Re: Colonists and Weapons

Granted, every word.

However...  :)	I was trying to give an example of a concussive force 
generated by a laser.  Not that this exact technique would do it in
other 
circumstances, just that it can be done someway somehow.  If you can do
it 
one way, there's often other ways to do it too... :)

Besides, it's really cool, and at least somewhat germane.  :)

Rand.

At 10:06 PM 1/31/02 -0500, you wrote:

>Randall L Joiner wrote:
>
> > As for stopping power, again, I'll point to research going on right
> > now.  There's research going on for use of a ground based laser to
propel a
> > satellite into orbit.  Quick and dirty, it hits the bottom of the
craft and
> > super heats the air under it, expanding air pushes the satellite up.
 This
> > is done with today's lasers.  With tomorrows lasers, and a bit of
research,
> > we may find that this concept could be used in a laser gun.  So,
super
> > heated air such that it "explodes" (not correct usage, I know, done
for
> > effect... :) right on top of someone...  Concussion, burning...
> >
>
>Unfortunately for weapons production, the vessel to be propelled
conspires
>mightily with the laser to produce the superheated air that blasts it
upwards
>into space.  The bottom of the craft is designed to be illuminated from

>below and
>focus all of the incident light into a tight ring around the aerospike
nozzle
>that guarantees thermal blooming at the target.  The laser itself is a
very
>boring, garden variety laser (all be it, much more powerful than a
laser
>pointer), with no particularily unusual features.  It should surprise
no 
>one that
>tank designers do not design the precise vehicles that the laser
designers 
>want
>to shoot at.