Could you really pop a house-sized batch of popcorn with a laser beam like a fiendish band of tech geeks did in the movie Real Genius? Will we ever have lightsabers like Luke Skywalker? Who will fulfill Dr. Evil’s simple request to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads? Real-life laser weapons are slowly making their way from the laboratory to the battlefield, whether underwater, in space, on the ground, or shooting down missiles from the air. Still, they are far from being agile or easy to handle. A laser weapons engineer sheds light, so to speak, on the sober life of military laser weapons research and why the ultimate laser weapon remains a Hollywood and military fantasy…for now.
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Laser weapons
1. Where’s My Laser Shark? Laser
Weapons Demystified
Nerd Nite
November 12, 2010
Olivia Koski
2. The Ultimate Laser Weapon
“Now all we have to do is build it.” – Real Genius (1985)
http://www.oliviakoski.com
3. Incoherent Versus Coherent Light
50 Watt bulb = harmless
50 Watt laser = DANGER!
Irradiance = Power / Area
Dime radius = 0.895 cm
Irradiance = 50 Watts* / p r2
Safest exposure for
1 second of green beam = 0.03 J/cm2 20 W/cm2 or 20 J/cm2 for 1 second
For a focused beam at 0.05 cm,
that’s 6,366 J/cm2
*Laser Weapon = 100,000 W OUCH!
http://www.oliviakoski.com
5. What Do You Mean By Laser?
Chemical Lasers
Free Electron Lasers
(Requires Particle Accelerator)
Jefferson Laboratory
Gas Laser (like Helium-Neon)
http://www.oliviakoski.com
6. What Do You Mean By Laser?
The chemical laser is the most
powerful laser weapon
Solid state lasers weapons are
more compact but less powerful
than chemical laser weapons
Textron
Northrop Grumman
http://www.oliviakoski.com
7. Some Quick Laser Physics
E = mc2
DE = hn = hc/l
h = Plank’s constant
v = frequency
l= wavelength
c = the speed of light
DE = hn
http://www.oliviakoski.com
8. How to Build a Laser
LASER = Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission Radiation
Get a laser rod (your gain medium)
Add pump powerPut on your laser
goggles
Put mirrors around itPut mirrors around it
http://www.oliviakoski.com
11. The Real-life Missile Shoot Down
The Airborne Laser Shot down a missile on February 11, 2010 off the coast of California
http://www.oliviakoski.com
12. A Flaw in the Laser Science of Real Genius
The real Airborne Laser is actually invisible (1315 nm)
http://www.oliviakoski.com
13. Ray Guns versus Light Sabers
When was the last time soldiers had a sword fight?
Soldiers still shoot at each other all the time.
http://www.oliviakoski.com
14. An Elegant Weapon For A More Civilized Age?
“Not as clumsy or random as a blaster.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi
http://www.oliviakoski.com
15. A laser makes a much better gun than a sword.
Just saying.
But there are still major flaws in the laser science of Star Wars:
silly noises and random visible wavelengths
http://www.oliviakoski.com
16. The U.S. Air Force Built a Non-Lethal Laser Gun
Personnel Halting and Stimulation
Response Rifle (PHaSR)
Low power Infrared and Visible lasers
It will not hurt you, but it will startle
you temporarily
“PHaSR, or Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response, is a rifle sized
counter personnel nonlethal laser weapon system. PHaSR achieves the
desired degree of protection through the synergistic application of two
non-lethal laser wavelengths during the course of protection activities
that will deter, prevent, or mitigate an adversary’s effectiveness. The
laser light from PHaSR temporarily impairs aggressors by “dazzling”
them with one wavelength. The second wavelength causes a repel
effect that discourages advancing aggressors.” –U.S. Air Force
http://www.oliviakoski.com
17. This is not an elegant weapon for a more civilized age
1 Watt 445 nm made by
Wicked Laser - $300
But it can hurt you!
Especially your eyes – wear goggles!
No plans to issue these to soldiers any time soon.
It’s a novelty.
http://www.oliviakoski.com
18. Okay, so what about those laser sharks?
http://www.oliviakoski.com
19. Seriously, It Wouldn’t Be That Difficult.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-lees/134610871/in/photostream/
500 mW green laser for $2000
1. Buy a green laser
2. Design a head piece
3. Hire a trained professional to attach it to the shark*
* I don’t actually recommend doing this but it is
technically quite possible http://www.oliviakoski.com
20. How Well Would The Shark’s Laser Move
Through Water?
Hot air makes giraffes look all wonky because
it acts like a bunch of little tiny lenses.
