UM-Bot Posted February 5, 2014 #1 Share Posted February 5, 2014 The defense contractor has built and demonstrated a working 30-kilowatt laser weapon for military use. Having been a staple of science fiction for years, the laser gun may soon be heading to real world battlefields thanks to Lockheed Martin's latest invention - a huge 30-kilowatt "weapons grade" laser capable of shooting down drones or enemy artillery. Read More: http://www.unexplain...aser-gun-weapon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolci Posted February 5, 2014 #2 Share Posted February 5, 2014 is it better than psychotronic weapons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted February 5, 2014 #3 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Very much needed by countries like Israel and South Korea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBeliever Posted February 5, 2014 #4 Share Posted February 5, 2014 whats the aftermath like? does it go thru the target, melt it, explode it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted February 5, 2014 #5 Share Posted February 5, 2014 whats the aftermath like? does it go thru the target, melt it, explode it? Well as a rough guess I would imagine it does some damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Feet Posted February 5, 2014 #6 Share Posted February 5, 2014 We need a weapon that vaporizes targets. Then there won't be any debris. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted February 5, 2014 #7 Share Posted February 5, 2014 We need a weapon that vaporizes targets. Then there won't be any debris. Good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted February 5, 2014 #8 Share Posted February 5, 2014 What if it misses, or during non-target tests, does it dissipate or is there going to be a deadly beam of light zipping through space forever until it contacts something? Go easy, I'm out of my element here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted February 5, 2014 #9 Share Posted February 5, 2014 We need a weapon that vaporizes targets. Then there won't be any debris. Couldn't a laser beam be concentrated and sustained on a target until it does practically vaporize it? It's not like a bullet or missile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumpnuts Posted February 5, 2014 #10 Share Posted February 5, 2014 In a galaxy not so far away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted February 5, 2014 #11 Share Posted February 5, 2014 What if it misses, or during non-target tests, does it dissipate or is there going to be a deadly beam of light zipping through space forever until it contacts something? Go easy, I'm out of my element here. No beam can possibly be focused tightly enough that it won't dissipate. Indeed that is the problem with getting the things focused and energetic enough to actually do damage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Feet Posted February 5, 2014 #12 Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) I always thought of lasers as cutting instruments. In Star Trek it's phasers that vaporize. On Wikipedia this is the definition of "PHASOR" pha·sor [fey-zer] Show IPA noun Physics. a vector that represents a sinusoidally varying quantity, as a current or voltage, by means of a line rotating about a point in a plane, the magnitude of the quantity being proportional to the length of the line and the phase of the quantity being equal to the angle between the line and a reference line. I wonder if they're the same, I'm out of my element, too Edited February 5, 2014 by Hobbit Feet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.United_Nations Posted February 5, 2014 #13 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I believe its a re start of the Boeing YAL-1 program which was cancelled in 2002 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_YAL-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiYoshi Posted February 5, 2014 #14 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Liek zomg its teh lazers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted February 5, 2014 #15 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Very impressive. The article said that production-level is going to take more time; that this was only a "proof of concept" That sounds responsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted February 5, 2014 #16 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Timely, since China supposedly has successfully tested a hypersonic nuclear missile. Perhaps these also should be deployed around major population centers just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finity Posted February 5, 2014 #17 Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) You could potentially destroy something in orbit (or even further) with something like this quite easily. They use lasers FAR less powerful than this to cut steel and even diamonds. I think 30kw is probably enough to turn things in to plasma. It doesn't matter what you shoot it at, anyone nearby will need some epic shades to stop them from being blinded Edited February 5, 2014 by Finity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toast Posted February 5, 2014 #18 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Couldn't a laser beam be concentrated and sustained on a target until it does practically vaporize it? It's not like a bullet or missile. Example : The laser beams from Lunar Laser Ranging systems from earth arrive on the moons surface spreaded up to approx 70km^2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumball Posted February 6, 2014 #19 Share Posted February 6, 2014 These types of things will hopefully make ballistic nuclear strikes a thing of the past. Keep it up i say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F3SS Posted February 6, 2014 #20 Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) Example : The laser beams from Lunar Laser Ranging systems from earth arrive on the moons surface spreaded up to approx 70km^2. So it spreads over distance. Makes sense but I bet that can be corrected someday and I'm sure that is far less of an issue considering targets will be far closer than the moon. I also realize that it takes enormous energy to fire one of these beams in question and it would take far more energy to sustain a large deadly beam on the whole of a large target for a long enough time to incinerate it into dust even if it's only a second or two but I believe in theory that's not out of the realm of future laser beam possibility and it's probably already a patented idea on the table. Edited February 6, 2014 by F3SS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient astronaut Posted February 6, 2014 #21 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Now all they need are sharks to attach the laser to. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skep B Posted February 6, 2014 #22 Share Posted February 6, 2014 lemme know when laser pistols are a thing, then i'll be interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Surfer Posted February 6, 2014 #23 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Finally Chairface can write his name on the moon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chooky88 Posted February 6, 2014 #24 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Just in time to protect us from the giant rats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chooky88 Posted February 6, 2014 #25 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Also the Australian government can use it on the boat people. To quote Nelson "I see no ships!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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