BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon

Subject: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: GUEST,Niggardly Bastard
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 06:51 AM

This is scary. What if the LAPD gets ahold of this?
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/08/17658147-navy-unveils-powerful-ship-mounted-laser-weapon?lite

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: kendall
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 07:04 AM

We know from past experience that our enemies will get this sooner or later. Then what?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 08:38 AM

It was bound to come -- lasers have been cutting steel for quite a few years now. There will be a defense, if there isn't already.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:36 AM

Do you think that the LAPD is in the business of shooting down drones ans sinking fastboats?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:44 AM

defense against lasers:

1. Mirrors- Have to be able to dissipate the heat transferred, since no mirror is perfect.

2. paint/cloth coverings the EXACT same wavelength as the laser- good unless/until it starts to char...

3. smoke to break up the beam- must not be transparent in the wavelength of the laser

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:50 AM

Interesting name for a ship!

In the UK, a ponce is a man who lives on the earnings of a prostitute.

Just so the crew will know what's causing the howls of laughter when she pulls into any British port.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:50 AM

It is just a cheaper replacement for a gatling gun. It is ship mounted, fairly big and requires a crew of technicians to support and maintain. Obviously the best way to avoid being hit with it is to avoid hostile contact with the United States Navy.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:52 AM

I think that the people in the British port inclined to laugh ought to be warned about the LASER.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 10:02 AM

And the US reaction to a ship named, say, "Hood"?




WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Ponce

A city in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, discoverer of Florida, first governor of Puerto Rico.


http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p9/ponce.htm

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Amos
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 10:10 AM

Well the tech is exciting and all that. But isn't it typical of the tin-eared provincialism of Washington that they would name a ship Ponce (instead of Ponce de Leon, for example) and never be aware that it would be, to the English, like naming a ship "Pimp's Ride"? Tin ears and uninformed minds make a piss-poor gummint, you ask me.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 10:17 AM

Amos,

See my earlier post. This is the name of a city in Puerto Rico. Should we not name a ship for them???

And what about "Hood"?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 10:21 AM

http://www.mapquest.com/#d43d9fa10de234f53f29e1a3


Navy ships are named by the class it is in. Each class has defined criteria, such as states for Battleships and "Boomers, major cities for Cruisers, Generals and admirals for transports, etc. The selection is from this defined list in most cases.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 01:43 PM

DonT,


"In the UK, a ponce is a man who lives on the earnings of a prostitute.

Just so the crew will know what's causing the howls of laughter when she pulls into any British port."


And about you having a Queen at the palace...

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 01:58 PM

Its more than a little provincial to expect people from the other side of the world to care about your slang.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 02:01 PM

Agreed, Jack.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 02:03 PM

DonT, it looks as though your definition is not even current.

USN Ponce (Well dressed man) doesn't seem all that funny. Maybe you need to get out to the street more?


http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ponce


        
1.         ponce

        
Term originated in the UK and came to prominence in the 1960's, initially to describe a pimp. In Spanish it means "prince" and could have either been referring to the fancy, over-the-top clothing and jewelry popular with pimps, or because he was surrounded by a harem of women, involved in the underworld, but usually not the actual "king" of the area (he had to pay tribute to use the block or neighborhood).

Now it is generally used to refer to someone (usually a male) who dresses in nicer clothing and acts in a polished fashion; often interchangable with fag or pussy, but not necessarily as derogatory: a ponce is not necessarily homosexual, nor are they necessarily passive or weak, but they would tend to be thought of as metrosexual or gay in their manner of dress.

In the US it also takes a bit of a tone for a poser or wannabe, primarily in the punk, ska, or artsy scenes.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Don Firth
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 03:47 PM

"Set phasers on vaporize! Fire at will!"

(Poor Will!)

Still, it's not a bad idea to have a weapon in the arsenal that can turn an enemy drone—or an incoming ICBM!—into a wad of molten scrap before it can do you dirt.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 04:14 PM

NOT and incoming ICMB, not with that weapon at least not with the current state of the art. BB is the rocket scientist. He can give you the physics. But no one is claiming that this thing can destroy a target going hundreds or even thousands of MPH hundreds or even dozens of miles away.

