Really heavy lasers

[daryen]

I am curious. Why are there no super-heavy lasers in Traveller? In other words, why are lasers only turret weapons. Why aren't there any bay mounted or spinal laser weapons?

Please note I do not have either version of FF&S, and so don't know if they included any. But from what I remember and know, no other version of Traveller had such laser weapons.

 

[Rupert Boleyn]

Originally posted by daryen:
I am curious. Why are there no super-heavy lasers in Traveller? In other words, why are lasers only turret weapons. Why aren't there any bay mounted or spinal laser weapons?

Please note I do not have either version of FF&S, and so don't know if they included any. But from what I remember and know, no other version of Traveller had such laser weapons.

Well, FF&S allowed such devices. In fact they were so good that a standard houserule is that they're limited in output power (to something of bay-size or smaller) to prevent them making all other forms of spinal mount obselete. ISTR that FF&S2 had this limit in it also.

Because in FF&S PAW and meson bays, barbettes, and turrets were essentially worthless conversions of these were usually to large lasers.

 

[mike wightman]

Meanwhile, back in the real world, have a look at what China may be able to do.

 

[DaveChase]

Something about heat. Even with space the heat would cause some major problems. Star Wars kind of address that with the Death Star firing several lasers at a focal point and then focused that point to the target. (Gravity control would be required which Star Wars has).

Even assuming short (very short) burst the heat is still very high.
Shooting at space craft with self sealing armor would then require one of the following to be effect (assuming no counter measures of any sort):

A large dia beam to make the hole larger than what can be quickly repaired
Multburst on target to create a shotgun pattern to make repair difficult
A beam so intense that it fuses the hole open

Lasers only have limited depth with out substaining on target. So lasers can not really cause more than surface damage. With atmospheric craft (planes, missles, cars, boats) more damage can be caused on a target due to friction (if going fast) or leakage (water craft) or fast penentration (cars not tanks have thin skin) and the laser can do internal damage.

Bigger lasers require more control, more enegry and more material plus are normally easier to mis-align.

Powerful lasers require more cooling, more energy and really good material plus are easier to mis-align.

The above is assuming that you are using the lasers to do damage and not just be a pointer.

Sorry I do not post actual facts and figures. Thought I would just talk about the general facts.

Dave

 

[Straybow]

Lasers only have limited depth with out substaining on target. So lasers can not really cause more than surface damage.

Not so! A primitve (early 1970s) ruby laser powered by ordinary wall current, firing a microsecond burst about once every ten seconds, could punch a hole through ordinary sheet metal or several inches of wood. Thicker metals are a problem because the vaporizing mass has an intrinsic reflectivity that defeats easy penetration.

Lasers developed by the army were "stuttered" (hundreds of extremely short pulses back to back in a tiny fraction of a second) to allow the vaporizing metal to disperse. They could easily penetrate the best armor. However, the delicate nature of some parts and the huge power requirements made them impractical at current tech level.

The Air-Borne Laser project uses more power at longer distances, so the beam was somewhat dispersed and caused uneven vaporization, also eliminating the reflectivity problem.

In any case, vaporization is an explosive process. (What is an explosion but the rapid conversion of matter to superheated vapor?) The old ruby laser target made a loud bang and a whisp of smoke from the tiny hole. Military lasers leave more than a tiny hole and cause a much bigger bang!

The idea of making an object reflective to defeat lasers doesn't work. It isn't possible&#151the intensity of the beam quickly (nanoseconds) drains the electrons at the surface of the material of free energy necessary to cause reflection and the electrons themselves take up the incident energy and are freed, leaving the atoms highly ionized and stripped of molecular bonds.

That is a description of "vaporization" as caused by laser or similar incident energy. The resulting explosion may not do much to a tank if penetration is incomplete. Anything else is too lightly armored to resist penetration, or if living, has a particular affinity for the few cm of surface material thus burnt away.


On one hand, you're right. A man-portable laser rifle won't do much damage to a vehicle unless it hits something vital, just like a conventional rifle. Any larger laser such as Traveller envisions for vehicular mount will unleash enough energy to cause lots of damage.