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In 1960, when scientists first developed Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, skeptical scientists and engineers joked that this new LASER was a “solution lacking a problem”. But within just a few years, practical uses began to arise for the new technology. Steady advances over the next few decades allowed ever-smaller lasers to produce more powerful and precise beams, and a plethora of new types of lasers were invented that further expanded their application.
Today lasers are ubiquitous and diverse. Several hundred of the smallest lasers can fit on a single microchip, and the largest fills a facility the size of a Wal-Mart. Some generate continuous beams for hours or even days, while others fire a pulse no more than one-millionth of a nanosecond long. In between these extremes lie the everyday lasers inside our CD and DVD players and at the grocery store checkout. But if you’re like me, the first thing you think about when you hear “lasers” is sexy and exotic futuristic weapons, which have been a staple of science fiction since H.G.Wells described a laser-like “heat ray” in his 1898 book The War of the Worlds. Over a century later, though we’re still waiting for our laser guns, some primitive laser-based weapons are finally beginning to appear.
Some of the lasers we use look like those from science fiction, like the one at Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton in southern California. There, astronomers have installed a moderate-sized laser as part of an adaptive optics system. The laser is fired skyward to produce an artificial star within the telescope’s field of view. When the sodium-gas-generated laser beam reaches the mesosphere and thermosphere in the upper atmosphere, it excites sodium atoms causing them to give off an orange glow. This artificial star is then used to calibrate the adaptive optics, resulting in an image almost as clear as one taken with the Hubble Space Telescope.
If we can precisely target and create artificial stars in the upper atmosphere, it would seem a simple matter to use a beefier version of the Lick laser and shoot down incoming missiles, a la Atari’s Missile Command. Early efforts at weaponizing lasers relied on this approach, but they ran into a problem called blooming. At very high power densities, laser beams cause the atmosphere to break down much like lighting does. The plasma then defocuses the laser beam, making it appear to bloom. A blooming beam very rapidly loses the ability to shoot down an insect, much less an incoming hypersonic ICBM. Blooming can be avoided by focusing a very wide laser beam down to a point only at the target, but this requires very large and fragile mirrors not well suited for combat.
The National Ignition Facility (click to enlarge)A laser that just might be powerful enough for planetary defense is under construction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the site of the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Now only partially complete, the NIF will eventually focus 192 separate laser beams down onto a target the size of a sesame seed. The combined energy output of the beams will be 1.8 megajoules in a single burst, enough energy to instantly vaporize two hundred and fifty gallons of water. This laser is intended to implode a deuterium-tritium target, igniting thermonuclear fusion.
Such a powerful laser, if properly focused, would be formidable defensive weapon. But there have been some major difficulties with the NIF; the government-funded program is seven years behind schedule and ten times over its original budget. Most of the problems stem from the enormous expense of the components of the NIF laser, all requiring extreme tolerances and precision. At an estimated cost of at least $4 billion, not even the Pentagon can afford to build a weapon that could be so easily targeted and destroyed.
Some portable combat lasers have started to appear in modern militaries, including the PHaSR rifle shown here (yes, it’s named after Star Trek). But none of these weapons can deliver enough energy to cause physical damage to personnel or equipment, instead they all rely on the extreme sensitivity of the human eye and electronics to laser light. Most of these weapons are no longer in use due to a 1995 UN protocol outlaws permanent blinding as a combat tactic, with the exception of devices like the PHaSR which supposedly only blind the target temporarily.
Even if hand-held laser weapons were legal under international law, current power storage technology doesn’t allow such small devices to carry nearly enough energy for even a single damaging shot. Pound-for-pound, the destructive power of even the most advanced lasers is far below that of conventional weaponry. Hand-held laser weapons would not suffer from blooming if fired at close range, but until we invent a source of energy able to produce several hundred terawatts at about ten pounds, laser rifles will remain a thing of the future.
