(December 12, 2014 at 1:19 am)Chuck Wrote:(December 11, 2014 at 7:32 pm)Stimbo Wrote: Wouldn't the retro-reflective paint used in street signs be cheaper, lighter and more reliable?
Yes, but angle reflector has the added benefit of always reflecting essentially the entire laser beam impinging upon it back to exactly where the laser beam came from.
Why simply reflect the laser in diffused pattern when you can flatter the laser weapon by returning its own compliments?
I'm not sure of the optical logistics involved, but that's largely how retro-reflective signs work - by reflecting the light back along the same axis. There's probably some scattering going on but basically that's why you can see it brightest from head on, while not so much from outside the vehicle. The TV and cinematic trick of front-axial projection works in the same way.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
