Science Daily: Lasers Generate Underwater Sound: Potential For Naval And Commercial Underwater Acous

Lasers Generate Underwater Sound: Potential For Naval And Commercial Underwater Acoustic Applications

Science Daily

The driving laser pulse has the ability to travel through both air and water, so that a compact laser on either an underwater or airborne platform can be used for remote acoustic generation. Since GVD and NSF effects are much stronger in water than air, a properly tailored laser has the ability to travel many hundreds of meters through air, remaining relatively unchanged, then quickly compress upon entry into the water. Atmospheric laser propagation is useful for applications where airborne lasers produce underwater acoustic signals without any required hardware in the water, such as undersea communications from aircraft.

Wow. You could use this to flood an area of ocean with noise to hide ships and Subs.
It could also be a new approach for Optical SETI. If aliens know we have water they might send signals into our ocean using lasers.

From the same article:

Efficient conversion of light into sound can be achieved by concentrating the light sufficiently to ionize a small amount of water, which then absorbs laser energy and superheats. The result is a small explosion of steam, which can generate a 220 decibel pulse of sound.

Wonder how far that sound travels in water at that decibel level? What if there was some sort of marine life in the path of the laser- say a dolphin for instance- how would that effect the animal?

reply to post by Xeven


Can lasers go "BLOOP"?

There's a noise that has no natural explanation in our oceans.

jw

Originally posted by abecedarian
From the same article:

Efficient conversion of light into sound can be achieved by concentrating the light sufficiently to ionize a small amount of water, which then absorbs laser energy and superheats. The result is a small explosion of steam, which can generate a 220 decibel pulse of sound.

Wonder how far that sound travels in water at that decibel level? What if there was some sort of marine life in the path of the laser- say a dolphin for instance- how would that effect the animal?

now THAT question right there is something I was wondering upon reading the article.

Did these laser tests at all coincide with the recent (few months back now) beaching of hundreds of whales and dolphins??

Hmmmm...