3 ms·

Probably a silly question, but would it be even remotely feasible to bounce a ground- or ship-based laser off a drone-mounted mirror? Pretty sure the obstacles

by mrec 11y ago

Probably a silly question, but would it be even remotely feasible to bounce a ground- or ship-based laser off a drone-mounted mirror? Pretty sure the obstacles to positioning the drone/mirror precisely enough (and keeping the mirror clean enough) would be insurmountable, but couldn't help wondering.

Retric 11y ago
Only in the rube Goldberg sense of a ridiculously inefficient system. Also, if you can build a mirror to bounce the laser you can use that same mirror to protect the target. But, N beams and N mirrors sidesteps this issue. PS: An amusing idea is to use a fleet of drones with mirrors to cook the target using sunlight.
- gliese1337 11y ago
  Also, if you can build a mirror to bounce the laser you can use that same mirror to protect the target. Not necessarily. The attacker controls the focal distance of the laser. If they are using a mirror offensively, they can adjust the focal distance to ensure that flux is not destructively high at the location of the relay mirror, but is at the target. If you are trying to use the same mirror defensively, the attacker can simply consider that mirror to be a new armor target that needs to be destroyed before they can get at you, and adjust their focus to create unsurvivable flux at the mirror surface.
  - Retric 11y ago
    To be clear, I did not mean that as a total defense. Still mirrors can be useful in combination with other things. For example the target can use a high deflection angle to disperse the beam. AKA you beam's intensity is sin X and as it covers 1 / (sin X) area. So full intensity = 90 degrees, and at 10 degrees your down to 17.4% intensity. For something like a Mortar rotation can also be a significant benefit.
cli 11y ago
The article states that the firm MBDA in Germany had helped to show that reflective armour, at least with mirrors, is not a good defense against lasers, as >any dust on the mirrored surface would get burned in, and lead to the destruction of the target even faster than with a non-reflective surface.

by mrec 11y ago

Retric 11y ago

Only in the rube Goldberg sense of a ridiculously inefficient system. Also, if you can build a mirror to bounce the laser you can use that same mirror to protect the target. But, N beams and N mirrors sidesteps this issue. PS: An amusing idea is to use a fleet of drones with mirrors to cook the target using sunlight.

gliese1337 11y ago
Also, if you can build a mirror to bounce the laser you can use that same mirror to protect the target. Not necessarily. The attacker controls the focal distance of the laser. If they are using a mirror offensively, they can adjust the focal distance to ensure that flux is not destructively high at the location of the relay mirror, but is at the target. If you are trying to use the same mirror defensively, the attacker can simply consider that mirror to be a new armor target that needs to be destroyed before they can get at you, and adjust their focus to create unsurvivable flux at the mirror surface.
- Retric 11y ago
  To be clear, I did not mean that as a total defense. Still mirrors can be useful in combination with other things. For example the target can use a high deflection angle to disperse the beam. AKA you beam's intensity is sin X and as it covers 1 / (sin X) area. So full intensity = 90 degrees, and at 10 degrees your down to 17.4% intensity. For something like a Mortar rotation can also be a significant benefit.

cli 11y ago

The article states that the firm MBDA in Germany had helped to show that reflective armour, at least with mirrors, is not a good defense against lasers, as >any dust on the mirrored surface would get burned in, and lead to the destruction of the target even faster than with a non-reflective surface.