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Chinese Scientists Have Developed the World's First Destructive Laser Rifle (popsci.com)
PopularScience: Chinese scientists have developed the world's first destructive, man-portable laser weapon. However, there is more to the story of this cool looking, but "less than lethal" directed energy device. The laser rifle is the ZKZM-500, developed by Xian Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics in Xian, Shaanxi. It's manufactured by the Institute's subsidiary, ZKZM Laser. Weighing at 6 pounds (about the weight of a typical assault rifle), the ZKZM-500 has a range of 2,600 feet. The ZKZM-500 uses a lithium battery with enough power for 1000 two second shots (keep in mind, those 1000 shots may not be at full power). According to Institute designers, its laser is powerful enough to instantly scar human skin and tissue. It can also ignite clothing, knock a small drone out of the sky, or even ignite a fuel tank. That would place its power output around 100-500 watts (most surgical lasers top out at 100 watts).
Wow you can predict precisely where the laser will hit and have the mirror at the ready? Or you're simply walking down the battlefield with a full dress mirror??
Mostly random stuff.
Wow, it's almost like you picked up on my sarcasm.
Mostly random stuff.
http://www.wickedlasers.com/
Seriously?!
Defeated by a simple mirror.
Trying to deflect random laser small-arms fire with some sort of wearable or man-portable mirror system is...sub-optimal.
All you really need is shark repellent. :)
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
when they get up to the 40 watt phased plasma rifles.
Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
these are 10-15W Max portable lasers, this thing is probably 100-500W.
You can buy solid state lasers with 15-20 W output on Chinese sites that run on 12v, most laser engravers have that kind of power.
https://www.banggood.com/445-450nm-15W-Blue-Laser-Module-Mark-On-Metal-for-DIY-Laser-Engraver-Machine-p-1137779.html?rmmds=search&stayold=1&cur_warehouse=CN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzUoe-9bKa0
Likely you are a troll, but a laser will happily burn through a mirror. Depending on the wavelength and the makeup of the "mirror" not all that much power is needed.
Yeah, that's a helpful reply.
Mostly random stuff.
"enough to instantly scar human skin and tissue" very effective against "model armies" - if you know what I mean ;)
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
The original video since the Popsci article doesn't care to provide a link:
https://www.scmp.com/video/offbeat/2153779/chinese-star-wars-laser-weapon-appears-set-fire-objects-distance
If those droplets are constantly in motion due to the use of a high pressure fine mister and are hence being replaced continiously, that could be an effective shield.
Unlikely. Whatever speed the mister can push the droplets out in is insignificant compared to that of light speed.
The laser will vaporize the droplets instantly and there is no way you can get the mist to move in fast enough to matter.
You would do better with ashes or a small sandstorm or anything else that is harder to burn through.
From the description in looks like it would be pretty useless against traditional body armor so the trick is to just treat it as if someone shoots at you with a musket. Avoid being hit in the face, modern armor will protect you just fine, and shoot back before they manage to hit anything important.
Sounds like the more useful application would be to mount it on some automatic aiming device and use it to take down drones, but the range is a bit low for that.
I think it needs a couple of iterations before it can find a niche where it is better than a regular bullet.
I guess it is a bit like EMP weapons in that regard. They never really took off since traditional bombs takes out electronics just fine.
That's a great relief, since we all know that making something illegal 100% guarantees it won't be used.
Definitely bullshit. No need to be an optic/photonics nerd to confirm. To give you an idea combat lasers are used today to burn the optics of incoming missiles. And in an experimental setting to boot. Beyond this they are hugely impractical. You also need a huge amount of energy which means a strong electrical generator and a vehicle. There are experiments now to make them work on warships as self defense mechanisms.
So basically news that pretend anyone has made the electrical output of a several thousand of tonnes warship in a man portable outfit are good for teenage rumor sites or clumsy state propaganda agencies like presstv. i wonder how such crud ends up on slashdot.
