World's most powerful diode pumped solid state laser
A revolutionary new laser under development at DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory could drastically reduce casualties by U.S. forces.
The Solid State Heat Capacity Laser program has already successfully achieved world-record energy output.
The system will eventually allow infantry units to use a beam of invisible light to destroy incoming mortars, artillery shells and anti-tank missiles, as well as defusing buried landmines.
The Army's Space and Missile Defense Command is sponsoring the program, which uses a unique pulsed beam that fires 200 times per second, and can already easily burn a hole through an inch of carbon steel in approximately seven seconds.
Related link: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Source: DOE Pulse
Citation:
World's most powerful diode pumped solid state laser (2005, July 5)
retrieved 25 April 2024
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