4 ms·
We need one that uses lasers
by beamatronic 7y ago
We need one that uses lasers
- joombaga 7y agoWhy? Are lasers hard to "jam" (I'm using quotes because it seems weird to use "jam" with optical media, but maybe that's just me)?
- tonyarkles 7y agoNot to be too cynical, but it’d be pretty straightforward to at least tell where the ground-based terminals are if they’re shooting lasers into the sky. Not sure if laser-based systems use IR or UV or what (presumably whatever has the least amount of atmospheric attenuation), but airborne cameras could likely pick it up pretty quick. And for the most brutal dictators: laser-guided bombs are already a thing...
- DuskStar 7y agoWhy would an airborne camera be able to pick ground-based lasers up easily? Wouldn't you need to fly directly between the satellite and the ground terminal? Same goes for laser-guided bombs - those home in on where the laser pointer is pointing, not the pointer itself.
- GauntletWizard 7y agoDeflection. It's pretty easy to spot a laser pointed straight up, because it's deflections create a visible trail of the beam. Have you ever shined a laser pointer in a foggy room, or seen the lightshows that do so? That.
- DuskStar 7y agoRight, but presumably you'd be using a wavelength that's scattered a bit less than that.
- debatem1 7y agoRemember that you don't jam transmitters, you jam receivers. Blinding an on-orbit receiver is easy regardless of whether you use lasers or radio because you know exactly where it has to be at any given time.