There are lasers that cut trough steel at impressive speed though. Industrial infrared lasers in big factories. Sometimes powerful waterjets are used to the same effect. But if someone tells you a water pistol can cut people in two, be sceptical.
Besides, i am also a photonics nerd. Not in such high powered application though.
If the US were to steal the designs and market them to the rest of the world?
Fortunately laser rifles are exceptionally effective against straw men.
Only idiots being race into this. Why do you bring up race? It has nothing to do with the fact this isn't real.
All it takes to thwart any laser based weaponry is to come covered in something that reflects and scatters light well.
Try moving around on a sunny day in reflective gear to see how well that works on a battlefield.
There is no independent confirmation of the existence of this rifle. Absolutely none.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Just imagine how fabulous the soldiers will be, covered in sequins.
That's a great relief, since we all know that making something illegal 100% guarantees it won't be used.
That is a version of the feeble libertarian argument that making murder (etc) a crime doesn't 100% stop murders, and therefore laws against murder (etc) are pointless.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
So the mirrored Disco Ball is making a comeback!
The real challenge for military planners is not handheld laser weapons but ground and plane based laser weapons. It isnâ(TM)t necessary for a laser weapon to destroy a plane or a ship. It only needs to take out the external elements of targeting and defensive systems leaving it vulnerable to conventional attack. An Aegis combat system will protect an aircraft carrier against a cruise missile. Chinese and American military planners understands that without a working Aegis system an aircraft carrier is nothing but a large and slow moving target. Laser weapons are a game changer in that situation
Ignite clothing, cause scars, burn and char flesh, instantly permanently blind eyes, and so on, and so forth.
This weapon is much worse than simple killing; I'd say it's a complete flouting of the rules of war. Nice job making it, scientists, but much like the atom bomb, now we have a lasting problem on our hands.
I've seen enough Sci-Fi to know that laser guns are completely inaccurate in the hands of the bad guys- so we needed worry... ... unless we are the bad guys.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Perhaps we are all missing the true end use for these lasers.
Maybe their intended use is to blind night vision devices and infrared cameras.
I read that the Chinese were using lasers to prevent pilots from getting near their bases and the island that they built in the South China Sea.
Perhaps this is an extension of that use.
Surely if the laser is vaporising water droplets it the steam and heater air will cause a large amount of diffraction.
It is prohibited to employ laser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices.
Seeing as most soldiers are trained to shoot at the body centre of mass, you can easily claim that the weapon is to cause physical injury or death (like any other firearm). A weapon that fires tightly confined beam would be useless for trying to blind targets, for that you'd need a weapon that sweeps an area with wide (or rapidly oscillating) beam in order to cover the maximum area.
That's also the opposite of stealth, so your gear would have the choice of being hard to track for guided weapons or hard to destroy with a laser, but not both. We rarely arm our soldiers or equipment with only one weapon system...
You are right. Maybe it's 2 seconds for a sweep shot.
They hooked up one of these to a laptop battery and some capacitors, with a switch as a trigger:
https://www.alibaba.com/produc...
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
I predict scale-armor will make a comeback.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Indeed. And even blinding soldiers is out as they will just wear laser googles. The only useful application of this weapon is to maim civilians.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
No we wouldn't. Because we understand Physics. It has nothing to do with China. Look at those EmDrive idiots: all Americans. It has nothing to do with your country or race. You should grow up.
Depends on the mirror.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
FTA: "The ZKZM-500 has plenty of Chinese predecessors in directed energy weapons. Chinese police and soldiers have long been equipped with 'dazzler' laser rifles. These include PY132A, WGJ-2002 and BBQ-905, which are designed to target the optical imagers and sensors on enemy vehicles, aircraft and drones (since China's signed the United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which bans the use of laser weapons that cause permanent damage to human eyes)."
The OP was likely being sarcastic but let's address this common misconception: a mirror is not a magical shield against laser weaponry. Go investigate some of the issues with powerful ground-based lasers developed for anti-ballistic warfare use. Laser aiming/focusing mirrors routinely blew up because no mirror is a perfect reflector of all energy. It may only absorb a small percentage of what's aimed at it but when you're putting out that much power it doesn't matter; that small percentage is enough. Same goes for us watery meatbags.
