Directed Energy Weapon Downs Ballistic Missile 297
A**masher writes "In a test off the Califoria coast late last night, Boeing's Airborne Laser successfully destroyed a sub-launched ballistic missile. 'This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform,' reported the Missile Defense Agency. It should be noted that destroying a liquid-fueled ballistic missile is generally considered easier than killing a solid-fueled equivalent due to the relative fragility of the fueling and other systems."
Popcorn and other practical applications (Score:5, Funny)
Some people may worry that a laser this powerful could be used to build some sort of spaced-based precision bomber. But don't worry, you'd have to get someone to build you optics for a phase conjugate target tracking system to do something like that. And no one is stupid enough to do that without realizing the implications.
Wrong Platform (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wrong Platform (Score:3, Funny)
The sharks aren't big enough, I think our only chance is to put those in a whale.
Star Trek had it all wrong, the humpback whales didn't go extinct because they're so tasty, nono, they went extinct because we were putting friggin laser beams in them.
Lasers vs. Railguns (Score:5, Funny)
My money is on railguns being the most practical weapon first:
http://gizmodo.com/351467/navy-rail-gun-test-destroys-everything-it-touches-at-5640-mph [gizmodo.com]
Besides, lasers are a bit girly, they're just like overpowered flashlights ;) There's something more manly about accurately launching a solid lump of metal 200 miles at just short of mach 8!
Re:Lasers vs. Railguns (Score:3, Funny)
Lasers may be girly but they are a whole lot sexier than railguns which is basically just a gun that shoots really fast bullets
Re:Popcorn and other practical applications (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:In the immortal words of Socrates (Score:3, Funny)
It's a joke, man. Real geeks do whatever the hell they want to do. Being obsessive about weird shit even other types of geeks don't get is, well, one of the primary characteristics of geekhood.