Dozens of other active research projects aim to bring actual laser guns into use. The ground-based Tactical High Energy Laser is being studied by the US and Israel as a means of shooting down mortars and shoulder-fired rockets. The Advanced Tactical Laser, a converted 747 equipped with a big laser and focusing mirror, should be capable of destroying ballistic missiles in their “boost phase” as well as unshielded ground-based targets. Various handheld lasers are being studied for crowd-control purposes. And, of course, the “Star Wars” strategic missile defense program under President Reagan would have used space-based lasers and avoided blooming altogether. But none of these weapons is even ready for combat, let alone full-scale war against a technological equal (or superior) society.
Thus, for now, the laser seems destined to remain a tremendous economic and technological boon to the world while resisting its use as a tool of offensive warfare. But military science has proven itself highly adept at weaponizing technology, and coherent-light weapon research is a high priority due to its potential to deliver highly destructive energy at the speed of light. So it may be inevitable that we’ll see ray-gun-toting soldiers and laser gunships well before we get our flying cars.
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Laser weapons for blindness would be easily overcome with glasses.
How about high power lasers for welding?
http://www.appliedthermalsciences.com/Laser_Welding/Laser_Welding.html
Atari’s Missile Command used missles, not lasers, to intercept incoming warheads.
jotken said: “Atari’s Missile Command used missles, not lasers, to intercept incoming warheads.”
Damn beat me to it – and you are quite right. Missle Command was like a bunch of Patriot Missles.
They are great for hanging pictures and mini blinds!!! :)
Oh, that’s just soooo NIF-ty! “…the NIF will eventually focus 192 separate laser beams down onto a target the size of a sesame seed. The combined energy output of the beams will be 1.8 megajoules in a single burst, enough energy to instantly vaporize two hundred and fifty gallons of water.”
Seven years behind schedule and 10 times over budget and all they can do is boil and vaporize water? Where’s the technological advantage there…we were able to do that 1000’s of years ago. Remember Hero and his steam sphere toy? Once again, our government is using our hard earned tax dollars to make tea and skones after hours! I think the $100 hammers and toilet seats were a better investment. Way to go…another DI article!
Now let me ask…when does our government (or private industry for that matter) begin working on some IN-coherent light projects? For every action…there is an equal and opposite reaction. They’ll need to begin with one helluva of a party that has a bottomless budget for booze to reach the in-coherent project stage!
Seven years behind schedule and 10 times over budget and all they can do is boil and vaporize water?
I don’t think the system can even boil water. The point about the water was to put the amount of energy delivered in perspective. Vaporizing 250 gallons in a nanosecond is very impressive energy delivery.
I think Mount Hamilton could be consiered to be in Northern California.
Hmm, yes, using a laser to blind enemy soldiers seems rather silly. Even a welding visor would work against that.
Quite right pmckone. If Mt. Hamilton is in Southern California, so is San Francisco…
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Mount+Hamilton,+CA
If you wanted to blind someone with a laser, couldn’t you just use one of those $5 pocket keychain laser pointers? And instead of flying around in a laser 747 with focusing mirrors, why not fly around with a huge magnifying glass and fry people like ants with sunlight? And speaking of old video games, does anyone remember Scorched Earth? There was a laser weapon in that game, but for sheer destructive capability, it couldn’t match the MIRV missle or the Nuke. As for real life, I’ll stick with Laser Pink Floyd.
Laser-based weapons are definately a solution to a problem nobody had (Except for the missle defense). Modern warfare is no longer reliant on technology, but on legetimacy and the moral high ground.
Scorched Earth was the best game ever. I haven’t thought about that in years. Does anyone know where I can get it now.
I’m surprised you didnt mention the MTHEL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcmI6UnR4gg
It is a point defence weapon developed by the army that can shoot down mortar fire, artilery, and missiles.
LL and Sylph-DS say: Laser weapons for blindness would be easily overcome with glasses.
