"Against all the combat-oriented technology, what hope does a simple rifleman have in this day and age?"
Posted on 12/05/2001 11:52:04 AM PST by clueless idiot
Edited on 04/22/2004 12:31:46 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Hunh? did we read the same article?
"Though originally meant to be set up on permanent sites in Israel, the laser is now to be mobile, thanks to changing political realities...So, THEL researchers will be working to put the equipment on a vehicle that resembles a tractor-trailer. "
Doesn't sound like they *ever* meant to mount it on an aircraft...Also, I don't think a laser is like a flashlight, i.e. ya crank some 'lectricity in one end, and get a beam out the other- i think the actual mixture of gases lases itself.
Other mobile ground based platforms may use the same system, but fixed mounted weapons can be connected directly to the power grid (if it is big enough) and may fire by standard electrical means.
Most lasers fire by means of an electrical flash tube, the light from which is then focused using various means, including CO2 or Xenon gas, artificial ruby rods, etc and then focused thru lenses to emit out one end of the device.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
"Against all the combat-oriented technology, what hope does a simple rifleman have in this day and age?"
I am almost positive you are confusing two seperate programs- The THEL, and the Airborne Laser (ABL) The ABL is still under development, completely seperately from the THEL.
"Most lasers fire by means of an electrical flash tube, the light from which is then focused using various means, including CO2 or Xenon gas, artificial ruby rods, etc and then focused thru lenses to emit out one end of the device."
I think these lasers work on a completely different principle: here's a quote from an Air Force laser program:
An excited state of molecular oxygen, O2(1D ), is generated by the chemical reaction between chlorine gas and an aqueous mixture of hydrogen peroxide and potassium hydroxide (basic hydrogen peroxide). The byproducts of this reaction include salt (potassium chloride) and heat. Water vapor in the gas flow is removed because it interferes with the laser gas kinetics. Molecular iodine is then injected and mixed with the gas flow, and some of the energy in the oxygen is used to dissociate the iodine. Resonant energy transfer from the excited oxygen to the atomic iodine excites the iodine, and the gas flow is accelerated to a supersonic velocity in an expansion nozzle to create the laser gain region. Light is extracted with a laser cavity positioned transverse to the gas flow, and the exhaust gases are scrubbed to remove the residual chlorine and iodine.
Anyway, they will all help us be a "bright and shining light" to our foes *grin*
Don't forget tinfoil, the VRWC secret weapon. For best results wear on the shiny side out.
Stay well- Stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown
I think I will have to talk to some Physicists I know for a full explanation of how this thing works. I'm just a lowly mechanical engineer - some of this stuff is beyond me. I just give them the power they need to do the job & help point the weapon in the right direction.
And in the case of the railgun, I get to try to figure out how to keep the gun from ripping out of the mount or rolling the ship it is in. That happens when you have a 10 lb projectile exiting the weapon at 30-50,000 fps - equal & opposite reaction in the opposite direction = a LOT of force. (enough to roll a M60 tank with a turret shot at 2 miles)
are you working on that? I went and interviewed the director of the electromechanical something something facility at balcones heights, a UT Austin facility, when I was an undergrad.
Saw the "homopolar" generator and the block of aluminium with a fist sized cavity blown in it from a 1 gram plastic projectile. Way cool.
Armed resistance today means that camouflage must be the 3 piece suit or a repairman's uniform, the weapon must fit in a briefcase or toolbox, and the single shot rifle may be more useful in most cases than the tricked out high cap sport utility rifle.
I used to work for several contract engineering companies in the midwest until I got tired of moving all the time & getting screwed over because I don't work as cheap as the imported labor pool. I got my PE and am currently trying not to starve running my own consulting business (and farming).
First the "laser", next, my indestructible killing machines, shaped like a famous actor from Austria!
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