Plausible deniability - laser "blow torch"...

[Schrecken_Licht]

http://technology.newscientist.com/...s-of-laser-weapons-plausible-deniability.html

I'll say one thing - this is one laser I'd sure LOVE to burning videos of!!!! Or maybe maybe the US might sell one of these things to Australia - forget the bans and fines - I bet NO ONE would ever point a laser at a plane again! ;D

 

[Chicxulub]

I'll bet that could pop like, five balloons in a row!

 

[VillageIdiot]

Can it light matches?

 

[Omega]

is it blue?

 

[Cyparagon]

did you READ the article??

The 5.5-tonne ATL combines chlorine and hydrogen peroxide molecules to release energy, which is used in turn to stimulate iodine into releasing intense infra-red light.

 

[pullbangdead]

Awesome, Puff the Magic Dragon is gettin' an upgrade!

(Puff the Magic Dragon was the nickname given by Vietnam soldiers to the AC-47, and later its replacement the AC-130. These gunships are very heavily armed and designed to lay down a lot of fire very quickly, you may have noticed one in the recent Transformers movie, "bringing the heat" against the big scorpion thing in the desert. A just love the name Puff the Magic Dragon, especially for this aircraft/series of aircraft; they typically carry a couple of Gatling guns, a cannon or two, and a Howitzer.)

 

[happytomato]

Maybe if we took the KTP out of a DX greenie we could make it green.

 

[RA_pierce]

I bet it can pop 5 white balloons in a row! With a half kilometer between them!

But seriously, If I invented a cool stealthy laser capable of cutting trucks in half, I wouldn't advertise the fact that it is "plausibly deniable."

Because now if there is a mysterious attack that leaves no traces of munitions and lots of charred corpses, they're gonna ask us if we blew them up with a laser...
Then what? We'll nervously look side to side and nervously say "no" while the 100 megawatt laser behind us cools off.

Personally, I'd keep the whole thing a secret.

I want one.

 

[Chicxulub]

I bet it can pop 5 white balloons in a row! With a half kilometer between them!

But seriously, If I invented a cool stealthy laser capable of cutting trucks in half, I wouldn't advertise the fact that it is "plausibly deniable."

Because now if there is a mysterious attack that leaves no traces of munitions and lots of charred corpses, they're gonna ask us if we blew them up with a laser...
Then what? We'll nervously look side to side and nervously say "no" while the 100 megawatt laser behind us cools off.

Personally, I'd keep the whole thing a secret.

I want one.

This is probably a cover for something even crazier, like a gigawatt satellite based laser system using fullerene superconductor cables to harness the power of the earth's magnetic field to generate electricity.

 

[moond0ggie]

Maybe even a satellite with a focusing lens for the sun................

But seriously, If I invented a cool stealthy laser capable of cutting trucks in half, I wouldn't advertise the fact that it is "plausibly deniable."

Thats the first thing I thought also!

 

[Omega]

did you READ the article??

The 5.5-tonne ATL combines chlorine and hydrogen peroxide molecules to release energy, which is used in turn to stimulate iodine into releasing intense infra-red light.

i wasnt being serious.
only continuing the sarcasim

 

[Cyparagon]

Fair enough. In that case, I'll exercise the cat with it.

 

[Schrecken_Licht]

Here's another, more detailed article - seems the test had the laser running at only a fraction of its total wattage....about what you'd find with a typical industrial laser. But still, that makes even the most powerful lasers represented here on the board look like puny little pea shooters!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4277729.html

 

[UMO]

Yeah I saw this a bit ago. The laser power 25kW which will instantly melt almost anything and can be fired 100 times IIRC without a refill.

I bet it can pop 5 white balloons in a row! With a half kilometer between them!

But seriously, If I invented a cool stealthy laser capable of cutting trucks in half, I wouldn't advertise the fact that it is "plausibly deniable."

Because now if there is a mysterious attack that leaves no traces of munitions and lots of charred corpses, they're gonna ask us if we blew them up with a laser...
Then what? We'll nervously look side to side and nervously say "no" while the 100 megawatt laser behind us cools off.

Personally, I'd keep the whole thing a secret.

I want one.

Plausibly deniable is a thing to be advertised (e.g. security software). However, I'd have kept the whole test and weapon secret.

This is probably a cover for something even crazier, like a gigawatt satellite based laser system using fullerene superconductor cables to harness the power of the earth's magnetic field to generate electricity.

lol. It is more likely to be an ICBM interceptor. The concept has been around since the 80s called the Strategic Defense Initiative (some new name now).

 

[Schrecken_Licht]

And yet another article - this even more detailed:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/will-new-laser.html

And here's an excerpt from this link (page 4)
http://blog.wired.com/defense/files/PASDEW.pdf


o Threshold:
[ch1048707] Steel melting: 5,000 meters
[ch1048707] Cloth and wood spontaneous ignition: 10,000 meters
[ch1048707] Lethal anti-personnel: 10,000 meters
o Desired:
[ch1048707] Steel melting: 10,000 meters
[ch1048707] Cloth and wood spontaneous ignition: 15,000 meters
[ch1048707] Lethal anti-personnel: 15,000 meters

Gee, imagine if you had a laser that could light wood on fire at 15,000 meters!?! (hmmm...almost sounds like something really wild WL might claim for their newest product!) And gee, I'm lucky to get my CO2 laser's beam from one end of my garage to the other and still be able to burn!

 

[GooeyGus]

Wont be long before some Australian builds his own and starts pointing it at planes.