laser gases that emit in the near infrared frequencies

[Immo1282]

The US military throws stupid quantities of money at projects that it wants - if there's really demand for this you'll get investment.

 

[akmetal]

The US military throws stupid quantities of money at projects that it wants - if there's really demand for this you'll get investment.

I have read that this is false, that often times what ends up happening is the DOD will classify a patent and not pay out for it. So your entire intellectual property could be compromised. IF you have a proto type and they dont want it you charter a private jet and broker a deal to sell it to someone else

THATS how that works.

Anyways I digress, I will jump over to the other forum and continue with my research.

 

[Immo1282]

The US military already has this though - all you might bring to the table is a cost reduction. They tested a 30kW defensive laser system (XN-1 LaWS) mounted on a ship in 2014. Spending tens of millions of dollars on R&D IIRC.

 

[akmetal]

The US military already has this though - all you might bring to the table is a cost reduction. They tested a 30kW defensive laser system (XN-1 LaWS) mounted on a ship in 2014. Spending tens of millions of dollars on R&D IIRC.

Yep, Athena and they pay through the nose for it to. The hype and steak dinners and all the bolony that comes with a military industrial complex contractor that is too big to fail. Google the story of the side winder missile.

Just like how people on here said oh its going to be 6 figures and eluded to the fact its impossible. This is not the american way, they rolled the first side winder missile out of a suburbia garage and everyone jaw dropped lol.

Oh and google elon musk when he built a turbo vacuum pump for 10k and lockheeds sub said it would cost a million dollars. SOME people are wising up to this nonsense.

Cost reduction is putting it lightly - costs are so far inflated out of sight its not even funny.

 

[diachi]

Just like how people on here said oh its going to be 6 figures and eluded to the fact its impossible. .

Because some of us have priced out much smaller and less complex projects.

The pump diodes alone for a 10kW CW Nd:YAG laser would cost you >$50,000 - and that's from China. Pricing I'm looking at just now puts it at $76,000 - minimum. Just for pump diodes. No power supply, no optics, no materials, nothing. Just the diodes.

 

[akmetal]

Because some of us have priced out much smaller and less complex projects.

The pump diodes alone for a 10kW CW Nd:YAG laser would cost you >$50,000 - and that's from China. Pricing I'm looking at just now puts it at $76,000 - minimum. Just for pump diodes. No power supply, no optics, no materials, nothing. Just the diodes.

Sounds like I will have to learn to make the diodes. Power supply will be steep that’s going to be the sucky part likely 10k for a military surplus generator I will have to work on. I have ones I can borrow for testing though before I have to buy one.

Also why is a diode needed why can’t the crystal just hang out in a pumped gas media?

 

[diachi]

Sounds like I will have to learn to make the diodes. Power supply will be steep that’s going to be the sucky part likely 10k for a military surplus generator I will have to work on. I have ones I can borrow for testing though before I have to buy one.

Also why is a diode needed why can’t the crystal just hang out in a pumped gas media?

Make the diodes? From scratch? Congratulations, your cost just went to 8-9 figures.

You have 40kW power supplies just lying around that you can borrow? Nice! That's the electrical input power required to the pump diodes to achieve anything close to 10kW out from an Nd:YAG laser. If you're lucky.

Pumped gas media? Pumped with what? The energy needs to come from somewhere. All that heat needs to go somewhere too, and gas won't cut it for a cooling fluid. Overall efficiency of the system (Electrical power to power supply -> optical out) is going to be <20%, and that's for a really efficient setup.

It's sounding like you don't have a grasp on even basic laser principles, yet want to build a 10-40kW CW laser to shoot down fighter jets? Nothing but a dream.

 

[Cyparagon]

How would YOU build a laser to shoot down large size drones.

Legality and ethics aside for a moment, firearms or even air rifles would be a far cheaper, safer, and easier alternative.