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
China has signed the United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which bans the use of laser weapons that cause permanent damage to human eyes.
- The laser module - sure it exists but it is going to be big and need water cooling if it's going to be of any use
- The weight - the module itself for a 500W laser comes in ~5kg. Even if they somehow got the module to fit in the 6kg they claim it weighs, the batteries and watercooling will pack on an additional 6-10kg.
- The power requirements ~0.3 kWh (not accounting for losses from water cooling and other gear), that requires a small motorcycle battery, even if made from Lithium, not something you easily carry around in a 6kg package.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
I predict scale-armor will make a comeback.
I don't, because I predict the laser weapon if it really exists will only see niche operation.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
1955??? In a backpack? The first operational laser was in 1960 in a lab.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/...
Yes, but time travel was invented in 2045.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
No you blithering idiot, it's because they would have to make multiple generational leaps in several separate parts of laser technology in order to be able to get the performance they're claiming.
Fire off smoke rounds or aerial spray and keep the area soaked with haze or mist. Laser = useless.
That will work for the 1st day. What about the 2nd day, when you have run out of smoke rounds?
Or are you assuming infinite logistical depth?
So by employing a certain color of laser, I'm forcing you to dress in clothing that reflects and scatters that color? I guess I'll use a bright red laser then, since that color of clothing will stand out nicely in most landscapes we'll be fighting in.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
This fake story again?
actually you could wear a reflective camouflage, that is, normal camo pattern in a reflective vest ... it would be the middle term between the two, it would reflect most of the laser, but still be hidden enough ... unless the light conditions are exactly behind the shooter... from other angles, it would not make that difference from normal camouflage
Higuita
Wow you can predict precisely where the laser will hit and have the mirror at the ready? Or you're simply walking down the battlefield with a full dress mirror??
Sequined armour dah-ling... Full dress mirrors are so last year.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
you're simply walking down the battlefield with a full dress mirror?
The soldier of the future
Probably risky - if the burning outer layer deposits soot on the mirror, then the laser will heat it rather than being reflected. Doesn't take much heating to disrupt a reflective layer.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
A video of people on a rooftop allegedly setting stuff on fire with a laser proves precisely nothing. Even if a laser is being used, there's zero indication that it is the handheld device that's emitting it.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Although China has signed the UN convention on not producing weapons "intended to blind", I'm guessing that means "as their primary function", since all bigger lasers (included ones fielded by the USA) can burn through solids, so can sure toast your retina in a heartbeat.
These smaller "rifles" would be useless against a well-equipped conventional military force; while you're trying to burn them somewhere (at a 100 yards) they've already shot your balls off at 150...
All it takes to thwart any laser based weaponry is to come covered in something that reflects and scatters light well. The effect of a laser weapon is based upon absorption of the light. Technically if you know what kind of laser it is, the color of your clothing might already be enough.
Only if there's no dust in your clothing, and it is exactly, precisely the same color as the laser, and it is only that color. And if the color is a coating, not molded in, because then the laser will strip away everything but the pigment.
It's a cute sci-fi trope, but the idea that wearing clothing of the correct color is a meaningful defense against a laser weapon is totally incorrect. If you just have a little contamination on a mirror, a laser will destroy it. You think you're going to get clothes to do the job? If that did make any sense, you'd want to wear fully white clothing, because that would reflect all visible frequencies. A flat white surface actually reflects more light than an ordinary mirror, because the light doesn't have to pass through the glass twice before you see it. But it still reflects less than 90% of the light, which means that as long as the remaining 10% is sufficient to discolor the garment, that 90% is going to go downhill rapidly.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Modern wars are not fought between nation-state that have agreed to follow the "Rules of War" and Geneva conventions. Or or more of the participants are terrorists, freedom fighters, Religious Martyrs, warlor5ds, protesters etc
If one side dowan't abide by the rules then the other side will eventually stop obeying them as well.