FACT: Light interacts with matter
Water absorbs light
green ~ 510 nm
High Absorption
Low Absorption
Green is not a bad choice
for a shark laser
http://www.oliviakoski.com
21. But Lasers Are Perfect For Space
There is less pesky matter in space to mess up your laser
http://www.oliviakoski.com
22. Lasers In Space, Underwater, or In the Air Are
Still Dangerous To Your Eyes
Always wear your goggles!
Danger Zone
400 nm 1400 nm
Light penetrates eyeball,
can damage the retina
light is absorbed
by cornea, lens
light is absorbed
by cornea, lens
http://www.oliviakoski.com
23. The Most Important Thing About A Laser Weapon
Is Power On Target
It’s all about
Beam
Quality
Good Laser
Bad Laser
Bad Laser
http://www.oliviakoski.com
24. This Is What Happens When BQ Is Good
Boeing’s Advanced Tactical Laser lights the hood of a truck on fire
http://www.oliviakoski.com
25. Why Laser Weapons Are Like Ninjas
Invisible
Silent
Deadly
http://www.oliviakoski.com
26. Thanks!
http://www.oliviakoski.com
Learn About 3D Printing:
http://www.makerbot.com
Follow me on twitter:
http://twitter.com/oliviakoski
Find out what Nerds in New York do
from the Urban Scientist:
http://www.scienceline.org/
A special thanks to all of the Laser Safety Officers out there and all of
my colleagues and friends in Boulder, Boston, and Sunnyvale
http://www.oliviakoski.com
28. Eye damage
• 180–315 nm (UV-B, UV-C) photokeratitis (inflammation
of the cornea, equivalent to sunburn)
• 315–400 nm (UV-A) photochemical cataract (clouding
of the eye lens)
• 400–780 nm (visible) photochemical damage to the
retina, retinal burn
• 780–1400 nm (near-IR) cataract, retinal burn
• 1.4–3.0μm (IR) aqueous flare (protein in the aqueous
humour), cataract, corneal burn
• 3.0 μm–1 mm corneal burn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety
http://www.oliviakoski.com
29. Maximum permissable exposure as a function of wavelength
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IEC60825_MPE_J_s.png
http://www.oliviakoski.com
Hinweis der Redaktion
http://plaza.ufl.edu/dwhahn/LaserPhoto5.jpg
https://kepler.njit.edu/arch583662-003f07/Assignment%201/Dahlgren,%20Mattias/Breaking%20the%20lightbulb%20Movie.jpg
MPE = maximum permissable exposure
Lightbulb: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clagnut/2865788674/
Semiconductor laser courtesy of Sony: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/technology/technology/theme/laser_diode_01.html
He-Ne laser: http://www.piqs.de/fotos/25013.html
http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/abl/assets/lgm_ABLMod2_031hr.jpg
Planck's constant = 6.626068 × 10-34 m2 kg / s
Light transmission through a water sample is determined by physical properties such as particle size, shape, SSC, and composition, and chemical properties such as the presence of NIR-absorbing dissolved matter. There is enormous variation in these properties in the environment, resulting in a nearly infinite number of unique optical characteristics for natural and man-influenced water, however, consistent light transmission through a water sample is essential for precise measurements. Suspended sediment concentration and particle size span a 1000-fold range while NIR reflectivity varies by a factor of about 10. The absorption of light by dissolved matter can affect light-scattering measurements by 10 to 50% in runoff from mine tailings. Since lack of understanding of these properties can lead to misinterpretation of SSC values determined with an optical sensor, we review their effects in the following sections and address specific effects in answers to other FAQs about size, color, disaggregation effects.
Laser radiation predominantly causes injury via thermal effects. Even moderately powered lasers can cause injury to the eye. High power lasers can also burn the skin. Some lasers are so powerful that even the diffuse reflection from a surface can be hazardous to the eye. Infrared lasers are particularly hazardous, since the body's protective "blink reflex" response is triggered only by visible light. For example, some people exposed to high power Nd:YAG laser emitting invisible 1064 nm radiation, may not feel pain or notice immediate damage to their eyesight. A pop or click noise emanating from the eyeball may be the only indication that retinal damage has occurred i.e. the retina was heated to over 100 °C resulting in localized explosive boiling accompanied by the immediate creation of a permanent blind spot.[2]
http://www.jimonlight.com/2009/10/16/boeings-advanced-tactical-laser-shoots-cars-in-the-hood/
Boeing advanced tactical laser. COIL, scaled down ABL