3 ms·
Let's see, mass of chaff in line of beam times one minus reflectivity of chaff at laser frequency times heat of vaporization plus heat of melting plus a bit mor
by jws 9y ago
Let's see, mass of chaff in line of beam times one minus reflectivity of chaff at laser frequency times heat of vaporization plus heat of melting plus a bit more for raising the temperature of the chaff… I'm pretty sure any laser capable of penetrating an interesting military target is going to zip right through chaff. Aluminum and silver are only about 95% reflective at visible light frequencies and you have to figure as soon as the surface starts to go that value drops in a hurry.
- chris_va 9y ago150kW laser, chaff is 98% reflective mylar, that is like sticking a bunch of plastic in the microwave. Eventually it'll melt, but not fast enough to justify using a laser over a conventional weapon. Honestly, just using a smoke source is probably even easier as a shield, and just let convection protect you.
- IntronExon 9y agoOr just have a thin layer of ablative armor designed to maximize laser bloom. We either need a lot more power behind these beams, better adaptive optics, or best of all really responsive phase conjugation to overcome realistic countermeasures. I’ll take a wall of tungsten carbide, steel and lead over something that can be defeated by a foggy day. The promises of DEWs are enormous, but we’re not there yet.