Naval Laser Beam

[Dr. Cheese]

Navy raygun disables boat with laser weapon - Technology & science - Innovation - msnbc.com

I would not want to be on the wrong end of that thing!

[bassrique]

Can't these lasers be set up to spread the beam out a bit [wider cone] to be a non-lethal alternative that incapacitates? I think i read that somewhere.

[blendermassacre]

belly button lasers? science is scary and awesome, simultaneously.

[KalTM]

Very interesting. I will probably see this on stumbleupon soon.

[hover]

The seamen goes "pew pew pew"!

[IconBasser]

huh. I was expecting a few seconds rather than a few minutes required to make a reasonable amount of damage. It's some really awesome engineering, regardless.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by hover

The seamen goes "pew pew pew"!

As Mr. DeFranco so aptly put it.

"'Pew pew' is the new 'bang bang!'"

[Deluge Of Sound]

Sounds like omphaloskepsis to me...

[L-A]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Can't these lasers be set up to spread the beam out a bit [wider cone] to be a non-lethal alternative that incapacitates? I think i read that somewhere.

In this case, 'non-lethal' would mean that your eyeballs will turn into drying scars, but only a month later

[EricF]

I asked for sharks with laser beams on their heads , and this is all they could come up with?

[Ripper]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Can't these lasers be set up to spread the beam out a bit [wider cone] to be a non-lethal alternative that incapacitates? I think i read that somewhere.

Thats not lasers that they use. The non-lethal is either sound or microwaves. The sound just incapacitates due to the level, and the microwaves, well, they microwave you so you feel uncomfortably warm.

[Ziltoid]

Originally Posted by EricF

I asked for sharks with laser beams on their heads , and this is all they could come up with?

[Tsal]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Navy raygun disables boat with laser weapon - Technology & science - Innovation - msnbc.com

I would not want to be on the wrong end of that thing!

Imagine all the mischief you could cause with that gigantic laser pointer. Ship's cats beware!

[MIJ-VI]

One of these filled with generators?

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by Tsal

Imagine all the mischief you could cause with that gigantic laser pointer. Ship's cats beware!

Regular laser pointers have been a real menace for commericial aircraft already.

[Tsal]

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

[center]One of these filled with generators?

Hardly need for that, you could run hundreds of those demo lasers with a single shipboard nuclear reactor. I think the problem at the moment is making a solid-state laser that's able to process enough juice, as chemical lasers that easily reach that MW power range are too difficult and hazardous to weaponize.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Tsal

Hardly need for that, you could run hundreds of those demo lasers with a single shipboard nuclear reactor. I think the problem at the moment is making a solid-state laser that's able to process enough juice, as chemical lasers that easily reach that MW power range are too difficult and hazardous to weaponize.

I'm guessing you're talking peak power? I'd say the bigger problem is that many of them are near enough single shot, then have to have the dyes replaced.

A friend of mine builds high power slab lasers (actually holds the 'unofficial' record for the highest power CW slab laser). There is something special seeing a brick melting!

They can be built, they don't cost near the price the US government forked out for that. Tho on saying that, at least it's a step in producing their own lasers. (random nugget of information, most of the lasers found on US Airforce and Navy planes & helis are produced in the UK, many of which in a facility right here in Edinburgh! (Selex Galileo))

I'm still not sold on the idea of weaponised lasers. It's something that is far more likely to maim than kill. And at the powers they are using, even back reflections and speckle can blind.

Originally Posted by bassrique

Can't these lasers be set up to spread the beam out a bit [wider cone] to be a non-lethal alternative that incapacitates? I think i read that somewhere.

To set up lasers to incapacitate people, you'd be looking at blinding them!

(which it should be noted, part of the Geneva convention (Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons, Protocol 4) specifically bans )

[ehque]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

To set up lasers to incapacitate people, you'd be looking at blinding them!

(which it should be noted, part of the Geneva convention (Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons, Protocol 4) specifically bans )

Correction, the protocol only bans permanently blinding weapons

Basically, if your laser is powerful enough to kill, or weak enough not to blind permanently, it's not banned.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by ehque

Correction, the protocol only bans permanently blinding weapons

Basically, if your laser is powerful enough to kill, or weak enough not to blind permanently, it's not banned.

Which is why I was talking, in response, to lasers which are designed to incapacitate people.

Lower power lasers, which are eye-safe, won't blind you or cause any form of temporary blinding.

As the power increases (only into 10s of mW), the laser could blind you if you forced yourself to keep your eyes open, but the blink response will save your vision (as said, unless you force yourself to keep your eyes open!).

Beyond those powers, you're into lasers which will either scar instantly or, in the case of higher power CW/higher peak powered pulsed lasers, the retina will be ablated leaving a nice bleeding hole at the back of the eye

If a laser was designed to have a high enough power that it could kill someone ( ), the speckle and reflections from it would easily be powerful enough to blind someone. There are "eye-safe" frequencies, but those are in much higher wavelengths, and when it comes down to it, it's still a huge amount of energy, where damage to sight is far more likely

[jaywa]

Might be a good way to deal with those pesky pirates...

Blind 'em... then hang 'em from the yard arm.