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rapanui 2 · 31-01-2019, 08:25

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graph...=.a4482a72a795

Paradox111 · 31-01-2019, 09:32

Acoustic weapons fight pirates without bloodshed???
https://www.ctvnews.ca/acoustic-weap...dshed-1.344612

The Weapon of Sound: Sonic Canon Gives Pirates an Earful - SPIEGEL ONLINE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weapon

https://www.amazing1.com/ultrasonics.html

tomfl · 31-01-2019, 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

How long would it take to make a pirate blind? I could see sporting a laser as a jerk deterrent. Long range, Accurate and legal. Technically non-lethal. Of course knowing myself the batteries would be dead.

If you view the vid I posted a link to above you can see why it is not easy to answer your question. The kid puts two laser, a 1W and a 6W side by side, and it is clear the beam divergence results in the power of the 6W laser has decreased way faster over even a short distance (15 feet) so it is less powerful than the 1W laser. Later in the vid the kid tries to hit a balloon at 60 feet and has a problem keeping the beam on the target long enough for the beam's energy to pop the balloon. Lets also keep in mind that all of this is happening on dirt and often using a tripod; not a boat where wind and waves (not to mention spray from wind blown waves) make keeping a degraded beam on target.

Consumer laser makers in China (the only affordable source currently) also make what is called a beam expander (which limits divergence). In simple terms this means the spot created by the beam may be say 1 inch at 10 feet is increased in size to say 3 inches at 30 feet (which would mean at 30 feet the beam would have 1/9 the power). At 100 yards the beam might well be 8-10 feet and a massive loss of power; all this with a 10X beam expander which is the most powerful one you can purchase at a reasonable price.

Also keep in mind that so far we have only been taking about lasers in the visible spectrum. Remember the kid was using a 6W blue laser and a 1W violet laser and in some part the violet laser with a smaller wave length was more powerful at distance. Once you get out of the visible spectrum the wave length gets even smaller so the beam stay more powerful. In fact the US military is testing weapons that basically act like a microwave beam and heat up a person's skin so painfully they run away; the weapon is for non lethal crow control. Problem with that in the current discussion is you need a duce and a half truck to carry the thing around.

The US military also has lasers that flash light patterns that disorient people. Think of being dizzy and seasick so you can't stand up and throw up. Again these are non lethal crow control weapons but are a lot more portable than the microwave option. There are also bright flashlights that do similar things, bright flashing white light in specific bursts.

Just as an aside I carry a 7.5W blue laser on my boat. Not expecting to use it as a weapon. But in an emergency situation I would aim it up in the sky with the expectation that the beam would be visible at a great distance and make it easier for a rescuer to locate me. Here is a vid of the laser beam taken with a DJI quadcopter.