Only if the soldiers are wearing dark eye protection (such as welder’s glass) constantly, because you never know when the laser might be aimed in your direction. However, wearing such dark stuff makes it very difficult to see any details; not a good condition for a military environment.
sh0cktopus says: “If you wanted to blind someone with a laser, couldn’t you just use one of those $5 pocket keychain laser pointers? And instead of flying around in a laser 747 with focusing mirrors, why not fly around with a huge magnifying glass and fry people like ants with sunlight?”
A small laser pointer wouldn’t be able to do enough damage to an eye during the brief time of exposure.
A huge magnifying glass would be worse than trying to use a mirror/laser combination, because (a) the lens would be prohibitively heavy, and (b) there’s not enough energy available in sunlight to pull such a trick with any lens that could be carried.
Scorched earth eh?
I have fond memories of that game as well…
for the old-school dos version go here
http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/game/144
for the new-and-3d’d version go here
http://sourceforge.net/projects/scorched3d
Sylph-DS said: “Hmm, yes, using a laser to blind enemy soldiers seems rather silly. Even a welding visor would work against that.”
My guess would be that the idea was to probably blind snipers by aiming it at the scope. I’m just guessing though.
Silverhill said: “Only if the soldiers are wearing dark eye protection (such as welder’s glass) constantly, because you never know when the laser might be aimed in your direction. However, wearing such dark stuff makes it very difficult to see any details; not a good condition for a military environment.
A huge magnifying glass would be worse than trying to use a mirror/laser combination, because (a) the lens would be prohibitively heavy, and (b) there’s not enough energy available in sunlight to pull such a trick with any lens that could be carried.”
You’re kind of right. Modern welding masks auto-darken. They’re clear until the intense light of the welding arc hits them and then they darken almost instantly. I’m sure a military laser-shield for soldiers would work similarly.
Also, for giant magnifying glasses, look into fresnel lenses. You can get a huge area concentrated to a pinpoint without the enormous weight of a parabolic lens. I’ve seen videos of 5 square foot fresnel lenses melting asphalt.
Personally I don’t think we’ll ever see a man-portable laser weapon. The power required is just too extreme to miniaturize enough to be feasible. I am however still waiting on railguns and plasma weapons.
“Phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.”
“Hey, just what you see, pal!”
I think a “blinding sniper rifle” could be a helluva tool for S.W.A.T members. Here in Brazil we know S.W.A.T as a team which uses a lot of non-lethal weapons. In a hostage situation, this could be used as a kind of “long-range flashbang”. What you guys think?
cutterjohn said: “I’m surprised you didnt mention the MTHEL.”
That technology was mentioned in the article, but we didn’t have a video link. Thanks man, I’ll add it now.
Hmmm, seems to me if you had a device with video which uses image recognition to see figure out where a persons eye is, you could use that combined with a MEMS controller laser to blind everyone within range of the laser (and the camera) who isn’t wearing protective glasses almost instantly. I think the image recognition would be the tough part here. They already use image recognition to find your pupil for eye surgery, but that’s obviously a much more controlled situation.
It’s the sort of thing that could only be used a few times before all armies started wearing glasses, but it could still be very useful. Maybe you catch an army unprepared? I bet this could also probably be useful for blinding drones.
I do remember when the LASAR first was announced, and indeed, as the article mentions, it was a “solution in search of a problem”. No one knew what to do with it but anyone with any sense knew it was an amazing product.
Kudoes to all who have developed ways to enrich our lives with this solution.
“The NIF will eventually focus 192 separate laser beams down onto a target the size of a sesame seed.”
Did no one else think of the Death Star?
>> several hundred terrawatts at about ten pounds
“terrawatts”, Gracie?
solitas said: “>> several hundred terrawatts at about ten pounds
“terrawatts”, Gracie?”
In the metric system, the prefix “terra” indicates adding 12 zeros to the figure indicated. So a 6 terrawatt laser would be 6,000,000,000,000 watts. “peta” is for 15 zeros and “exa” is for 18. I think everyone here knows “kilo”, “mega” and “giga”. Since the metric system for length was based upon the measurement of the Earth, they took a convenient fraction of the circumference of the Earth to make the “meter”. So one terrameter is the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth. I don’t know if I want to meet the object that has a circumference of an exameter.