Probably easier to design something ablative, or something that carbonizes when hit with the laser - essentially leaving behind a highly-heat resistant and insulating carbon layer. The black parts of the space shuttle were made by carbonizing resins (RCC panels). The result would be a ruined, brittle fabric - but it would protect one's skin from the laser.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Only idiots being race into this. Why do you bring up race? (...).
I think you answered your own question...
Besides, this makes me wonder how poor is the background in physics of the editors of a "site for nerds" to publish something like that. I confess my astonishment.
I have seen worse propaganda stints than that, my favourite being the Qaher-313, a mock-up of a "stealth aircraft" that was mercilessly mocked by aviation enthusiasts; The so called "test pilot" could not even enter the cockpit without bending the knees. :D You can google it if you want a bit of fun and time to lose.
But that kind of stuff usually do not go farther than the general purpose press and wikipedia.
Is the opponent not also logistically constrained? The idea that one side could fire lasers at will for an indefinite period of time while the other side does nothing in response except deploy countermeasures is a little strange.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
perfect mirrors that are absolutely clean, will defeat them. Good luck getting them that way on the battle field.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Citizens in a nation don't get as much legal protection as another nations uniformed military.
What police and mil do in their own nation stays in their own legal system.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
The Falklands war had some reports of that too. Low-flying Argentinian pilots on the correct approach path at the correct speed in suddenly failed mid flight.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
China rarely honors treaties, even those that they sign.
In fact, many nations ignore treaties when it is in their advantage. W and Putin are good examples of that.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
so what? China does not honor any treaty.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
A lot of the disadvantages of these go away if there is no air in the way. Could this be a reaction to the "Space Force" announcements?
I'm just thinking the space battle in Moonraker... If all you need to do is to poke a small hole in someones suit...
also, certain kinds of anti missile laser weapons are forbidden according to certain anti-nuclear treaties, but if you want to know what happens when you ignore such treaties investigate the Reagan era 'star wars' program, where the president ordered exactly such a treaty be ignored. "I'm sure you are as familiar with the terrible fallout of that decision as I am, specifically and exactly _nothing_ happened, except of coarse all players become more cynical about he effectiveness of treaties".
Basically any large country can ignore any part of any treaty they feel like with little chance of real consequences.
âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
With an energy rating of 100-500w, the direct hit isn't the only hazard. I used to be a laser safety officer at my employer and a laser of that energy level is a class IV laser, whose beam is hazardous in close proximity. Even if you're not in the direct path, the radiation emitted by a laser beam of that power is hazardous.
Fire that puppy 1000 times and you've absorbed enough radiation that is unhealthy.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
That's why these people made a laser rifle. The rifling causes the photons to have a twisting polarity, which allows them to drill through reflective surfaces.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Try 5 years ago Americans already had one made and operational.
China did not make the worlds first destructive laser rifle. Not even fucking close.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Blinding is also prohibited by the Geneva Convention.
You can have my Laser Rifle when you can pry it from my cold dead hands!
China as a State Party of the Geneva Convention takes it more seriously than most signatories. They hosted the 40th anniversary conference last year.
Well, not a country, just the fake president of a country.
I wish I had mod points for you.
How many people do you think you can get dressed in scales? It's not like there are a who lot of lizard people outside of DC.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
You clearly underestimate how many lizard-people are in the US. All the 1%ers are lizard people. Any non-lizard person who approaches their wealth are quickly stomped down.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Re "weapons at all."
Think of the optics on an event for the media. A line of troops, police aim their laser systems. Nothing happens.
No sound from police lines. None of that 1970 US National Guard media image.
Suddenly the criminals doing a riot have problems in their ranks. Their riot fails as individuals no longer want to riot and everyone knows its time to scatter.
Undercover police and police informants get to keep their cover story as criminals run to escape.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
In this week's episode of, "Queer Eye for the Laser Guy" ...