It is replacing a chain gun , it cannot out perform a patriot missile.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 04:47 PM

There's nothing unusual about the name of the Hood, BB. HMS Hood was named after the 18th century British Admiral Samuel Hood. Many other British warships were named after various officers in British naval history, some other examples of this practice being the battleships HMS Anson, HMS Howe, HMS Rodney, HMS Barham, and HMS Nelson.

Likewise, I expect there's nothing unusual in an American ship being named the Ponce. It's probably just the surname of some historically noteworthy American naval officer.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: gnu
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 05:44 PM

A ruse which has possibilities of it's own. When a laser weapon on a ship locks on, the target's exact location can be relayed in real time to the Star Wars laser platform and Bob's yer toasted uncle. That sucker it the sky is the rael killer. The one being deployed (being?) on the ship is a more powerful targeting device than previously deployed with great potential for hand-to-hand combat.

Right, Donuel?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 05:48 PM

Star Wars platform?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Don Firth
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 06:01 PM

I didn't figure that the laser currently being experimented with is that sophisticated. But for defensive purposes, it's, at least, a beginning.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Bobert
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:09 PM

Can't recall the band who put out the following back in the 70s but this has been around a long time and I'm sho nuff glad we got it first... Here is it...

"Laser beams, in my dreams
laser beams, in my dreams ...

That's about all I remember... Maybe Commander Cody... Doesn't much matter...

If we can in 2nd place on the development of this weapon than the person who started this thread would be blasting Obama for being asleep at the wheel...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: GUEST,Niggardly Bastard
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:26 PM

The Coast Guard will get them to use on drug smugging vessels.
Just you wait.
That's what it's all really about.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:33 PM

A laser weapon has the advantage that the "projectile" travels at very high speed so that it hits where it's pointed at almost the instant you "pull the trigger," and there's no requirement to "lead" the target as with a slower projectile for which you have to estimate where the target will be when the bullet gets there.

Unfortunately, in the most recent demonstrations of laser prototypes, the destruction is not instantaneous and the beam must be held on a spot on the target for a fairly significant time to "build up enough heat" for the desired effect, which means you still have to "track" a moving target fairly accurately for a finite time. This can be a bit tricky if either the target or the vehicle the laser is on is moving, and doubly so if they're both moving in different directions.

The "hold time" required can be reduced by a laser that produces higher energy in each "pulse" but that actually may reduce the range at which a target can be hit at all. The atmosphere that the beam travels through of course will be heated some, while adjacent air is less heated resulting in a "gradient" in the refractive index of the atmosphere that may tend to "spread" the ray and reduce the energy density too much for it to be effective over more than modest ranges.

At high enough "pulse power" the atmosphere the beam is travelling through may even be ionized, which both disrupts the focus and dissipates (absorbs) the pulse energy. And even in the "vacuum" of space, a coherent "beam" with high enough energy density is subject to what's called "skin effect" in earthbound applications (think coax transmission lines, and understand why they work).

The "equations" are difficult enough to work out that there's a lot of argument among the experts about what's possible and what's not. It appears that most recent "announcements" about new weapons (including the latest ones) are just reports that some experiment succeeded "at least once" in doing "something," but "the devils in the details" and they're not releasing those.

While there seems to be no real justification for being too excited about the latest news as indicating "a weapon" ready for attacking much of anything, it should be noted that even the laser pointers used for slide show (PowerPoint projection) presentations to incompetent managers can blind your cat if you're careless how you tease one by making it chase the spot on the wall/floor.

(The similar levels of intelligence exhibited by an average house cat and any manager who allows PowerPoint use in meetings must never suggest a temptation for anyone who happens to have a pointer. Do be careful, and observe the same cautions you would when playing with the cat.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:33 PM

"The Coast Guard will get them to use on drug smugging vessels."

They should if it saves thousands on ammunition.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Bobert
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:41 PM

Like they say, "We have to get it right every time, the bad guys would settle for a lower batting average"...

I mean, let's get real here...

Would you rather have the guy who wants to fuck you up having the weapon or would you rather have it???

Ain't rocker surgery here...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 09 Apr 13 - 09:45 PM

I'd rather my enemy had that than the Gatling gun.

