RE: Laser Weapons

On Tuesday, January 29, 2002 3:13 PM, John Crimmins
[SMTP:johncrim@voicenet.com] wrote:
> At 08:11 PM 1/28/02 -0500, you wrote:
> >I can buy a laser as an anti-tank weapon.  I really have to
> >suspend disbelief in the anti-creature category.  The massive
> >energy required is much better used throwing small pieces of
> >mass at your opponent or prey.

> Here we go: "And forget the business of beam weapons making cauterized
> wounds -- these beam weapons are tuned to the harmonic frequency of
the
> body's water, causing instant steam explosions that blow great bloody
> chunks out of people."  (From his adaptation of his book _Hardwired_
to
the
> Cyberpunk RPG.)
> 
> Dunno the physics, never claimed to -- I was an English major, by gum!
--
> but would/could this work?  Would the beam have to hit bare flesh
directly?

>From my limited physics knowledge, and what I remember of the Cyberpunk
RPG,
I think the energy weapons were more along the lines of concentrated
microwaves (maybe with a laser carrier beam for accuracy).  Microwaves
would
certainly produce steam explosions when enough energy was applied.

I have heard stories of electronic techs / electricians who decided it
was
nice and warm in front of the microwave radio transmitter dish and were
found the next day neatly cooked through (from other sparkies in the
industry).

Brendan