Drakvil said: “In the metric system, the prefix “terra” indicates adding 12 zeros to the figure indicated…”
I believe solitas was being pedantic about the spelling. In SI units, it should properly be “tera”.
Metryq said: “”Phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.”
“Hey, just what you see, pal!””
I’ll be back.
lol
Drakvil said: …I don’t know if I want to meet the object that has a circumference of an exameter.”
You were one of those kids that left themselves open to your mamma jokes on the playground, right?
Surely the enemy will just develop some sort of anti-laser shield. Like….a mirror?
If I could generate several hundred terawatts, I could rule the world!
Fantomas said: “Surely the enemy will just develop some sort of anti-laser shield. Like….a mirror?”
The mirror-like plating used on some spacecraft to control heat is not good enough, so forget mirror shielding for targets in “dirtier” areas, like ground based vehicles. In fact, the ABL cannot use even high performance mirrors or optics without vaporizing them. The emission window is not glass, it is a high speed air curtain. Hit any material with enough energy, and it will vaporize, hence the purpose of multi-laser monsters like the NIF and Shiva, etc.
Several companies I deal with use industrial lasers to ferrous and non-ferrous metal cutting. They have an average cutting depth of up to ½ inch without re-focusing the beam. Most are CAD operated and can cut large detailed patterns. But the down side is the heat generated at the cutting point hardens the metal and leaves a course edge.
I saw an interesting bit in Janes Defense Weekly about how the Chinese are using lasers to blind our spy sats when they pass over. No mention in the regular press though. This could be considered a hostile act.
We’d been trying to figure out why they would quit working when they passed over China. Now we know.
crispi said: “I saw an interesting bit in Janes Defense Weekly about how the Chinese are using lasers to blind our spy sats when they pass over. No mention in the regular press though. This could be considered a hostile act.”
Considered a hostile act? Against the US? Stopping other countries from spying on you is not a hostile act.
Although I doubt it, but if China is blinding US spy sats, that’s great.
Doing some real damage with lasers doesn’t always take all that much power either. With a laser powered by a few AA batteries, you can leave marks on stuff. You can see videos of them in action and buy them from this place: http://www.wickedlasers.com/
Gives the game “spotlight on the weirdo” a whole new meaning.
Doubt all you want V. And, yeah. It is great. It gives us a chance to work on counter-measures and prepare in case something like this were to happen in wartime. The Chinese are enemies of the U.S.. We may not be at war with them at the moment and we may be trying to make nice. But, it’s only a matter of time.
Here’s a taste from JDW…
—-US claims that China has used lasers to attack satellites—-
China has used high-energy lasers to interfere with US satellites, according to a US Army space-warfare specialist. Tests have been reported previously but it is now confirmed that the laser attacks were at least partially effective.
Command Sergeant Major David Lady of the Joint Functional Combat Command for Integrated Missile Defense, said at the Strategic Space & Defense conference in Omaha on 12 October that the attacks were detected after US satellite operators – most likely users of the National Reconnaissance Office’s secret imaging satellites – observed that the satellites occasionally failed to perform over China.
“There had been times when we wondered at the sudden decline in effectiveness as the satellites passed over China,” CSM Lady said. Sensors at the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein atoll in the South Pacific were tasked with tracking the satellites and observing any unusual phenomena. “We sensed the projection of beams against the spacecraft and could identify the streams of photons,” CSM Lady said.
The Kwajalein data confirmed that the Chinese appeared to have “some level of confidence” in their laser countermeasures system, according to CSM Lady.
crispi: Would you consider it a hostile act if we were blinding Chinese spy satellites and preventing them from spying on us?
Well, frankly…Yes.
Well that doesn’t make much sense.
