Re: Lasers can't be defended against?

Popeyesays@aol.com wrote:
> << Heh.  I remember in the old E.E."Doc" Smith LENSMAN novels
>     (circa 1940) they use magnesium "star shells" in their space
>     battles, in order to illuminate the combatants in the
>     darkness of deep space.
>   >>
> "Doc"'s PhD was in Agricultural Chemistry - not physics.

	But he was on the right track.
	If putting a searchlight on your ship makes the ship a
	big fat target, you put searchlights on expendable drones
	that can move away from your ship then illuminate the
	battle area.

	Not only that, something like a star shell would be
	harder for the enemy to extinguish than a mechanical
	search light.  (trouble is, it is unidirectional.
	Therefore it could very well illuminate *you* as well)