Re: Laser snipers

> >So, questions for you educated blokes:
> >a. would/could a military laser weapon be invisible/inaudible?  Or
would
it
> >be useless to snipers due to signature?  (assumes a standard Earth
> >atmosphere with no unusual components)
>
> An infra-red laser wouldn't necessarily leave an obvious trail; that's
> about all I can think of.

Does this depend on how much energy you're putting on the target?
(with the implied question: how much is enough?)

> >b. in a zero gee environment, would lasers have *no* recoil?  This
doesn't
> >seem logical because we've talked about a lasers as a ship drive, so
there
> >has to be some recoil....but how much?  Either as compared to a
rifle, or
in
> >SI units.
>
> Trivial. A laser-drive uses _huge_ amounts of energy.

To move a thousand ton ship, yes.  I'm only talking about moving a 100kg