Slashdot Mirror

As the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a uranium bomb, which had never been tested before, the Hiroshima bombing was actually a test. When a team of American scientists visited the devastated ruins of the city shortly after the Japanese surrender, Dr. Masao Tsuzuki, a radiobiologist sarcastically said to Philip Morrison: "I did the experiment some years ago, but it was on rats. But you Americans-you are wonderful. You have made the human experiment".

> The laser pulse is so short and intense that the missile rotation does not matter.

Based on what do you say that? You're directly contradicting all available evidence about the system. For example:

---"It should be made clear at the start what the beam does not do. It does not vaporize or even melt the missile's skin. Instead it heats the skin until whatever internal forces present cause the skin to fail." (link)

---"the main laser is fired for 3 to 5 seconds from a turret located on the aircraft's nose, causing the missile to break up" (link)

---"Once the target "sweet spot" has been designated and the deformable mirror attenuated, the COIL fires, sweeping the target area for several seconds until the enemy missile's heated casing ruptures" (link)

Basically, all evidence suggests you're flat-out wrong: the ABL takes at least several seconds to destroy a target, which is enough time for a rotating target to spread the beam over a wide area. Unless the ground tests have been against rotating targets---which does not seem to be the case based on the photos in the links---rotating targets are likely to significantly affect the viability of the system.

http://www.thespacereview.com/article/368/1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1718125.st m
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1862779.st m
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/jul2001/spac-j25 .shtml
http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_44a.html
http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/fa/fa_mayjune01a.html
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/22/163821 2&tid=215
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/2 5/1356202&tid=160
http://slashdot.org/articles/04/12/16/1324209.shtm l?tid=126&tid=103
and in particular : http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/12/01/122620 7&mode=thread&tid=103&tid=126&tid=99&threshold=-1

just what i found with a little effort....

With the Threat of EMP using relatively low tech delivery methods well documented:

http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/sa/sa_oct00ghc01.html

the Air Force is compelled to understand and defend CyberSpace wherever US interests are affected. - T

The education of public opinion being, however, a matter of such grave import to the common good, the State shall endeavour to ensure that organs of public opinion, such as the radio, the press, the cinema, while preserving their rightful liberty of expression, including criticism of Government policy, shall not be used to undermine public order or morality or the authority of the State.

The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.

...probably quite similar to China's not so secret plan to bomb Los Angeles.