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Your casual trolling is mediocre, though a few took your bait.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Kilts are for day to day use, for battle you wear a floor length sequined ball gown. The idea is is blind your opponent with opulence.
You made me read his precedent posts and i am afraid he is sincere. Not particularly surprising on the internet. Nor is the moderation.
All it takes to thwart any laser based weaponry is to come covered in something that reflects and scatters light well.
Try moving around on a sunny day in reflective gear to see how well that works on a battlefield.
Try using smoke which is already used to mask tactical troop movements and line of sight.
Wow you can predict precisely where the laser will hit and have the mirror at the ready?
"After reflection, the enemy succumbed" -- Bullard: Tales of the Patrol
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
Of course those deposits absorb the laser energy, which causes them to heat up, and a sudden spot with a high temperature difference on most materials that high reflectivity mirrors are made of will break under those conditions.
Also, a low quality mirror doesn't work so well with higher power lasers. I talked to the guys at the local university who were demonstrating a laser that has a loud pop noise when fired (the beam is enough to instantly ionize the air and cause a mini thunderclap), and they told me about trying to use a regular hand mirror with that laser. Let's just say it didn't work and they needed a new hand mirror.
Black increases it's absorption, and thus heats up, which isn't good for the human underneath.
;)
Also, much like a diamond, RCC is a rather special material, it's not just a layer of carbonized material.
We do have several ablative materials that have been tested for use against lasers, but I don't have any details on those.
However, the better armors and their inserts can alread protect reasonably well (or better) against a low power laser weapon like that, as well as defend against conventional weapons.
Sorry about being so geeky on this subject. I've been poking around with it for decades
Smoke does work very well for that. Common in sci-fi is a type of smoke grenade to specifically mess with lasers, but that might not be totally fictional anymore. One of the old things I saw listed on a Darpa list of tech they were wanting to look into was something like that. It was a long time ago, so maybe somebody has already created one that works better than the usual smoke grenade when it comes to blocking lasers.
Yeah, but these are only for drones and not shooting people in the eyes... honest!
(People always find a way around limitations one way or another. Just research about the napalm/incindigel mess)
Except when the lasers, like these, are outside the visible spectrum. So what color is "invisible" ?
Totally correct, but they are basing the "rifle" due to size and configuration of the weapon instead of a physical component like riflings.
;)
Though scientists have figured out how to put spin on a laser (or at least the photons, I forget the details of the article).
Though I don't have any mod points today, you sir/madam/whatever totally deserve them
The enemy will still be trying to recharge their batteries
And it uses a perpetual motion machine to power it!
Beware of Sales Reps bearing gifts.
Which, let me see, the Chinese, the US and some other perverted authoritarian regimes care nothing about?
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
That was a joke. Clearly the defense against laser-wielding soldiers is just the same as against those with flame-throwers: Shoot them on sight, even when they surrender.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Also, much like a diamond, RCC is a rather special material, it's not just a layer of carbonized material.
I didn't mean to imply that they could design fabric that could transform itself into RCC when carbonized - I was just using it as an example of how pure carbon makes a nice insulator with a practical example. RCC would be overkill anyway, as it's not important that the fabric be durable or reusable - just that it absorbs and dissipates a short burst of laser energy. In the worst case we are talking 500 watts for 2 seconds. That's 1000 Joules, which is less than the energy that a bulletproof vest needs to dissipate. It seems feasible, that's all.
Never apologize for being geeky on Slashdot! :)
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
That's when you pull out the dinner-plate-sized disc of chobham armor. To think people cover entire tanks with the stuff... what a waste.
It is best to think of lasers as emitting very specific wavelengths of EM radiation, in a very straight and thin line. Those that emit wavelengths detectable by our eyes (mostly in the red, green, and blue ranges since that is what our cones are designed to perceive) are considered visible; those that don't are not. For comparison purposes, consider that sunlight contains a wide range of wavelengths from longer than visible (e.g., infrared) to shorter than visible (e.g., ultraviolet) and it is actually the latter, the ultraviolet, that tends to cause sunburn and associated cell damage.
