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Thread: Laser Tasers, Fact or Fiction ?

  1. #1
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    Default Laser Tasers, Fact or Fiction ?

    I read some where that law enforcement (especially riot control) are using lasers to turn the air leading to a target to plasma (super heated gas). Since plasmas are better conductors than gasses an electrical shock ranging from a painful sting to a lethal charge is then "fired" at the target, could this be possible, is it being done and if you were to make one what MW and nm laser would be capable of this and could a marx generator supply the charge ?
    My friends say I'm mad , I suppose they're not wrong !

  2. #2
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    The only electric shock weapons I am aware of are either direct body contact to the metal posts or darts fired into the pore sole with wires to carry the voltage. I am not aware of any long distance electrical shock device that works through thin air.

    James.

  3. #3
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    excimer lasers and c02 lasers have lead to short distance ( a hundred cm or so) guiding in lab experiments. but its not small enough to fit in a 3 ton truck, let alone handheld. dont belive what you read. btw the guide laser is hot enough that the taser would be the least of your problems on the way to the hospital with your 4th degree burn, ie hundreds of kilowatts of peak power in the guide pulse.

    Steve Roberts

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    Angry Thanks

    So really I should right a complaint to the publisher and say that they are publishing cr*p.
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    Cool idea... But just as mixedgas said the electric shock would be kinda unnessesary. A laser that turns the air into a plasma trail would also burn a hole right through the person being struck... Btw, StarTrek is one of my favourite TV series too

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    That dose sound very Star Trek.

    Don't know if this is fact or fiction but I'm sure I once read about using I think an Argon Fluride laser working in the UV band to some how ironize the air around the beam to act as a non permanent lightning conductor. It was quite some time ago when I read about this and have no details to hand. I'm going to google this and see what comes up.

    (edit) Just googled this idea and only found some brife details of a test sysem that worked in the IR band and only had an effective range of a few 10's of metres.

    Carl
    Last edited by Carl B; 08-31-2008 at 03:01.

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    How about we just stick to HV for tasers, why generate plasma with the laser when you can just burn them anyway?

  8. #8
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    Unhappy Well this is disapointing

    I reread the article last night, It was published by the Science museum in there children's and teens' book "why is snot green ?" apparently it is being tested and goes by the name electrolaser, Its disappointing when something published by such a reliable organisation is rubbish.
    My friends say I'm mad , I suppose they're not wrong !

  9. #9
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    ahh there is lots of nasty sh*t that the military have been playing about with for years, especially lasers (look at all the cattle maniupulations in the USA)

    this laser/taser thingy has probably been design ages ago, just only now they want it released to 'shock' lots of people at once (both with the news story and the weapon)

    i vote (not that democracy works ) to keep lasers for peaceful/medical/entertainment purposes

    rant over!
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    I don't think it would necessarily hurt to find yourself in the path of a laser powerful enough to open such a plasma channel. It could be operated at very short pulse lengths and if the aperture is large the beam need only be fairly well focused on your skin for a fraction of the time the laser is on.

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