Wait… I got confused about who was who. Ignore that post, please. This one too, I guess. Just pretend I never existed.
crispi: Could you explain why? I don’t see a difference between that and say, catching a spy in the military. If we catch a chinese spy in our government, does that give the chinese a right to attack us? The only difference is that the camera in this case is controlled in person rather than remotely.
I’m suprised that you never mentioned that a branch of the military bought a large sum of 115mW lasers from Wicked Lasers. They use them at vehicle checkpoints to scare drivers that won’t stop. I suppose they use them elsewhere, but I’ve not heard about it.
Excuse me, I said 115mW, that may be incorrect, it was most likely 125. I’ll have to look it up.
Blinding a countries satellite as it passes overhead could be construed as an aggresive act.. but spying on a country from overhead for the last 30 years or so, unimpeded, could also be considered a bit aggressive.
It all evens out.
China is simply rendering it blind while it is over its borders.. it wont try to take a satellite out, or blind it permanently. Not yet at any rate. They just dont want a peeping tom above them, an attitude i find perfectly reasonable.
cutterjohn said: “
China is simply rendering it blind while it is over its borders.. it wont try to take a satellite out, or blind it permanently. Not yet at any rate. They just dont want a peeping tom above them, an attitude i find perfectly reasonable.”
Exactly. Besides, I’m sure the US is doing/trying to do the same thing to spy sats by other countries.
“Most of these weapons are no longer in use due to a 1995 UN protocol outlaws permanent blinding as a combat tactic, with the exception of devices like the PHaSR which supposedly only blind the target temporarily.”
The UN has banned blinding as a tactic, but freely allows shooting the enemy and killing them? Being blind for the rest of your life would indeed be challenging and traumatic, but I would rather be blind than dead.
Drakvil said: “Since the metric system for length was based upon the measurement of the Earth, they took a convenient fraction of the circumference of the Earth to make the “meter”. So one terrameter is the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth. I don’t know if I want to meet the object that has a circumference of an exameter.”
A little bit of etymology, as well as geometry, is needed here. The prefix “tera” is from a Greek word meaning “monster”, as in “a monstrously big [whatever]”. (“Mega” means “big”; “giga” means “giant”. “Peta” and “exa” are derived from the Greek prefixes penta and hexa, denoting the 5th and 6th powers of 1000 respectively: 10^15 and 10^18.)
So, despite the similar appearance of “tera” and “terra”, there is no connection.
Also, Earth’s circumference is nowhere near a terameter; it’s only a bit over 40,000 km, or 40,000,000 m (4 megameters [Mm]). This nice, round number is no coincidence, since the French Académie des Sciences [Academy of Sciences] that established the SI measuring system decided that the meter should be exactly one ten-millionth of a quadrant of Earth’s circumference. This provided a measurement standard that was not dependent on, say, the length of some particular king’s arm.
Later measurements of Earth’s curvature and size, using instruments that were better than could be had in the late 18th century, showed that the polar circumference is actually 40,008.6 km, but no need was seen to adjust the already well-established length of the meter; it was close enough for most anyone’s purposes.
If you want to get a feel for how big a terameter or an exameter is, the circumference of Earth’s orbit is 0.94 Tm; Saturn’s minimum distance from the Sun is 1.35 Tm; but 1 Em is about 106 light-years, almost as far as the variable star Algol….
While we’re talking about measurements…how big is a Wal-Mart?
crispi said: “I saw an interesting bit in Janes Defense Weekly about how the Chinese are using lasers to blind our spy sats when they pass over. No mention in the regular press though. This could be considered a hostile act.”
get real. temporarily blinding spy satellites as they pass overhead is no more a hostile act than closing your blinds to prevent people outside looking in is a hostile act.
Byrden said: “While we’re talking about measurements…how big is a Wal-Mart?”
5,984,685 miles²
If you don’t get it do some googling…
NewEvolution said:
Personally I don’t think we’ll ever see a man-portable laser weapon. The power required is just too extreme to miniaturize enough to be feasible. I am however still waiting on railguns and plasma weapons.”