The device you're proposing would be upwards of a metric ton, require up to a megawatt of electrical power, cost 6 or perhaps 7 figures (MAYBE high 5 if you did everything yourself), would require routine maintenance of optics and coolant, would require an additional aiming system which would compound said hurdles... I could go on all day.

You see a fly on the wall. When most of us would reach for the fly swatter, you're instead drawing up plans for a howitzer.

 

[akmetal]

Make the diodes? From scratch? Congratulations, your cost just went to 8-9 figures.

You have 40kW power supplies just lying around that you can borrow? Nice! That's the electrical input power required to the pump diodes to achieve anything close to 10kW out from an Nd:YAG laser. If you're lucky.

Pumped gas media? Pumped with what? The energy needs to come from somewhere. All that heat needs to go somewhere too, and gas won't cut it for a cooling fluid. Overall efficiency of the system (Electrical power to power supply -> optical out) is going to be <20%, and that's for a really efficient setup.

It's sounding like you don't have a grasp on even basic laser principles, yet want to build a 10-40kW CW laser to shoot down fighter jets? Nothing but a dream.

Since this is a dream maybe have mods just delete the thread as it does not add to any body of knowlage

 

[WizardG]

" I very much understand the complexity"+" I dont know why you could just just add more power to a gas laser and make sure the gas is circulated and cooled as well as the optics are liquid cooled "= NO you do not REMOTELY understand the complexity of creating, collimating, and controlling a multi-kilowatt laser beam.

"It would be really cool if there was a book on exactly why ND YAG releases 1000 nm and CO2 releases 10,000 nm "
There are many. Start with a good physics textbook.

"It wont be cheap but it will be FAR from 6 figures "
There are fiber lasers commercially available with the kind of spectrum and power you're after but you're not going to build one from scratch for under low to mid 6 figures.

I would respectfully ask that the mods close this discussion.

 

[LSRFAQ]

The guy who knows Gas, over at the other forum, just pulled his elaborate post on how to find laser wavelengths.
I am he, and after reading this I have determined that you just don't need to know what your asking. Mainly for your own safety and that of others in airspace. Gasses other then CO2 /CO / Excimer and one other mix you will NOT be allowed to have are horribly inefficient anyways. Go ahead and close this one...

Steve

 

[akmetal]

The guy who knows Gas, over at the other forum, just pulled his elaborate post on how to find laser wavelengths.
I am he, and after reading this I have determined that you just don't need to know what your asking. Mainly for your own safety and that of others in airspace. Gasses other then CO2 /CO / Excimer and one other mix you will NOT be allowed to have are horribly inefficient anyways. Go ahead and close this one...

Steve

Why be passive aggressive what’s the angle?

 

[LSRFAQ]

Because I can? Seriously, you are barking up the wrong tree with changing wavelengths and trying to go gas. You want to reinvent the studied to death, physically huge, dead end, high power gas dynamic laser? Go ahead and waste your money. Because any funding agency worth it's salt has access to a certain public data base and will read of the problems these systems experienced. They were dropped in the 80s and 90s like hot potatoes for a reason, and not just because the cold war slowed down during Gorby and Yeltsin's reigns. Just the size and energy of the required vacuum pumps will kill your project compared to what is available off the shelf in solid state. Your asking for 100 nm and 600 nm differences from existing lasers for no reason.

Oh yeah, there is one gas mix that nearly does what you want, maybe, but the environmental impact statement would kill any use of that one, too. The fumes and waste will kill your operator so quickly it is not funny. . Considering the refined prototype for it filled a 707 cabin and cargo bay, it is not useful either. Uncle dropped that like a hot potato for rail guns, which are KNOWN to be a major pita to begin with.

Your not going to find a disruptive gas laser technology, hundreds of millions (billions if you count one mega project in) have been spent on the holy grail of gas. It is well known and save for two examples, one of which you tried, horribly inefficient.

Steve

 

[ArcticDude]

Thread closed...