NationStates Jolt Archive

I was just thinking this

Laser beams are light, so if we manage to start making laser based weapons a'la Star Wars we'd jsut have super concentrated, deadly light beams. But, don't mirrors reflect light? What would the cops do if they were in a fire fight with a guy wearing an AOL body armor suit? Would they be like "Crap, he's covered in mirrors, get those old school projectile weapons!" or something?

mini me, stop humping the giant "laser"

:)

I was just thinking this

Laser beams are light, so if we manage to start making laser based weapons a'la Star Wars we'd jsut have super concentrated, deadly light beams. But, don't mirrors reflect light? What would the cops do if they were in a fire fight with a guy wearing an AOL body armor suit? Would they be like "Crap, he's covered in mirriors, get those old school projectile weapons!" or something?

How about chunky bits projected by that light, then it could break the mirror....and stuff

I was just thinking this

Laser beams are light, so if we manage to start making laser based weapons a'la Star Wars we'd jsut have super concentrated, deadly light beams. But, don't mirrors reflect light? What would the cops do if they were in a fire fight with a guy wearing an AOL body armor suit? Would they be like "Crap, he's covered in mirriors, get those old school projectile weapons!" or something?
Yeah I think the Russians were coating their ICBMs with reflective armor to protected them from high energy laser defense systems in the event of a nuclear war with the US.

How about chunky bits projected by that light, then it could break the mirror....and stuff

Light isn't a physical object. Photons cannot carry mass, as their mass is zero. Therefore, the light cannot carry something. Sorry.

Your post is Sig worthy to the topic creator

Your post is Sig worthy to the topic creator

Who's?

Light isn't a physical object. Photons cannot carry mass, as their mass is zero. Therefore, the light cannot carry something. Sorry.

This is where you are wrong. Light is actually a particle and a wave, so in fact it does have mass and it can move things. The only problem is that the mass of a photon is so small that it is very improbable for there to be a large enough source to "push" or "hold" something.

I vaguely remember the pentagon developing a "satellite killer" Earth based high energy laser. It couldn't even penetrate a cloud because of the dispersion.

This is where you are wrong. Light is actually a particle and a wave, so in fact it does have mass and it can move things. The only problem is that the mass of a photon is so small that it is very improbable for there to be a large enough source to "push" or "hold" something.

You are right, but I am not wrong. The photon has 0 mass, or it is a debunked theory, because nothing with a mass greater than 0 can travel at the speed of light without an infinite amount of energy put into it, acording to Einstein's theory of special relativity.

Light isn't a physical object. Photons cannot carry mass, as their mass is zero. Therefore, the light cannot carry something. Sorry.

Shhhhhhhhh....... Dont let them know that

hahaha.. that was a perfectly normal post until the aol cd's..


yes I know, I make no sense. Ok, I'll leave now.

Light isn't a physical object. Photons cannot carry mass, as their mass is zero. Therefore, the light cannot carry something. Sorry.
At first I thought "There actually is that one project they were working on with laser propulsion of a small object", but then I realized that they were actually using the laser to superheat something so it doesn't count at all.

About the AOL CD's:
Powerful enough lasers do cut through reflective surfaces, i believe. I mean, how else would the use lasers to cut shiny metal?

I was just thinking this

Laser beams are light, so if we manage to start making laser based weapons a'la Star Wars we'd jsut have super concentrated, deadly light beams. But, don't mirrors reflect light? What would the cops do if they were in a fire fight with a guy wearing an AOL body armor suit? Would they be like "Crap, he's covered in mirrors, get those old school projectile weapons!" or something?

Then you shoot them in the eyes and blind them, then they sue you or something...

Even if you have a reflective surface, part of the light actually does pass through it, especially at high frequencies. X rays are light, and they can pass through most substances.

So, rather than using green and red frequencies of visible light (like Star Wars or Star Trek) just use the super-lethal frequencies that don't really give a damn if they run into a mirror or not.

Even if you have a reflective surface, part of the light actually does pass through it, especially at high frequencies. X rays are light, and they can pass through most substances.

So, rather than using green and red frequencies of visible light (like Star Wars or Star Trek) just use the super-lethal frequencies that don't really give a damn if they run into a mirror or not.

I thought x-rays couldn't be focused into a coherent beam?

Then you shoot them in the eyes and blind them, then they sue you or something...

this reminds me of something I saw on the news recently, apparently there were concerns that 'Taser guns' (the pistol looking things that shoot two little pokey things with wires attached that shock people into submission) were too dangerous to be used as a non lethal alternative to guns.

but wouldn't being shocked and having convulsion and MAYBE dieing be better than being shot and losing large chunks of vital organs and DEFINATELY dieing?

I thought x-rays couldn't be focused into a coherent beam?

They can if you use a beryllium lens.

And rather than use X-rays, just use man's greatest archenemy, the gamma ray. Just a few can rip right through you, and they're high energy, so even a gamma-reflective surface is useless most of the time. And it's radioactivity. So ... nobody loses.

And if he's covered in mirrors, no one would be able to shoot, as it would look like they were shooting themselves. ;)

this reminds me of something I saw on the news recently, apparently there were concerns that 'Taser guns' (the pistol looking things that shoot two little pokey things with wires attached that shock people into submission) were too dangerous to be used as a non lethal alternative to guns.

but wouldn't being shocked and having convulsion and MAYBE dieing be better than being shot and losing large chunks of vital organs and DEFINATELY dieing?