Never forget that someone once said “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” and Bill Gates once said “Why would anyone want more than 640k of storage?” Hehe, my sister’s crappy mp3 has more than that!
And anyway, why do we need more ways to kill each other? Don’t we have enough already?
ChickenHead said: “Damn beat me to it – and you are quite right. Missle Command was like a bunch of Patriot Missles.”
Since the game came out in ’79 or ’80, I’d rather assumed they were Sprint or Spartan missiles…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Missile_Defense#The_Sentinel_Program
jpowell180 said: “Since the game came out in ’79 or ’80, I’d rather assumed they were Sprint or Spartan missiles…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Missile_Defense#The_Sentinel_Program“
Yes, but it was futuristic, so they probably were Patriots.
This article needs to be nominated for the Best Article Title Ever award.
Laser in my eyes – whoa thats great. But i think i will skip the blinding part with my sun glasses.
Laser Gunships before flying cars awww man yeah great we are gonna blow ourselves up before flying around curse the military! FLYING CARS WE WANT! NOT SOME SILLY LASER GUNSHIP WE DONT NEED THE APOCALYPSE WE WANT TO FLY AROUND THEN GET US THE GUNSHIPS geez
I will not pretend to have a clue as to how lasers work or the numerouse ways they can be used. I do remember many, many years ago (pre-laser discovery by us non-scientists) reading some story about or by a person who either died and came back or a was a psychic or prophet , with “information” about the future…This person predicted that illnesses would be cured with a light, and surgerys would be performed with out a scalple. Sounds like laser to me.
The only other thing is the rib cracking , gasping for breath laughter that watching my dog chase the laser pen light produces. This is often the highlight of my day..,LOL yes I need to get a life.
Now an idea from the empty ethers of my imagination. I understand that strobe lights can produce siezures in some people, could a strobing laser be used to the same effect to incapacitate people with out killing them? I suppose not, or someone much brighter than myself would have come to this concluion already…ho-hum… Just ignore this post please, my blood sugar is low. LOL
You can already use lasers as weapons. Even a standard laser pointer from an online seller like http://www.dragonlasers.com can cause some serious damage. And that is just at 125mW in power. Just imagine what a laser from the same website with 10W could do to the back guys. This is NOW not the future.
Yes, 125mW laser pointer can now serious damage or can cause accident. Be sure to read the safety manual before using it. Do not point to animal and human’s vital organ like the eyes. If you want some powerful green laser pointer, just visit the Techlasers.com where you can found the most laser pointers.
i am quite agree. if you do’t take enough care, the powerful beam will bring a serious hurt to eyes or skins. While you can have a try of IR filter green laser pointer from http://www.perfectlasers.net/, which can make a safer use of laser pointer.
take enough care while using a laser pointer. even the lower power laser pointer from http://www.astronomylasers.com can bring a dizaster to human eyes if using it with carelessness. it’s never too much to know enough safety information while using a laser pointer.
125mW green laser pointer is powerful enough to burn skin and blind eyes if holded in wrong hands, laser goggles are always necessary while using such powerful laser pointer. it’s very necessary to know enough laser safety knowledge while using a high power green laser pointer. Do be careful!
Kind of confused about two last sentences. Considering earlier: “there’s market for only so many ways to kill/fuck up an enemy”.
Anyway, to contribute something:
a) Railgun, newer us navy tests on youtoot, google. Some nice/ugly stuff brewing.
b) You don’t have to have the energy source at the (handheld/tank-mounted) weapon, you only need a delivery system for the energy to reach the weapon (microwave not recommended) and redirection. Although one might argue said delivery system might provide the target with destructive energy also directly (perhaps spotter-laser). But if that’s not an option, why not deliver the energy to the weapon and then to, say, window of a bunker. Or if said energy cannot be concentrated, a “laser-gun” might just do that job.
Note to self: I have seen the light.