I wait for a foggy day,

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 12:15 AM

The "saving on ammunition" is a bit of a fuzzy thing, since a laser has to be "pumped up" before it can fire, and efficiency is pretty low. You probably need a pretty big generator and the fuel to run it, and on a smaller vessel that's likely to be about as much "baggage" as a few thousand rounds of more ordinary ammo. "Power lasers" mostly don't run off of AA batteries.

John

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 12:38 AM

"The USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking ship, will be the first Navy vessel to deploy with the LaWS, officials announced Monday."

probably a pretty big ship with lots of power, Possibly a nuke.

"He claimed that the LaWS can shoot down a small drone for about $1 worth of electricity and, once the laser is operational, it should be able to replace a Gatling gun, whose rounds can cost several thousand dollars each."

Maybe not the thing for a Coast Guard cutter.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 03:31 AM

See if this is self explanatory..look carefully, now:

Subject: RE: BS: North Korea Rocket Launch Fails
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 14 Apr 12 - 03:15 AM

Those pesky particle beams!

..and you heard it first (again) on Mudcat...from yours truly!

GfS

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 07:52 AM

JohnInKansas,

Go back and look at LACE and RME, two SDIO/BMDO programs I worked on...

The fast steering mirrors and deformable mirrors to compensate for atmospheric distortion are old tech, now- Thanks to "Star Wars"...You know, that Reagan effort that everyone here said was a waste?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 08:02 AM

The Ronald Reagan effort that after 30 years after leaps and bounds in computer and materials technology is still no where near what was promised. Mean while the Chinese have now kinetic weapons which can destroy any such devices the US could put into low Earth orbit?

How do YOU define waste?

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 08:18 AM

"The Ronald Reagan effort that after 30 years after leaps and bounds in computer and materials technology is still no where near what was promised. "


Not an accurate assessment.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 08:33 AM

Where are the space weapons? Ronnie was talking about knocking down ICBMs with space based energy weapons.

All we got was this puny anti-aircraft gun and a few rifles sent to the contras. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 08:34 AM

I can neither confirm nor deny...

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 12:27 PM

Stealth bombers have pretty slopey sides, And they would help in much the same way it works on microwaves. Not a total answer, but you only have to delay failure and swarm with many drones. Decoys.

They have been using the method for years - it is called cannon fodder - human sort.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 03:22 PM

Don is perfectly right. The English Jack Tar will piss himself laughing. And in the UK there is a difference in usage. You call someone a ponce - you mean a pimp. You say "What a ponce" and the message conveyed is that the person is overdressed or self opinionated.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: beardedbruce
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 05:17 PM

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hood


Also,
        
2.         Queen
        
A flamboyant homosexual, usually male, always FABULOUS.
"Fuschia? Honey, I'm not _that_ big of a queen."

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Don Firth
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 05:24 PM

"The Coast Guard will get them to use on drug smugging vessels.
Just you wait.
That's what it's all really about."

'Smatter, Niggardly Bastard, are you afraid your supply might be cut off?

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 06:47 PM

"I can neither confirm nor deny."

LOL Bruce!! Good one! ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 06:54 PM

The ship ID named after the city "Ponce" In Puerto Rico, which was named after Ponce de Leon.

I guess this needs to be said twice.

"Its more than a little provincial to expect people from the other side of the world to care about your slang. "

You had an empire. Be proud. I beg you! Do not display this baseless sense of superiority.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Don Firth
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 07:09 PM

Hmm! I would say, "Take it up with Ponce de Leon's mother and father." Presumably one or both of them chose his name.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: olddude
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 07:14 PM

There is one mounted on the nose of an F15 that was designed to knock out incoming ICBM missiles.

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: michaelr
Date: 10 Apr 13 - 07:14 PM

Bobert: "Chicken Train" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Love those guys!

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 11 Apr 13 - 12:38 AM

Not an F15 but pretty cool!

Subject: RE: BS: The Navy's New Laser Weapon
From: gnu
Date: 11 Apr 13 - 07:13 AM

I thought tracking systems were very "advanced". The M1 tank targeting system is impressive and surely use on a ship would be a much less demanding environment?