Laser Propulsion

[howitzerm777]

deshonran el honor de los verdaderos científicos, par de "#$"#$

[chilidress]

i'm pope 

[madmallard11]

really?. .

[germanmcccxxxvii]

i bet those 3d glasses really helped with safety incase the lazer beam bent around and hit her in the eye

[NeithanDiniem]

As my understanding of high powered lasers is... The heat generated by a laser capable of being used as an engine for some craft would be extreme, not to mention the site where the laser was making contact to provide the thrust would be incinerated, so... wheres the benefit?

[roidroid]

The ability to protect a rocket from the heat of it's combustion chamber, is a core principle of prettymuch all rocketry.

it's not rocket scie... oh wait i guess it is.

[NeithanDiniem]

A laser with the power to provide the necessary thrust to lift a megaton rocket into orbit would far exceed the heat generated from ignition-based engines. Also, the rocket would be required to launch literally straight up, not curve into orbit as rockets now do. This is because the laser would need to be pointed at a safe location. If the rocket curved at any point, the contact location would move. Lastly this would only work if the rocket was taking off, in orbit it would be useless.

[roidroid]

- the focal point (max heat) is not on the craft itself but in the air behind it. The air explodes, the shockwave propelling the craft.

- Who said the rocket weighs a megaton? There is not much fuel weight.

- Yes, a redesign is needed to thrust perpendicular to the incomming laser beam (to reach an orbital plane).

Not hard.

- Once beyond the atmosphere, the ground-based laser can still be used to ablatively "burn off" fuel painted onto the craft, which gives high efficiency thrust.

[NeithanDiniem]

@roidroid I see the point about the focal point, but the craft would still weigh an undeniably large amount. I dont think that currently we have the technology to power lasers of the required intensity to create a large enough shockwave to propel a rocket into orbit.

[roidroid]

Most of the weight in rockets is fuel (typically over 90%) and most of this fuel is just used to lift the weight of more fuel!

The Lightcraft does not need any fuel at all until it's beyond the atmosphere, the weight savings are exponential.

Yeah, we will likely need arrays of lasers to get the power required. Laser technology is always improving though, getting more powerful.

[highvoltagefeathers]

@NeithanDiniem not yet, and such a device would require an active optical correction system to counteract atmopheric distortion. It is an intriguing technology though! and laser technology has been improving.

[MasterHacker01]

fail

[HeatFromVoid]

Laser propulsion just doesn't seem very practical, however possible it may be. There would need to be a direct line of sight (or a series of mirrors) in order to generate a constant thrust, the amount of power it would take to even generate thrust for an object worth using that much resources for isn't exactly efficient, light is more subject to distortion at extreme distances (even a laser). Over all, not very beneficial or reliable. And yeah, video's fake.

[PrinceSmoothay]

energy needed to produce a high powered laser really isnt that large, with simple step-up transformers we already have the ability to create a laser of increddible intensity. all we need now, is to make the laser device built onto the craft itself so that essentialy it can power itself, and if you can harness the energy already used to force the object via explosion, it could power itself for massive lengths of time :) oh and a laser that wont overheat near instantaneously

[HeatFromVoid]

I misunderstood the original concept, and cede to those points. However, heat is still an issue. Look at a high-power military laser and say the intended object doesn't get hot. Light gives heat. You'd need a heck of a mirror to be able to withstand the heat generated by the explosion effect.

[PrinceSmoothay]

well i guess the upside is that the mirror isnt actualy a mirror in the sense that we would think, i would have to say its more of a high polished steel that is able to withstand extreme temps, parabolic so all it does is reflect multiple laser lights into one small area underneath. in terms of the laser heating the steel i think it would actualy be minimal, the heat produced would be from the explosion and as we see in common engines, its not hard to withstand, though more extreme in this case

[TheUFOeffect]

search: laser pumped flying saucer spacecraft

[elchavodelocio]

faaaaaaaaaaaaaaake

[starloggs]

Laser Propulsion is absolutely possible, but this video is a fake, please don't move table.

Ball in a critical position.

[goddsonatgmail]

fake

[jovicakluk]

man that girl is ugly

[roidroid]

"bump the table" propulsion experiment

[darthisaiah]

That is so fake, it got to be. And if not, how does it work.

[salemcripple]

Although this is fake. Laser Propulsion isn't. Light is made of particles. So even a beam of light has mass. And just like anything else with mass, if you have enough of it, you can bounce it off an object to make it move. Unfortunately you need a much, MUCH bigger laser than just a pointer, in order to move something much lighter than a ball bearing.

[salemcripple]

I guess i was wrong about how laser propulsion works. That was just how i figured it would work. But it actually works by focusing the laser onto a parabolic mirror on the bottom of the object, which heats the air. When you heat the air enough, it turns into a plasma state, which "explodes" thrusting the object forward. You still need a much bigger laser though.

[TheUFOeffect]

since a laser is made of light which is made of particles, theoretically couldnt you spiral a laser enough to make a vortex, in the center of the craft, made of air shoting down(like a tornado)

[salemcripple]

except light doesn't bend unless it's reflected off something or shown through something like a liquid. But theoretically anything is possible.

[TheUFOeffect]

yeah, you would continuously bend it with highly reflective surface with a slight ark to make a large circle.

[tati600]

nerds

[roidroid]

troglodyte