CBS;
After 40 years of work, the Pentagon may have a solid-state laser in its arsenal within a decade, reports the Oakland Tribune.Compared to the chemical lasers now in use by America's military, solid-state lasers would be compact and efficient - perhaps running off the engine of an Army Humvee or an Air Force F-16.
Solid-state lasers would also be deadly. In a recent demonstration at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - one of three sites of research on a solid-state laser - a test-fired laser emitted 400 pulses of light in two seconds, drilling through an inch of steel, the Tribune reported.Once fully developed, the Tribune reports, solid-state lasers could shoot down mortars and artillery shells, explode ordnance in enemy depots and even wipe out ballistic missiles 500 miles away. They would strike with incredible speed and could be retargeted instantly.
Contrary to science fiction, the lasers will not be visible streams of light. Instead, targets will simply explode. Troops will not point and shoot lasers, because they will most likely have to react to dangers and targets moving too fast for a human response. Nor will lasers be holster- sized - the smallest to date is the size of a commercial jetliner.
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US will have monopoly on solid state lasers ... from Airborne Combat Engineer
... at least for a short while (like the nuke). CBS (via Small Dead Animals) reports: After 40 years of work, the Pentagon may have a solid-state laser in its arsenal within a decade. How will U.S. doctrine accommodate a [Read More]
Tracked on April 19, 2005 7:26 AM
I say the world needs a demonstration to prove it's existance. Let's say maybe....uhmmmmmm....Ottawa, with all the MP's in the building to see if it affects humans...yea...that'd be a good test.
Posted by: rob at April 18, 2005 7:24 PMCan't beat a suitcase nuke,(Russian)- a copy of the knapsack nuke(American). Yield: 4-6 kilotons of TNT. Blast effects: determined by emplacement.
Posted by: dave at April 18, 2005 7:27 PMSay, aren't these people the same ones who won't be able to produce a bullet that can hit another bullet, or so sez the anti-BMD crowd?
Posted by: Mississauga Matt at April 18, 2005 7:39 PMi will be impressed when i see it drill through the thickest and toughest material known to man, the Liberal skull
Posted by: keith at April 18, 2005 7:39 PMClearly I'm in the right place... pun intended.
I have a solid state laser. It's on my keychain and I use it to taunt the cat. What's that? Different kind of solid state laser? Oh.
Posted by: CodeTech at April 18, 2005 8:07 PMKeith,
ROFLMAO..that was good.....If they can prove that...next step is programmable moonbat seeking...have to call it Moonbat PMS...
Rob says, " with all the MP's in the building ..."
With luck, Paul Martin will be out to lunch that day with... Claude...
Posted by: maz2 at April 18, 2005 9:24 PMAt this rate, I'm going to have to coin a term for the commentors here... a la "freepers"
Posted by: Kate at April 18, 2005 9:29 PMFreepers - Right-wing political activist. So-called, because it is the nickname of the denizens of the ultra-right wing Web site FreeRepublic.com. Similar to "ditto-head."
How Rude.......Libranos made us do it..... ;-)
well the "canadian" arm of freerepublic is freedominion, and I'm not very impressed with the babbling that goes on there. This is much cozier.
Maybe we're deaders.
At least we don't have tire tracks on us.
Posted by: CodeTech at April 18, 2005 11:43 PM"I say the world needs a demonstration to prove it's existance. Let's say maybe... uhmmmmmm.... Ottawa, with all the MP's in the building to see if it affects humans... yea... that'd be a good test."
Ottawa is too remote for an effective demonstration. But don’t worry. We will deal with your Rebel friends soon enough.
Posted by: Ryan at April 19, 2005 8:43 AMsorry Rob, that demo would'nt work well. the smell of burning s**t would really po hte rest of us...ummmmm...maybe on second thought
Posted by: fubar at April 19, 2005 9:04 AMHey Ryan, fubar,
Just one thing, I don't have any moonbat friends, and any that try to approach, well, no one knows were they went....I think hell was mentioned a few times.
Target area is wide open..... have at er....