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A possible lightning gun

Uranium

Uranium

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Let's say you get an ultraviolet laser, and widen the beam to about 1cm. Since it's UVB, it will ionize the air in it's path. Now let's say you take a tesla coil, and attach the neutral end of the secondary to the ground. Then take the toroid-end, and introduce the electricity into the beam. If the ground is moist, you could shock things quite a distance away. Assuming the target is a person wearing rubber-soled shoes, capacitive coupling would still allow the HVAC current to flow.

Of course this wouldn't be very portable, requiring a maybe 3' box, but it is a nice concept. Ideally you could use it with an aiming device as a sentry.

opinions?
 





charliebruce

charliebruce

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Such a thing is theoretically possible but the extent to which any reasonable laser will ionise the air is pretty low. To do so and make a strong, conductive path, you'd need a huge amount of power. Look at directed energy weapons and blooming for more information. There's another thread about this somewhere, perhaps have a little search around too.
 
Uranium

Uranium

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charliebruce said:
Such a thing is theoretically possible but the extent to which any reasonable laser will ionise the air is pretty low. To do so and make a strong, conductive path, you'd need a huge amount of power. Look at directed energy weapons and blooming for more information. There's another thread about this somewhere, perhaps have a little search around too.
Click to expand...

Oh yea?

YouTube - Laser Induced Plasma Channel
 
bloompyle

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You lost me at the part about sending int rhough the beam. Are you saying you would send the electric flow through the beam? And the beam would be like a road for the electricity to flow on? Sounds interesting. I don't understand how it would work. But the only way to find is if somebody did it.
 
Uranium

Uranium

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bloompyle said:
You lost me at the part about sending int rhough the beam. Are you saying you would send the electric flow through the beam? And the beam would be like a road for the electricity to flow on? Sounds interesting. I don't understand how it would work. But the only way to find is if somebody did it.
Click to expand...

Well, the ionized air is far more conductive than the non-ionized air, therefore the electricity would like to flow down it, even if the path is longer.
 
charliebruce

charliebruce

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Those are pulsed lasers, so the peak power is very high but short-lived (It takes about 1MJ/cm^3 to ionise fully). If you can time the very quick laser pulse to create the channel with a very high current to sustain the arc over the distance, then no doubt you could achieve the effect you're talking about.

Electrolaser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To me, the main issue (other than the high energy requirements) is the risk that, if the ionised channel is broken, you've got 10^9 volts in an electrode, right in front of you...
 
bloompyle

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It's worth a try I guess. But where to you plan to get such high powered lasers to accomplish such a feat? Or are you not doing it...?
 
Uranium

Uranium

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bloompyle said:
It's worth a try I guess. But where to you plan to get such high powered lasers to accomplish such a feat? Or are you not doing it...?
Click to expand...

I probably won't unless I could turn my 250mw 532nm into a UV laser. I'm not forking over a couple thousand for one.

charliebruce said:
Those are pulsed lasers, so the peak power is very high but short-lived (It takes about 1MJ/cm^3 to ionise fully). If you can time the very quick laser pulse to create the channel with a very high current to sustain the arc over the distance, then no doubt you could achieve the effect you're talking about.

Electrolaser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To me, the main issue (other than the high energy requirements) is the risk that, if the ionised channel is broken, you've got 10^9 volts in an electrode, right in front of you...
Click to expand...

Not if it's a remote sentry. Plus, chainmail would protect you.
 
Hemlock_Mike

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I have seen my SSY-1 NdYag ionize air. Never thought of trying to send a current using it. Once the path is established, the HV should maintain the arc. Perhaps some of the CW CO2 if focused tight.....

HMike
 
Uranium

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Hemlock_Mike said:
I have seen my SSY-1 NdYag ionize air. Never thought of trying to send a current using it. Once the path is established, the HV should maintain the arc. Perhaps some of the CW CO2 if focused tight.....

HMike
Click to expand...

You should freq double or triple that ssy-1 and see what happens.
 
MarioMaster

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efficiency is too low in the conversion process, I had a q-switched 355nm laser and it was nowhere near powerful enough to ionize air
 
TheTeslaWarrior

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one problem is that electricity is very very unpredictable it will go where it wants, which is never where you want. someone tried this awhile back using a big Tesla coil and a conductive gas. but hey you get the laser ill supply the Tesla. :beer:
 
U

Uberstrobe

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I don't think it'll work very well. Nor is practical.

Experience: (Arc Attack, The Geek Group, 4HV, my personal 15kW 12'er, my various musical tesla coils and around the LARGE ~23' tall one in Oklahoma)
 
Xplorer877

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High Voltage electricity is lazy. It will find the easiest path to ground. The lightning bolt streamers themselves are a conducting path for the current. So in order for the HV to travel down the beam it will have to ionize the air as well as lightning itself. The beam will have to ionize the air sufficiently better such that the streamers don't simply just ground themselves else ware.

Also what's to stop the HV from traveling right into the laser itself. The laser modual itself would have to be at the same potential difference as the HV (relative to ground). There is no way you'd be able to power and protect an operating laser while it's sitting on a Tesla Coil.

But it's a cool idea! Skin cancer and electrocution gun; I love it!!! hahaha!

-Tony
 
Uranium

Uranium

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Xplorer877 said:
High Voltage electricity is lazy. It will find the easiest path to ground. The lightning bolt streamers themselves are a conducting path for the current. So in order for the HV to travel down the beam it will have to ionize the air as well as lightning itself. The beam will have to ionize the air sufficiently better such that the streamers don't simply just ground themselves else ware.

Also what's to stop the HV from traveling right into the laser itself. The laser modual itself would have to be at the same potential difference as the HV (relative to ground). There is no way you'd be able to power and protect an operating laser while it's sitting on a Tesla Coil.

But it's a cool idea! Skin cancer and electrocution gun; I love it!!! hahaha!

-Tony
Click to expand...

Actually, if it's inside a hollow toroid, it' completely safe.

YouTube - MythBusters - Water Stun Gun
 
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