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To: calenel
"High-Speed Laser"? I thought all lasers traveled at the same speed.
3 posted on 11/11/2002 10:37:55 AM PST by PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
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To: PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
My thoughts exactly. Light speed is light speed.
4 posted on 11/11/2002 10:40:41 AM PST by CholeraJoe
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To: PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
I thought all lasers traveled at the same speed.

Actually, they don't. A pulse of light can have more than one speed because it is made up of light of different wavelengths. The individual waves travel at their own phase velocity, while the pulse itself travels with the group velocity. In a vacuum all the phase velocities and the group velocity are the same. In a dispersive medium, however, they are different because the refractive index is a function of wavelength, which means that the different wavelengths travel at different speeds.

6 posted on 11/11/2002 11:32:43 AM PST by JameRetief
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To: PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
I think they meant "High-Speed" in terms of its ability to react to and destroy high velocity targets.
8 posted on 11/11/2002 11:46:35 AM PST by calenel
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