You know how you get conventional Laser pointer things. Is it theoretically possible to create a laser which can, in true, "James Bond" stylee, slice through things? or say (kill a sheep from 100ft ).
It is theoretically possible, but it wouldnt be portable and it would produce an incredible amount of heat.
interesting...it'd be possible to put it in, lets say, a boeing 747 right? even more interesting... and what is the max distance then?
it could possibly be portable if you had a, for instance, air to electrical energy converter or something, and if you could build the parts small enough (which undoubtedly in the future, there will be small enough parts!). Or some other kind of something to electrical energy converter!. Or chemical energy might be good! It would be so cool is "phasers" like the ones in star trek were created. I reacon, that if its possible to create a beam, then they are possible. Do you know what level of lasers we are at now ? i.e. can they burn things, and stuf liek that ?
well, I've heard that we already have lasers that can cut throught meters thick steel, or are used for surgical operations. the ones that cut through steel are as big as a 8-wheel truck tho
I can't remember the link, but the US government have developed a laser system to shoot shells out of the air. its tank-mounted by the way...
I think you could put it in a big plane, but then the distance would be too great unless you were flying quite low. The heat would still be an extreme problem and you might end up blowing yourself up rather than whoever is at the other end
Don't think the lasers on that need to be too powerful, so you wouldnt need it to be large and wouldnt need all that much cooling
cool! Well, about 30-40 years ago they needed a machine that big to create what we now have in laser pens and i expect now physics to go faster in terms of advancement, since physicists are starting to get over this "its impossible" feeling they seem to have got from the last long time. Although they still think the periodic table is complete (which i disagree with completele, as well as them thinking generally there is no more intelligent life forms in the universe).
well the heat should be able to exit the plane quiet easily with the use of holes in it everywhere? As a plane has a fairly high speed and so the air would go through it with a high velocity and thus taking lots of warmt with it... I wonder if Bill Gates doesn't has some very weird/expensive toys to play with, like a laser or something... he has the money to buy it, right? I'd build a laser-plane instantly if I had as much money as he has, and then flying around, burning people I hate and don't hate... and they won't know what hit em
I tihnk what he means is it would melt whatever is making the beam. I agree in some terms. The beam would have to be extremele hot as that is the basis as how it does destroy/cut things. Titanium shells and air/water/coolant jets would be essential for such scaling of laser. However, current electronic components would have to be massively shielded to withstand that kind of heat. TTL and CMOS would burn straight away at the kind of heat being generated! and as for the emitter, it would have to be like the hull of the space shuttle
Well if you would like to waste your money and try, www.amazing1.com has plans to build powerful lasers.
I wanna build one myself if anything, certainly not pay someone else to make one for me! And I dont wanna know how to build one now, i wanna get all excited about the possibility of being able to make one
Laser cutting machines are actually available to anyone who wants to shell out the 5 figures to buy one. As for the phasers. Phasers and blasters (a la Star Wars) are based on plasma technology. Plasma is a charged gas and in concept weaponry the idea is to accelerate the plasma down the weapon barrel in the same manner as a traditional gun.
so as far as star trek phasers go they are very very the future of weaponary ? cooooool !!!! i have heard nothing but good things about plasma and its usefullness in space. A theory of getting to other galaxys (which i saw on discovery channel) means they can use plasma to power ships accross the galaxy. However, the general reasoning behind things not being able to go faster than light, is that you need something moving faster than it to propell the machine in the first place. However, stephen hawking says you can go faster than light in the terms of a wheel! Imagine if you will a big motor with a big round wheel on top. Now this motor (completele theory) has a effiency of %99.99999999999999. i.e. VERY HIGH INDEED. and it is powering a wheel. The motor goes at near to the speed of light, cause its one kickass motor right. The ceneter of the wheel travels at the same speed, but the outside of the wheel travels a farther distance in total than light could in the same time. Now, if you put light emitters on the sides of this wheel, would it not be light a light "torpedo" and thus propel whatever it wants to faster than light. Although, hahaha! Light (photons) are very weak in terms of what they push, so thetes just pretents out big wheel on a brilliant motor is trying to push a kiwi accross space! Could this be possible. The stephen hawking thing i only got a glance of as i flicked through my dads christmas present (which my mum wont let me read) but it all seems pretty alright, presuming the materials are capable of such velocities!
I believe plasma weaponry has actually been developed (but liek any technology in it's early stages, it's hh0000000000jj). All sorts of previously believed things about light and the universe are now being turned upside down, so who knows.
Unlike most physicisits, i belive everything is possible (not syaing im a physicist), and with the forthcoming of quantum physics, we are just begginnign to see the big picture quantum computers are beling developed which will not only give you the answer, they will know it before you ask it. What they are currently having problems with this is that the electrons in the quantum state cannot touch/connect, whatever with other electrons in another state, in which case its gonna be difficult to make a quantum CPU (as such). personally i would like to see it in a little hovering ball which has a slight hum to it, and glows when it does something special As for this plasma technology, sound spretty good unless they use it on russia, or iraq or somewhere, moreover use it to enhance the human race but thats what the guy who invented the atom bomb was trying to do! hey ho! Maybe this time they will make something just for the, "wow" value!
Yea, I've never understood some scientist's inability to learn the simplest of lessons. Just because they seem to know it all, it doesn't mean something isn't about to come along and turn all that upside down. History should teach us that.
To my knowledge most scientist ARE trying to turn around current thinking, IE desgining quatum computers, building space elevators, making Laser powered spaceships, or Solar Wind powered ships etc... Just because current thinking is that we can't travel faster than light doesn't mean people are trying the bend the rules. Haven't you heard of Hyperspace? That's the name given to the space OUTSIDE our universe - and all the other millions of universes. And don't you know about the 11th dimension? . And since when have we stopped thinking that there's extra-terrestrial life? I expect that's one of the reasons NASA are sending people to mars and probes to Europa..... I like this thread. No idea what it has to do with Electronics though