Nonaggression works!
The US have heavily tested laser weapons already and for the most part they aren't practical compared to conventional weapons in most cases. This is one of those cool Sci-Fi ideas that doesn't pan out. The problem is most lasers aren't very efficient and the ones that are (chemical lasers) use stuff so nasty they'd be deadly to the soldier carrying it if it burst or broke. Not to mention rain or dust or hazy day would reduce its effectiveness. It's probably a concept weapon that can give you a burn or blind but compare that to oh getting hit by a 50 cal round which would blow parts off you. It's likely a test concept weapon for experimenting but I highly doubt it'll ever come into widespread use.
If only Maurice Ward hadn't taken his recipe for Starlite to the grave with him.
I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
I'll take one in the 40 watt range
Military units around the world are already equipped with a decent laser defence mechanism. It's called a smoke grenade. It even comes in bigger sizes, from mortars all the way up to the bigger cannons. The US army at least now has smoke screen rounds engineered to also block out IR so as to defeat thermal and IR sighting systems. (and therefore would also be a good defence against IR up through the visual range laser wavelengths.)
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The supposed use will be as a less-than-lethal weapon for applications like crowd control.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Not to mention battery technology
Normal people worry me!
I'm so sick of that site, for over 5 years they've done Geo IP redirection, ensuring if I click their links, I'll be just redirected to the front page of their Aussie web site.
It's some antique internet rubbish. I've even emailed them, it's moronic.
Can I put a hit out on their site here? Can someone please take them out?
"But the Chinese will borrow a leaf from their Russian friends and will retort, "the dogs bark, but the caravan goes on."
And this is exactly why -- or one reason why anyway -- trade sanctions are being imposed.
"Free" trade only works if both sides respect the other's laws. China does not.
In fact they very sneakily impose trade sanctions in almost invisible ways... like not putting a tariff on imports of Product X but then issuing a government mandate that anyone in China who needs a Product X must buy it from a Chinese supplier.
The screams that Trump is starting a "trade war" are ridiculous. China has been conducting trade war against the US for decades, and past Presidents just bent over for it.
No more.
All it takes to thwart any laser based weaponry is to come covered in something that reflects and scatters light well.
Try moving around on a sunny day in reflective gear to see how well that works on a battlefield.
OTOH, you could have reflective gear with an ablative camouflage coating over it. The laser would burn off the camo, then get reflected from the reflective layer.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Weapons designed to operate through blinding are prohibited. If the weapon happens to blind as a side effect, that is fine.
If you just have a little contamination on a mirror, a laser will destroy it.
I think part of the idea here is that like soft body armor works against low power firearms like handguns but not rifles, a mirror layer inside of clothing will protect against laser weapons which are only marginally powerful enough to be lethal which will be the man portable ones for an extended time.
If I have a laser of that color, then I can have a sensor that can detect that wavelength too.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
The smoke grenade should take good care of both.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
In other words, pretty much any army that could matter in any foreseeable conflict.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Yeah, there's some spin on this, all right, but I don't think it's the photons.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Mirror camo won't do much.
For one, you need a CLEAN mirror - otherwise dirt on the face of it will absorb energy, heat up, etc. and be quickly defeat the mirror...and clean (as in spotless) on the battlefield doesn't happen
Then you need a highly efficient mirror. Even if you reflect most of the energy, what's left will heat up and distort the mirror which greatly reduces it's selectivity...and then you don't have a mirror anymore.
And then...you need it to be flexible enough to WEAR which doesn't generally go with high efficiency.
So pretty much nope nope nope. Any laser powerful enough to for use for the battle field will defeat mirror 'armor' quickly.
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
That'd be tricky though - the big advantage of lasers is that they're largely point-and-hit. Any deposit-leaving weapon is going to be back to trying to hit the target with a chunk of matter moving a million times slower - if you can do that, then why use the laser at all?
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.