The U S Army Successfully Tests A Lightning Gun

originally posted by: FormOfTheLord

originally posted by: cavtrooper7
a reply to: FormOfTheLord

Maybe so...www.spacedaily.com...

The uses for tiny reactors could be limitless, I imagine a few of those could power an iron man suit.

The term "small scale nuclear fusion" is sort of...relative. IF they could pull it off...and it's far from the easiest reaction, and we can't even get THAT to go yet...they're talking about "small" as in something the size of, say, a Walmart superstore rather than a 2GW nuke plant. Not matchbox sized.

originally posted by: Bedlam

originally posted by: FormOfTheLord

originally posted by: cavtrooper7
a reply to: FormOfTheLord

Maybe so...www.spacedaily.com...

The uses for tiny reactors could be limitless, I imagine a few of those could power an iron man suit.

The term "small scale nuclear fusion" is sort of...relative. IF they could pull it off...and it's far from the easiest reaction, and we can't even get THAT to go yet...they're talking about "small" as in something the size of, say, a Walmart superstore rather than a 2GW nuke plant. Not matchbox sized.

So um yeah how about a nuclear drone with some lasers to control the weather summon up a storm and then shoot some lasers to direct the lightning at ones targets!

The New American Nuclear Drones: A UAV Able to Fly for Months on Nuclear Fuel

Controlling The Weather, Is It Possible


Humans Control the Weather with LASERS!

Ok so how about a nuclear lightning throwing storm making drone.

originally posted by: FormOfTheLord
Ok so how about a nuclear lightning throwing storm making drone.

You're more likely to come up with "Sharknado" with all the sharks having friggin' laser beams strapped to their heads.

originally posted by: Shiloh7
a reply to: IpoopThere4IAM

But in the info it says it can target anything that conducts electricity such as tooth fillings - so how do you stop it from targeting a civilian with tooth fillings being held hostage by a terrorist also with tooth fillings - which or both will it hit.

Sounds great but although it goes through a laser what happens as the lighting discharges into something can it leap onto some one or something in close proximity?

Should we really be getting pumped up about yet another weapon for killing? Its a shame the amount of money that has gone into this weapon hasn't gone into cancer research or something useful except for making money for the arms dealers whose main interest is creating war so they can sell their destruction and live luxuriously.

Well the video doesn't do the best job explaining. This is more how it works: A very, very high powered laser beam is discharged at a target, let's say that terrorists head. I don't imagine it is much larger than a normal laser beam (so think the diameter is less than half an inch). Enroute to said terrorists head, the air on the path (channel) along which the very very high powered laser beam travels becomes ionised. It is "after" this beam has been discharged and traveled to and reached it's target (we are talking the speed of light and microseconds here) that another electrical charge is then introduced. The ionised air has now created an electrically conductive channel along which high voltage travels. That second electrical charge is what does the damage. So it's not shooting an indiscriminate lightning bolt that is going to arc out. The closest thing I can equate this LIPC (Laser induced Plasma Channel) to is if you were to connect a long copper wire between an electrical source and a persons head. The electric charge from the electrical source is going to travel along that copper wire only, it's not going to be jumping out like you are imagining.

To more visualize what I am saying: You know how you play with a hand held 99 cent store laser? You know the cool continuous beam you see when it is cutting through fog or smoke? THAT is the Laser Induced Plasma Channel I am talking about. That continuous beam you see on the handheld laser is what is ionised on the very very high powered laser. So you see what I am saying when it's not going to be arcing out. The second, damaging electrical pulse is going to be travelling on that beam alone.

Hopefully this cleared it up for you. I think the risk in such a scenario comes not in the electricity that is going to be traveling through the air, but a beam that is not held steady (even micro movements are exponetially multiplied at longer distances. A 1mm deviation at the source of the beam might reflect in a movement of several inches 500 yards away. Hopefully this explained the whole concept a bit better. It is how it has been explained to me.


I think the whole idea of a LIPC is amazing. Hopefully we will be able to develop battery/capacitor technology that can store the massive amounts of power required. When you think about it, only a few actual seconds of discharge is required. I seriously think if we can get a man portable LIPC that is capable of even 3 seconds of discharge would be a good starting point. You can divide that into 300 - 1/10 second discharges easily. If sufficiently powerful, or used in a combined arms (say, 4 LIPC weapons) that should be able to do some good damage to at least lightly armored vehicles.

youtu.be...


EDIT: Bleh, don't know how to embed


To add on to my description. Notice how the electrical arcs are traveling straight across? This is what a LIPC would do.

originally posted by: chuck258
youtu.be...


EDIT: Bleh, don't know how to embed


To add on to my description. Notice how the electrical arcs are traveling straight across? This is what a LIPC would do.

Fixed

I am thinking with this technology something like a drone could not only create a storm but then direct lightning at ground targets channeling massive amounts of lightning from the storm itself!

a reply to: FormOfTheLord

You'd have better luck flying balloons with metal leaders.

And it couldn't possibly create a storm.

originally posted by: FormOfTheLord
Think of this on a high altitude stealth blimp which happens to have man made cloud cover, you could essentially shoot lightning at your enemies and they would be none the wiser.

Also I read that the military is expirimenting with weather controll using lasers, so maybe they could cook up a storm then direct the lightning at thier targets.

occupycorporatism.com... ratism%20%28Daily%20News%20Headlines%20by%20Susanne%20Posel%29

Researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) have devised a technique that will point a high-powered laser into the sky to induce clouds to produce rain and thunderstorms.

This new technology was funded by a $75 million grant provided by the Department of Defense (DoD).

Since static charged particles (SCPs) are present in condensation and lightning, this theory claims that by stimulating those SCPs with a laser the power could produce rain storms.

Matthew Mills, graduate student at UCF Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) said : “When a laser beam becomes intense enough, it behaves differently than usual — it collapses inward on itself. The collapse becomes so intense that electrons in the air’s oxygen and nitrogen are ripped off creating plasma — basically a soup of electrons.”

In conjunction with the University of Arizona, UCF scientists developed a dressed laser that could control weather patterns and create rain.

The dressed laser is a single beam surrounded by a secondary beam that “refuels” the original by sustaining the strength and accuracy of the central laser beam.

In 2012, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), engineered fifty rainstorms that were manufactured by scientists using large ionizers to generate negatively charged particle fields.

These structures promote cloud formation. Metro Systems International (MSI), the technology purveyors, claims to have “achieved a number of rainfalls.”

So ummm yeah controlling the weather with lasers is totally happening!

a reply to: FormOfTheLord

So, umm, not so much. They're talking about cloud seeding by creating nitrates with a laser, not creating a storm out of nowhere. Take time to understand your cites, don't do YouTube keywording.

eta: totally happening is a bit long as well. "Fiddling with " is closer.

This is an example of why the USA cannot win wars anymore, despite hi-tech weapons. So much "collateral damage" would be caused by the difficult-to-target weapon that it would drive the population into the arms of the USA's enemy that claimed to be fighting for the people, causing so much of what Washington likes to call "terrorism" (actually, defense from occupation by a foreign army) that the USA would have to abandon its fight because too many body bags began to be sent home. Build all the devilish weapons you like, America. It will never win the real war for hearts and minds that eventually decides winners and losers. As evidence, you have only to look at Iraq.