Laser Weapon Operational

[John V]

Better living through science!

Regarding the convention, is it somehow better to be killed by a bullet than a laser?

[Tonus]

Maybe the best compromise is a laser-driven bullet? Sure, you shot the guy... but you also cauterized the wound!

[Anomalocaris]

I wonder how soon it would be before people start to install angle reflectors on their missiles so any laser beam pointed at the missile will be reflected back to the laser projectors and damage or destroy it.

The difference between a laser weapon and a projectile weapon is a target can reflect the laser straight back at the laser gun. No one had invented anything that can bounce a bullet straight back at the gun that fired it.

Mirrors do not reflect 100% of the energy so even if hit with a laser they would begin to heat and distort/discolor. Further mirrors only reflect a narrow range of wavelengths. If you want to destroy a mirrored surface with a laser, then fire a laser whose frequency is not reflected by the mirrored surface. A variable frequency laser would easily defeat the mirrored surface defense.

Review the definition of laser and the principle by which laser is generated. It is very difficult for laser emitter to significantly vary the frequency of the laser beam it emits.

Reflector does not need to reflect 100% of the energy impinging on it. It only has to reflect laser back to the laser emitter with higher efficiency than the laser emitter itself can absorb the laser reflected back to it in order to win.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Could a reflector survive long enough to reflect a sufficient amount of light to damage the weapon? Or would it last long enough to deflect the beam?

Since reflector is reflecting rather than absorbing most of the laser energy, I am sure it can survive a lot longer than a weapon which would end up absorbing the energy.

Unless the weapon was also shielded?

Also, I'd imagine that the weapon is probably over powered in order to effect quick destruction ... But destruction of the shield isn't needed, only deformation, which should come even quicker.

[Anomalocaris]

unless it too was shielded?

Since reflector is reflecting rather than absorbing most of the laser energy, I am sure it can survive a lot longer than a weapon which would end up absorbing the energy.

The principle by which most laser emitters work involve pumping the beam between pairs of internal mirrors. So any target which equips itself with a reflecting surface as good as the reflecting surface inside the laser emitter can in principle survive being illuminated by the beam for as long as the laser emitter can keep emitting without burning up.

So even if the emitter protects itself with a shielded turret, a reflective target can still in principle outlast the laser emitter itself, unless the laser weapon itself is designed to be a one shot thing that burns itself up in the process of firing its one shot.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The laser uses mirrors to develop that power, right? Would those have the same heat resistance as a shield designed to reflect a full charge? You're certainly right in principle
... But it's hard to imagine such an obvious countermeasure would be ignored in a multibillion dollar development.

Additionally, just like regular armor, such reflectors only protect what they cover. Radar masts, large swathes of hull, airplanes, and so on would still seem to be vulnerable.

[Anomalocaris]

The laser uses mirrors to develop that power, right?

Additionally, just like regular armor, such reflectors only protect what they cover. Radar masts, large swathes of hull, airplanes, and so on would still seem to be vulnerable.

Even a 30KW laser won't actually do much damage when hitting most parts of a ship, or even a speed boat. You only need to protect some mission critical equipment.

[Thumpalumpacus]

The article indicates that powerful upgrades are in the pipeline.

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And its utility as an antiaircraft weapons seems pretty obvious, too.

[Tonus]

The article indicates that powerful upgrades are in the pipeline.

[Heywood]

Mirrors do not reflect 100% of the energy so even if hit with a laser they would begin to heat and distort/discolor. Further mirrors only reflect a narrow range of wavelengths. If you want to destroy a mirrored surface with a laser, then fire a laser whose frequency is not reflected by the mirrored surface. A variable frequency laser would easily defeat the mirrored surface defense.

Review the definition of laser and the principle by which laser is generated. It is very difficult for laser emitter to significantly vary the frequency of the laser beam it emits.

Reflector does not need to reflect 100% of the energy impinging on it. It only has to reflect laser back to the laser emitter with higher efficiency than the laser emitter itself can absorb the laser reflected back to it in order to win.

It is trivially easy to change the frequency of a laser beam. Simply move the beam emitter forward or backward while the beam is emitted. Its is called the doppler effect.

But I believe I read somewhere that variable frequency lasers have been created using vibrating ball bearings. But you don't even need to do that. Make three or four emitters which fire lasers at different frequencies and just don't tell the enemy which one you are using that day. He won't know what mirror package to encapsulate his ship in that day. I imagine it is harder to change out a mirror package encapsulating an entire ship than it is to change out just one emitter.

Further any reflector which would bounce a beam directly back to the emitter would make the target highly visible to radar or laser range finders.....making the target much more vulnerable to conventional precision guided attacks.

Basically what it boils down to is this. Laser weapons make it easier to kill enemies.