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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
by 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 agoCould 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 agoWell, 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 agoHere'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...