Lasers range in varying degrees of usefulness based on their power. The laser a teacher uses as a pointer for the board will not blow anything up. The most damage it can do is to your eyes. Which is pretty amazing that a concentrated man-made beam of light can cause someone to go blind. Not only are they a novelty teacher's tool but they can be pretty strong and useful. Lasers are strong enough to cut diamonds. But, how do they do this?
The inner workings for a laser are as follows, the electrons in an atom get "excited" through an electrical current in a special glass or crystal. These "excited" electrons create photons which are beams of light that are they concentrated through the glass or crystal. Scientists play around with these variables in order to create stronger or weaker lasers.
"Laser" is actually an acronym for Light Amplification by Simulated Emissions of Radiation.
So how do we use weaponized lasers? A company called DARPA have created a Laser Weapons System (LaWS) that shot down a drone. The video here:
100 percent accurate. It used pulsing lasers in order to
successfully take out a drone.
Here is is:
There are other "beam" like weapons in use as well. But they start to morph away from the traditional laser form. The true laser weapon is like the one described above. Some examples of this are particle beams. These beams shoot high concentrations of particles at a target to destroy it. Laser weaponry is still in the testing stage, however, are most likely are going to be introduced more readily within a few years in large cannons mounted on aircraft carriers or on bases. Handheld laser weaponry is very far off from reality. Scientists are struggling to create a powerful laser that is small enough to be made into a handheld gun. Luckily, advancements are being made in laser weaponry and soon we will all be able to fulfill the Star Wars fantasy.
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