3 ms·
In general, at the power levels in question the limiting factor is diffraction, not beam quality. There are a lot of variables going into it, but the numbers I'
by azernik 8y ago
In general, at the power levels in question the limiting factor is diffraction, not beam quality. There are a lot of variables going into it, but the numbers I've seen bandied about for orbital systems are on the order of 100km. See e.g. here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1000936114001010 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S100093611...
(Or, for a more speculative take, here: https://childrenofadeadearth.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/the-photon-lance/ https://childrenofadeadearth.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/the-ph...)