The mortality rate for tasers is low...you really need to have a bad heart defect to actually die. Even then...one or two seconds and you are down...a spasming wreck.

But of course, seeing as a lot of minorities commit crimes, it turns out that tasers are 'racist' and you cannot use them because you are only discriminating against a certain minority. In my opinion the idea is perfect. Way better than:

"Excuse me sir, I am an officer of the law. Please put your gun down and don't shoot me or I might have to take action."

"OK" BOOM!

The mortality rate for tasers is low...you really need to have a bad heart defect to actually die. Even then...one or two seconds and you are down...a spasming wreck.

But of course, seeing as a lot of minorities commit crimes, it turns out that tasers are 'racist' and you cannot use them because you are only discriminating against a certain minority. In my opinion the idea is perfect. Way better than:

"Excuse me sir, I am an officer of the law. Please put your gun down and don't shoot me or I might have to take action."

"OK" BOOM!
The mortality rate for a "non-lethal" weapon except in EXTREME circumstances should be null, which isn't the case with tasers/electric based weapons

I was just thinking this

Laser beams are light, so if we manage to start making laser based weapons a'la Star Wars we'd jsut have super concentrated, deadly light beams. But, don't mirrors reflect light? What would the cops do if they were in a fire fight with a guy wearing an AOL body armor suit? Would they be like "Crap, he's covered in mirrors, get those old school projectile weapons!" or something?

A laser weapon creates a beam with a fairly wide diameter that is then focused down by a final mirror (a parabolic reflector). This mirror must be wide enough so that the density of energy (the energy hitting the mirror per square centimeter is low enough so that the mirror itself doesn't melt.

However, at the target, the spot is focused down to a much smaller area. Even if the target is a mirror, it will still melt. It has been proven in multiple experiments that even if, for example, a rocket booster is silvered, the melting is only delayed by a few milliseconds (the beam is usually dwelling on the target for a few seconds).

So for weapon-class lasers, it doesn't do you any good to have a mirror at the target area.

Imagine the heat generated to compact lasers, if it can be compacted.

Aarrgg... can't... resist...

STARWARSLASERSAREACTUALLYPARTICLEBEAMS!!

Damn! Lost out to my inner nerd...

LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulation of Emitted Radiation

Laser Classifications:

Class I - These lasers cannot emit laser radiation at known hazard levels.

Class I.A. - This is a special designation that applies only to lasers that are "not intended for viewing," such as a supermarket laser scanner. The upper power limit of Class I.A. is 4.0 mW.

Class II - These are low-power visible lasers that emit above Class I levels but at a radiant power not above 1 mW. The concept is that the human aversion reaction to bright light will protect a person.

Class IIIA - These are intermediate-power lasers (cw: 1-5 mW), which are hazardous only for intrabeam viewing. Most pen-like pointing lasers are in this class.

Class IIIB - These are moderate-power lasers.

Class IV - These are high-power lasers (cw: 500 mW, pulsed: 10 J/cm2 or the diffuse reflection limit), which are hazardous to view under any condition (directly or diffusely scattered, and are a potential fire hazard and a skin hazard. Significant controls are required of Class IV laser facilities.

And rather than use X-rays, just use man's greatest archenemy, the gamma ray. Just a few can rip right through you, and they're high energy, so even a gamma-reflective surface is useless most of the time. And it's radioactivity. So ... nobody loses.


Except it would have to be heavily concentrated, because the ionising capability of gamma rays is low, and you'd end up killing yourself by using it anyway.

Aarrgg... can't... resist...

STARWARSLASERSAREACTUALLYPARTICLEBEAMS!!

Damn! Lost out to my inner nerd...

Aren't they plasma weapons?

I was just thinking this

Laser beams are light, so if we manage to start making laser based weapons a'la Star Wars we'd jsut have super concentrated, deadly light beams. But, don't mirrors reflect light? What would the cops do if they were in a fire fight with a guy wearing an AOL body armor suit? Would they be like "Crap, he's covered in mirrors, get those old school projectile weapons!" or something?

Mirrors would be unable to deal with the excess heat generated by the laser. It may reflect the light but not the heat. Also, Star wars weapons are not lasers. They are hrydgoen gas, superheated and contained magneticaly. Thats the idea at least

Mirrors would be unable to deal with the excess heat generated by the laser. It may reflect the light but not the heat.
:eek:
Neo Cannen is smart. Okay, good, now I don't have to go look all that up!
Thanks!

On a different note, your username of "Neo Cannen" always makes me think of a big laser cannon. So it fits the topic.
:D

Light isn't a physical object. Photons cannot carry mass, as their mass is zero. Therefore, the light cannot carry something. Sorry.
Actually prototype laser-propelled devices have been built, but probably wouldn't work as weapons. www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/laser_propulsion_000705.html

At first I thought "There actually is that one project they were working on with laser propulsion of a small object", but then I realized that they were actually using the laser to superheat something so it doesn't count at all.
Why doesn't it count? It's still an object propelled by a laser.

Actually prototype laser-propelled devices have been built, but probably wouldn't work as weapons. www.space.com/businesstechnology/laser_propulstion_000705.html
The link doesn't work.
:(

Why doesn't it count? It's still an object propelled by a laser.
Well, it's not propelled by a laser in the sense that "propelled by a laser" was being used in the post I replied to, as in photons pushing the object. At least that's how it sounded as though it was being used to me.

The link doesn't work.
:(should work now.

Hey, on that taser and other "non-lethal" weapons post a ways back:

The terminology of choice is now "less lethal," not "non-lethal."