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Using Microwaves to Drill Through Glass

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the hot-stuff dept.

Linux_ho writes "UPI is reporting that Israeli researchers have developed a drill that can melt a small hole in glass, ceramics, or concrete with no dust or noise. Nature.com reports that it doesn't work very well with good heat conductors or materials with very high melting points, but the researchers envision a wide variety of manufacturing applications, and possibly some medical uses as well."

5 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. Military applications by *Pres* · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I suppose it also melts through bunkers and armoured vehicles?

    1. Re:Military applications by sirius_bbr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I suppose it also melts through bunkers and armoured vehicles?

      I agree on the concrete bunkers, but I don't think it would work on armoured vehicles (assuming the armor is some sort of metal), since the article states it only works on non-conductive materials.

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    2. Re:Military applications by Mr.Sharpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well I think for anti-tank use, i don't think it would have to make a very big hole, or even a hole at all. All it needs to do is make a small hole of irregular shape, or even just weaken the armour in the impact location. If the armour loses its integrity in one spot, the area around that spot will fail if it is struck.

      If this device could be made small/cheap enough, think of this in the end of a missle or bomb, softening it's target as it approaches. Or more reusable, this along side the targeting laser for laser guided bombs.

  2. Not quite by jukal · · Score: 4, Insightful
    By heating a target to nearly 2,000 C, the microwaves soften it up enough for a small rod to be pushed through

    So, the article was a bit misleading as the microwaves are not enough to go through.

  3. Re:Max Depth? by AlecC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As I read the article, below 1/4 wave, the drill bit behaved more like a hosepipe - microwave frequency oscillations in the conducting drill bit produce an intense microwave field just beyoind the point of the bit - probably using the Near Field bits of Maxwell's equations, which I never did understand. Above 1/4 wavelength, the drill bit functions as a tradition aeriel, radiating the energy sideways from the drill bit. It is not that some sort of effect doesn't exist at the end of the bit, it is that far to much energy escapes sideways to make it worthwhile.

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