4 ms·

> The original construction of the runway was done over two years and accomplished using a laser cutter We live in science fiction.

foobarbecue 6y ago
This must be a mistranslation or something. They would have used a laser for surveying but there's no way they used a laser to cut any ice -- that just doesn't make physical sense.
- mhh__ 6y ago
  Could you not use a IR laser to gradually engrave the pattern into the ice from afar? Practically it seems dangerous and a waste of money but in principle...
  - foobarbecue 6y ago
    Well, you'd have to heat it faster than the heat conducts away through the ice, so that's a bigger heat flux than you can easily deliver with em radiation. You're doing a big area if you want a runway so you'd probably be better off with a floodlight than a laser. And you're just gonna melt the ice to water so you probably want a pump or something to remove the water.
- perl4ever 6y ago
  Here's a claim of some sort of Russian laser ice cutter from several years ago: https://www.rbth.com/science_and_tech/2015/05/14/laser-equipped_icebreakers_could_appear_in_russian_arctic_46005.html https://www.rbth.com/science_and_tech/2015/05/14/laser-equip...
0_____0 6y ago
It's not clear what they mean by this. Is it an actual laser doing the cutting? Or a traditional implement guided or verified by a laser (to my ears more plausible)?
- stergios 6y ago
  My guess is they used something akin to a laser level to identify the high and low spots. Then you grade down the highs and fill in the lows with the machines.
unwind 6y ago
Like other commenters, I unfortunately don't think that's true. The Wikipedia [1] page says: To build a permanent airfield at Troll, the Norwegian Polar Institute bought a snow groomer and a tracked vehicle with a snow blower, flatbed and ice cutter. The works was organized with a land-based Global Positioning System laser system. So that might very well be where the idea that the actual cutting was done using laser came from. I wasn't able to quickly goog up some example of what it probably was (an accessory on some kind of tracked heavy equipment), but perhaps someone else knows? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_Airfield https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_Airfield
- michaelt 6y ago
  They probably mean a laser-based "grade control system" - such as the Trimble GCS900, CAT Accugrade and similar. The idea is, instead of having the heavy equipment operator move some dirt then someone following with survey equipment and telling him he removed too much or too little, the survey equipment is mounted right on the blade/bucket and automatically gets the height right on the first pass.
  - jcrawfordor 6y ago
    In this video an excavator operator explains the use of a very simple laser grading system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sklWQQGnC4o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sklWQQGnC4o And of course there are much more sophisticated systems available including automated control of the blade. Pretty much standard equipment on any construction project today.

foobarbecue 6y ago

This must be a mistranslation or something. They would have used a laser for surveying but there's no way they used a laser to cut any ice -- that just doesn't make physical sense.

mhh__ 6y ago
Could you not use a IR laser to gradually engrave the pattern into the ice from afar? Practically it seems dangerous and a waste of money but in principle...
- foobarbecue 6y ago
  Well, you'd have to heat it faster than the heat conducts away through the ice, so that's a bigger heat flux than you can easily deliver with em radiation. You're doing a big area if you want a runway so you'd probably be better off with a floodlight than a laser. And you're just gonna melt the ice to water so you probably want a pump or something to remove the water.
perl4ever 6y ago
Here's a claim of some sort of Russian laser ice cutter from several years ago: https://www.rbth.com/science_and_tech/2015/05/14/laser-equipped_icebreakers_could_appear_in_russian_arctic_46005.html https://www.rbth.com/science_and_tech/2015/05/14/laser-equip...

0_____0 6y ago

It's not clear what they mean by this. Is it an actual laser doing the cutting? Or a traditional implement guided or verified by a laser (to my ears more plausible)?

stergios 6y ago
My guess is they used something akin to a laser level to identify the high and low spots. Then you grade down the highs and fill in the lows with the machines.

unwind 6y ago

Like other commenters, I unfortunately don't think that's true. The Wikipedia [1] page says: To build a permanent airfield at Troll, the Norwegian Polar Institute bought a snow groomer and a tracked vehicle with a snow blower, flatbed and ice cutter. The works was organized with a land-based Global Positioning System laser system. So that might very well be where the idea that the actual cutting was done using laser came from. I wasn't able to quickly goog up some example of what it probably was (an accessory on some kind of tracked heavy equipment), but perhaps someone else knows? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_Airfield https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_Airfield

michaelt 6y ago
They probably mean a laser-based "grade control system" - such as the Trimble GCS900, CAT Accugrade and similar. The idea is, instead of having the heavy equipment operator move some dirt then someone following with survey equipment and telling him he removed too much or too little, the survey equipment is mounted right on the blade/bucket and automatically gets the height right on the first pass.
- jcrawfordor 6y ago
  In this video an excavator operator explains the use of a very simple laser grading system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sklWQQGnC4o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sklWQQGnC4o And of course there are much more sophisticated systems available including automated control of the blade. Pretty much standard equipment on any construction project today.