US Navy - Big Laser

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

Ok, I am a pirate. The navy shoots a laser at me. The next time (as they rarely arrest anyone) I take a mirror. Problem solved

Having run a laser cutting machine, a standard mirror will not work! It would just burn the foil off the back of the glass. Laser mirrors get hot. It takes a highly polished concave red mirror (most are made of copper). And when the polish gets dull it starts to burn the mirror material. I've replaced enough mirrors to pay my wages for a few months.

And fat chance carrying one in a saltwater environment.


.

[Lexam]

How long does it take to disable an engine? Can pirates dodge the laser?

[senormechanico]

When will they be available at West Marine?

[samson]

Originally Posted by Lexam

How long does it take to disable an engine? Can pirates dodge the laser?

thats what i was thinking the video looked like it was fast but didnt show the pretty colors until later.

still cool though.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by rowingdude

That or they were confiscated. Beyond that, what's $2k tacked onto our multi-trillion dollar debt?

They spent several billion dollars researching this alternative to a $1,200.00 dollar machine gun.

That is like NASA spending millions of dollars developing a pen that will write in a zero G enviroment in space,...The Russions used a pencil.

[Sailon]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

They spent several billion dollars researching this alternative to a $1,200.00 dollar machine gun.

That is like NASA spending millions of dollars developing a pen that will write in a zero G enviroment in space,...The Russions used a pencil.

Enjoyed your sardonic right comments about this, there should be more out there with the same 'tude toward this neverending corrupt and wasteful bleeding of our financial house. if only the government would live by the cruising sailor's maxim : bring half the clothing and take twice the money. or is the government's case, spend half as much and keep twice as much money in the treasury.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

They spent several billion dollars researching this alternative to a $1,200.00 dollar machine gun.

That is like NASA spending millions of dollars developing a pen that will write in a zero G enviroment in space,...The Russions used a pencil.

A common urban legend states that, faced with the fact that ball-point pens will not write in zero-gravity, NASA spent a large amount of money to develop a pen that would write in the conditions experienced during spaceflight (the result purportedly being the Fisher Space Pen), while the Soviet Union took the simpler (and cheaper) route of just using pencils.

This story is in fact false.

[David M]

Nice idea, but couldn't they have used a two horsepower Tohatsu?

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by GordMay

A common urban legend states that, faced with the fact that ball-point pens will not write in zero-gravity, NASA spent a large amount of money to develop a pen that would write in the conditions experienced during spaceflight (the result purportedly being the Fisher Space Pen), while the Soviet Union took the simpler (and cheaper) route of just using pencils.

This story is in fact false.

And don't forget the $600 ashtrays, in Navy E-2 jets, that they are not supposed to smoke in anyway. The Navy's plane stupidity | Washington Monthly | Find Articles at BNET

[Tallswede]

Originally Posted by dacust

Any normal mirror is only gonna delay a laser like that a tiny fraction of a second.

A highly polished industrial mirror might delay it 10 times longer. Maybe even a whole second.

-dan

Spoil sport! LOL

Kevin

[David M]

I can just see it. The pirates start wearing aluminum foil hats as protection. What fun that would be to see.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by GordMay

A common urban legend states that, faced with the fact that ball-point pens will not write in zero-gravity, NASA spent a large amount of money to develop a pen that would write in the conditions experienced during spaceflight (the result purportedly being the Fisher Space Pen), while the Soviet Union took the simpler (and cheaper) route of just using pencils.

This story is in fact false.

The FACT: Fisher spent over 1 million dollars developing the pen. It was developed by a private contractor to meet the needs of NASA, but also sold commercially. FACT the Russians used pencils until 1968 when the pens became commercially available.

Perhaps not the best example, but the US Government does have a history of finding the most expensive and least effective method of doing whatever. I like high techy things as much as the next guy, but using this laser on pirates makes as much sense as using a sonic ray gun to swat flies.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

I like high techy things as much as the next guy, but using this laser on pirates makes as much sense as using a sonic ray gun to swat flies.

Kinda like iPads,Tabs and triple duty cyberphones? Just toys I think!

But Usama's dead!

[cfarrar]

Perhaps the laser could be used to disable pirate vessels pre-emptively, before the pirates open fire, and before the rules of engagement allow the use of deadly force?

[tallyhorob]

ever noticed how far we were ahead in tech when the gov was spending billions on the space race? all of that trickle down tech made the commercial sector rich, any of you have a knee scoped? that was all space stuff. Noticed no more Space stuff, we have nothing out there right now, Japan and China making stuff but boy oh boy we can talk about how many Billion we are saving.