3 ms·

> The air poses another problem: it absorbs light. In fact, a high enough powered laser can cause the air itself to break down into a ragged line of plasma. I’v

by eof 16y ago

> The air poses another problem: it absorbs light. In fact, a high enough powered laser can cause the air itself to break down into a ragged line of plasma. I’ve seen this in the lab and it is awesome. Badass. edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeqIZyUMDP4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeqIZyUMDP4

quanticle 16y ago
I mentioned lightning earlier and that’s relevant here. There is a way to make use of the “plasma issue”, because plasmas conduct electricity. So in theory it would be possible to use a laser as a long-distance taser! The laser would first create a conduit of plasma out of the air, and then with a high enough voltage, an electric shock could be send down the plasma to the target. This would not be a subtle weapon: at this point the lightning analogy is not really an analogy anymore. It would basically be a lightning gun, and would make a noise to match. I thought I was being really clever when I thought of this, but it turns out I’m not the first: the US military has experimented with them. So we don't get lasers but we do get plasma cannon/particle beams/PPCs? I'm okay with that.
- khafra 16y ago
  I've thought about making a lightning gun that way, before. Unfortunately, a CO2 laser powerful enough to cause dielectric breakdown of air over a useable distance is inconvenient to carry; and then making sure the electricity gets grounded through the target instead of the gun's wielder is tricky too.
- nolite 16y ago
  Hmmm... so controlled dielectric breakdown with lasers... Use E-fields from lightning to produce gamma rays via http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/lightning-antimatter-physics/ http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/lightning-antimatt... collect positrons with a magnetic bottle. Finish with big jars of antimatter. I wonder...

3 ms·

> The air poses another problem: it absorbs light. In fact, a high enough powered laser can cause the air itself to break down into a ragged line of plasma. I’v

by eof 16y ago

quanticle 16y ago
I mentioned lightning earlier and that’s relevant here. There is a way to make use of the “plasma issue”, because plasmas conduct electricity. So in theory it would be possible to use a laser as a long-distance taser! The laser would first create a conduit of plasma out of the air, and then with a high enough voltage, an electric shock could be send down the plasma to the target. This would not be a subtle weapon: at this point the lightning analogy is not really an analogy anymore. It would basically be a lightning gun, and would make a noise to match. I thought I was being really clever when I thought of this, but it turns out I’m not the first: the US military has experimented with them. So we don't get lasers but we do get plasma cannon/particle beams/PPCs? I'm okay with that.
- khafra 16y ago
  I've thought about making a lightning gun that way, before. Unfortunately, a CO2 laser powerful enough to cause dielectric breakdown of air over a useable distance is inconvenient to carry; and then making sure the electricity gets grounded through the target instead of the gun's wielder is tricky too.
- nolite 16y ago
  Hmmm... so controlled dielectric breakdown with lasers... Use E-fields from lightning to produce gamma rays via http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/lightning-antimatter-physics/ http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/lightning-antimatt... collect positrons with a magnetic bottle. Finish with big jars of antimatter. I wonder...