channeled etc.. We may be close . I dunno.. I guess we'll just have to wait and see..

I don't think that challenge would be tough. Maybe someone here with experience with high power industrial lasers could give an estimate for the time required for a few kW beam to pierce that much metal. Now, feed that beam through a 1/2M diameter telescope. Depending on the M^2 and for disc and fiber lasers in this power range this could be near 1 (diffraction limited), the far field spot could be a few mm in diameter. Trumpf has 16kW lasers as a standard product. The problem is they aren't going to show the state of the art, so we'll just have to build it ourselves. Do you think there would be any concern that this would set a bad example for those enthusiasts @ LPF?

[Laser Wizardry]

" 15 characters"

[steve-o]

^ Lol ..



_________