Elite roleplay: Q&A and OOC
27 Sep 2020, 7:53pm
Probably slave dwarfs on top of that
28 Sep 2020, 4:55am
Last edit: 28 Sep 2020, 5:07am
28 Sep 2020, 7:57am
LordPsymonCorrect me if I'm wrong, but given that a green laser can burn through stuff, I imagine an UV laser would cause quite severe burns to flesh, if not just burning right through them... I don't think it'd make for a very good taser. Just putting it out there - you won't need them volts when you're already singing the person's flesh, unless you're really sadistic of course and want the best of both worlds.
A UV laser is just a laser which use UV light. There's nothing magical about UV. You're also not worried about the green portion of the spectrum from the sun burning through stuff. It seems like you're confusing power with frequency. A laser is just a coherent light. That means that the peaks are aligned, which allow it to for example be focused into a smaller spot, or maintain a narrow beam for longer.
28 Sep 2020, 8:23am
A UV laser is just a laser which use UV light
It's focused UV light, which even at low power will still burn pretty bad. Green laser will also burn with relatively low wattage (we're talking less than 10 watts here), so UV, being much higher energy, would be pretty nasty even at low power. I know the difference between power and frequency, and a laser is putting all that power into a narrow beam.
28 Sep 2020, 10:22am
The easy way to mitigate the destructive capability of lasers is to either use a lighter color (white) & specifically, to have a reflective surface. Laser light is still light.
If, however, a high-voltage discharge would accompany the beam(s) I imagine, reflective or not, the target would receive a hefty shock.
Current technology has no means to produce a compact, light & portable enough UV laser (i.e., solid-state) for use in a hand-held weapon. My concept, for the time being, remains theoretical & paper-bound.
A C EnderLordPsymonCorrect me if I'm wrong, but given that a green laser can burn through stuff, I imagine an UV laser would cause quite severe burns to flesh, if not just burning right through them... I don't think it'd make for a very good taser. Just putting it out there - you won't need them volts when you're already singing the person's flesh, unless you're really sadistic of course and want the best of both worlds.
There's also whatever garment is being worn to consider, some of which is likely to have some sort of thermal resistance. But I see your point, & a hand-held laser of such power has already been constructed, albeit, an experimental one-of-a-kind by an amateur enthusiast. Discharging a high-voltage via LIPC (laser-induced plasma channel) needn't be a prolonged process; it happens in a very tiny fraction of a second. (links available)
A UV laser is just a laser which use UV light. There's nothing magical about UV. You're also not worried about the green portion of the spectrum from the sun burning through stuff. It seems like you're confusing power with frequency. A laser is just a coherent light. That means that the peaks are aligned, which allow it to for example be focused into a smaller spot, or maintain a narrow beam for longer.
The coherent waves/frequency of the light also produces another effect... seeing as how light does create a pressure, although slight, the fact of having that pressure being timed with the coherent frequency does create a resonant effect in the target. Think of the effect of microwaves in an oven... they heat the food/drink by exciting certain molecules, creating friction & therefore heat. The coherent waves in laser light also have a similar effect.
28 Sep 2020, 4:46pm
As for the impulse of light, this impulse is so miniscule that you can reasonably neglect it. You would need a lot more photons than you could send with a handheld laser.
28 Sep 2020, 6:35pm
LordPsymonA UV laser is just a laser which use UV light
It's focused UV light, which even at low power will still burn pretty bad. Green laser will also burn with relatively low wattage (we're talking less than 10 watts here), so UV, being much higher energy, would be pretty nasty even at low power. I know the difference between power and frequency, and a laser is putting all that power into a narrow beam.
The frequency (aka UV) for the context of "burning" is irrelevant. Laser can be focused (into a smaller spot than another monochromatic light), but the energy contained is not different. We're not talking about a materials absorption of different wavelengths here, so the frequency or coherence is irrelevant for a general discussion on heat.
UV is not higher "energy" than any other frequency (at the same W). Each -photon- might be more energetic, but when you need to input energy to generate that energy, assuming equal efficiency, it doesn't matter what the frequency of the photons are. The power will be the same.
Sunlight at zenith at sea level is about 1000 W/m2 - this mean that a square of 0.1 * 0.1 m contain 10 W of power. You ever played with a magnifier glass as a kid? Then you'd know that even a small magnifying glass can easily burn an object at the focus. It's easy to start a fire with the "relatively low power". 10 W focused in a small area is plenty to burn you. It doesn't really matter what the frequency is, or that it's a laser, unless you want to discuss absorption spectrum. Which quite frankly seem superfluous for your comment. You seem to confuse several different physical.
LordPsymonCorrect me if I'm wrong, but given that a green laser can burn through stuff, I imagine an UV laser would cause quite severe burns to flesh, if not just burning right through them... I don't think it'd make for a very good taser. Just putting it out there - you won't need them volts when you're already singing the person's flesh, unless you're really sadistic of course and want the best of both worlds.
29 Sep 2020, 12:05am
Rebecca HailYou would a huge quantity of energy to pull it off in any case + the energy necessary for the current you want to send through the conductive path you created.
As for the impulse of light, this impulse is so miniscule that you can reasonably neglect it. You would need a lot more photons than you could send with a handheld laser.
Basically correct, & seems to agree with my comment re: today's technological limitations.
I can estimate the sequence of events which would likely take place in the discharge of said theoretical weapon:
1. Safety flipped off - initiates sudden surge of power from energy cells, charging the capacitor(s).
2. Trigger pulled - laser beam(s) fired & a tiny fraction of a second later,
3. Capacitor(s) discharge through voltage-multiplying components, sending a high-voltage charge down the ionized path created by the laser beam(s), with the velocity dependent to a degree on the strength of the plasma channel(s) & to a greater degree, the voltage applied.
4. Upon impact, a strong electrical discharge. No doubt with an accompanying flash of light & a crack of sound similar to lightning.
Feasible with today's technology level for a hand-held weapon? No. In the >1K years in the future of the E:D time, surely.
29 Sep 2020, 9:27am
Good read. Also you would use a pulse laser, not a continuous one, so power requirements are reduced. For example, the 2-3 TW used in that article is in pulses of 50fs at 10 Hz, making each pulse 3*10^12 X 50*10^-15 = 0.15 J for an average energy use of 1.5 J/s = 1.5 W.
Last edit: 29 Sep 2020, 9:37am
29 Sep 2020, 10:29am
That link opens up some interesting applications like wide area lightning protection though.
11 Oct 2020, 4:18pm
The 1st I recall seeing several of the minor & generally overlooked aspects of life & living in space in the relatively restricted confines of a ship addressed.
11 Oct 2020, 6:14pm
I like trying to imagine what I would do and how I would feel in a certain situation. I'm not as good as coming up with alternate characters and have them interact with mine. Come to think of it, pretty much all my stories in the past take place solitary, where it's only one character with his thoughts/actions and no real other characters.