Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-26 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Wed, 25 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote: Or reduce the effectiveness of the detection system by clandestinely salting vessels entering our ports with radio active dust with the same energy signatures. Sort of a radio active chaff. The point of a clandestine WOMD attack is that there is no

Re: Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-25 Thread [EMAIL PROTECTED]
My comment was limited to radiant energy weapons. As to those, the critical vulnerability exists during launch and boost phase. The target is slow, bright, large, has fuel on board and a nonarmored hull, which (as other posters observed) can be weakened with enough flux. At least one of the

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-25 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Jim Choate wrote: Maybe. But even mirrors can be burned through by a laser. And then we've Jim, why are you trying so hard to make a complete fool out of yourself, in a public forum? A chemical laser needs active optics to track your remote target. What do you think that

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-25 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Jim Choate wrote: Maybe. But even mirrors can be burned through by a laser. And then we've Jim, why are you trying so hard to make a complete fool out of yourself, in a public forum? A chemical laser needs active optics to track your remote target. What do you think that

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-25 Thread Jim Choate
On Tue, 24 Jul 2001, Eugene Leitl wrote: On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Jim Choate wrote: Maybe. But even mirrors can be burned through by a laser. And then we've Jim, why are you trying so hard to make a complete fool out of yourself, in a public forum? A chemical laser needs active optics

RE: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-24 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Trei, Peter wrote: With high-powered lasers, one of the important destructive mechanisms is blast - the outer layer of the illuminated object vaporizes, and flies away from the rest of the target. The reactive force of this You're orders of magnitude away from such

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-24 Thread Jim Choate
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Eugene Leitl wrote: My comment was limited to radiant energy weapons. Even that's not sufficient since lasers have been demonstrated for mid-course assaults as well. As to those, the critical vulnerability exists during launch and boost phase. The target is slow,

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-24 Thread Steve Schear
At 01:28 AM 7/23/2001 -0500, you wrote: On Sun, 22 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote: I wonder what the destructive mechanism is for this system? There was an article in IEEE Spectrum last year (I think) on one of the systems. The main failure mechanism is weakening of the aeroshell and due to

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-24 Thread Jim Choate
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote: It's the one they use primarily. Only because the rocket exterior has not been stealthed via high reflectivity and faceting. Maybe. But even mirrors can be burned through by a laser. And then we've got weight issues that this would entail. It's

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-24 Thread Steve Schear
At 06:05 PM 7/23/2001 -0500, Jim Choate wrote: On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote: It's the one they use primarily. Only because the rocket exterior has not been stealthed via high reflectivity and faceting. Maybe. But even mirrors can be burned through by a laser. And then we've

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Steve Schear
At 09:14 AM 7/22/2001 -0500, you wrote: Point this baby at the ground... http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27248-2001Jul20.html I wonder what the destructive mechanism is for this system? Heat by radiant absorption seems an obvious but impractical method. If it is, then as the

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Jim Choate
On Sun, 22 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote: I wonder what the destructive mechanism is for this system? There was an article in IEEE Spectrum last year (I think) on one of the systems. The main failure mechanism is weakening of the aeroshell and due to increased loading the missile comes apart.

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Sampo Syreeni
On Sun, 22 Jul 2001, Jim Choate wrote: Point this baby at the ground... http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27248-2001Jul20.html Seen some of this before. It's sexy, especially if one thinks of the propaganda value: it's basically death from above. Sampo Syreeni, aka decoy,

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Sampo Syreeni wrote: Seen some of this before. It's sexy, especially if one thinks of the propaganda value: it's basically death from above. You're saying it, propaganda value. Missiles are only vulnerable during boost phase, while they still have fuel onboard. Chemical

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Jim Choate wrote: Bull. Missiles are vulnerable to various assaults during their entire flight. The aerodynamic forces during boost and terminal flight My comment was limited to radiant energy weapons. As to those, the critical vulnerability exists during launch and boost

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Eugene Leitl
On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Jim Choate wrote: Bull. Missiles are vulnerable to various assaults during their entire flight. The aerodynamic forces during boost and terminal flight My comment was limited to radiant energy weapons. As to those, the critical vulnerability exists during launch and boost

Re: Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread D B
First post - I hope it goes out Here's a link to the first story I saw about this technology in TechnologyReview. http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/jul01/freedmanall.asp --- David Honig [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Sun, 22 Jul 2001, Steve Schear wrote: I wonder what the destructive

Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-23 Thread Izaac
On Sun, Jul 22, 2001 at 09:14:56AM -0500, Jim Choate wrote: Point this baby at the ground... http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27248-2001Jul20.html That will result only in a very broken 747. -- ___ ___ . . ___ \/ |\ |\ \ _\_ /__ |-\ |-\ \__

Air Force Turns 747 Into Holster for Giant Laser (washingtonpost.com)

2001-07-22 Thread Jim Choate
Point this baby at the ground... http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27248-2001Jul20.html -- -- Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said, Let Tesla be, and all was