Fact or Science Fiction:
Could Lasers become Viable Weapons in Modern World?
When I say the word ‘laser’, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Perhaps, like the majority of people, your brain jumps straight to the science fiction. For decades, since 1898 when HG Wells novel War of the Worlds swept the nation, lasers have been popular within the genre of science fiction. From lightsabers, to ray guns it seems lasers have been imagined as a myriad of different weapons. This overwhelming prevalence of this particular idea is perhaps more astounding due to the fact that our civilization has been enthralled by the concept for nearly 2,500 years (Wilson, 2015). In fact Archimedes was one of the first known individuals to experiment with the notion of lasers when he created his “Burning Mirror” weapon, all the way back in 212 BC (Wilson, 2015). Archimedes was possibly the first but certainly not the last to find fascination with the scientific endeavor of creating a laser capable of destruction. What ensued was of course overwhelming failure with rare, sporadic success. Thus the fixation on lasers seemed to have a ‘snowball effect’; The more genuine scientific research done, the more lasers gained prominence in science fiction, the more they were written about in fantasy, the more desperate people were to bring them off the pages and into our tangible world. A Long History of Failure Many nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USSR, Great Britain, and the United States launched secret independent research in order to create essentially the equivalent of lasers in preparation for an imminent World War II (Wilson, 2015). However, when this work failed for all parties, the research was dropped. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that the United States began considering laser research once more as a serious enterprise. Spurred by Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, teams were put together to attempt a defense weapon system comprised of lasers fired from orbiting satellites to neutralize threats on the United States in the form of missiles (Wilson, 2015). Despite their best efforts though, the plan was abandoned due to low efficiency, that said, they simply were unable to generate enough energy to cause a sufficient amount of damage or travel a sufficient distance (Wilson, 2015). Now given this information one may conclude that if we have failed so notably in the past with this seemingly impossible task, perhaps laser technology is best left to fantasy. Yet I assure you, this technology is far more science than it is fiction and now is the time we should be investing in it the most. A Promise for Success Simply put, the reasons for our inability to create an adequate laser weapon are …show more content…
The United States is not the only country that has toyed with the idea of researching lasers with the purpose of creating weapons. Many other countries have been pouring money and resources into laser research, especially recently. Most notably China, Israel, and Russia have been investing themselves in generating laser weapons, and making great progress in the field as well (Wilson, 2015). If this progress continues at its current rate, lasers will soon become the weapon to define an era of warfare. With an examination of the history of war it is clear that often an invention of a new weapon, or a new genre of weapon can quickly change the odds in a war, sometimes even secure victory. We have seen it countless times. The creation of the longbow in 14th century allowed the English to win the Battle of Agincourt and Crecy despite the odds being stacked against them. When it was guns against the more primitive arrows and spears in the many battles between indigenous peoples and european conquerors over the course of the conquest of the Americas, the less advanced weapons did not stand a chance.When the Germans invented the U-boat, or submarine, before World War I they changed marine warfare forever. The innovation of tanks suddenly minimized the efficiency of foot soldiers. Most recently, the United States development of the atomic bomb ended a war and ushered in a prominent new era of nuclear weaponry. Evolution of war has happened before and will inevitably happen again, we need to insure that we keep pace with this evolution so as not to be left in the
Could Lasers become Viable Weapons in Modern World?
When I say the word ‘laser’, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Perhaps, like the majority of people, your brain jumps straight to the science fiction. For decades, since 1898 when HG Wells novel War of the Worlds swept the nation, lasers have been popular within the genre of science fiction. From lightsabers, to ray guns it seems lasers have been imagined as a myriad of different weapons. This overwhelming prevalence of this particular idea is perhaps more astounding due to the fact that our civilization has been enthralled by the concept for nearly 2,500 years (Wilson, 2015). In fact Archimedes was one of the first known individuals to experiment with the notion of lasers when he created his “Burning Mirror” weapon, all the way back in 212 BC (Wilson, 2015). Archimedes was possibly the first but certainly not the last to find fascination with the scientific endeavor of creating a laser capable of destruction. What ensued was of course overwhelming failure with rare, sporadic success. Thus the fixation on lasers seemed to have a ‘snowball effect’; The more genuine scientific research done, the more lasers gained prominence in science fiction, the more they were written about in fantasy, the more desperate people were to bring them off the pages and into our tangible world. A Long History of Failure Many nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USSR, Great Britain, and the United States launched secret independent research in order to create essentially the equivalent of lasers in preparation for an imminent World War II (Wilson, 2015). However, when this work failed for all parties, the research was dropped. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that the United States began considering laser research once more as a serious enterprise. Spurred by Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, teams were put together to attempt a defense weapon system comprised of lasers fired from orbiting satellites to neutralize threats on the United States in the form of missiles (Wilson, 2015). Despite their best efforts though, the plan was abandoned due to low efficiency, that said, they simply were unable to generate enough energy to cause a sufficient amount of damage or travel a sufficient distance (Wilson, 2015). Now given this information one may conclude that if we have failed so notably in the past with this seemingly impossible task, perhaps laser technology is best left to fantasy. Yet I assure you, this technology is far more science than it is fiction and now is the time we should be investing in it the most. A Promise for Success Simply put, the reasons for our inability to create an adequate laser weapon are …show more content…
The United States is not the only country that has toyed with the idea of researching lasers with the purpose of creating weapons. Many other countries have been pouring money and resources into laser research, especially recently. Most notably China, Israel, and Russia have been investing themselves in generating laser weapons, and making great progress in the field as well (Wilson, 2015). If this progress continues at its current rate, lasers will soon become the weapon to define an era of warfare. With an examination of the history of war it is clear that often an invention of a new weapon, or a new genre of weapon can quickly change the odds in a war, sometimes even secure victory. We have seen it countless times. The creation of the longbow in 14th century allowed the English to win the Battle of Agincourt and Crecy despite the odds being stacked against them. When it was guns against the more primitive arrows and spears in the many battles between indigenous peoples and european conquerors over the course of the conquest of the Americas, the less advanced weapons did not stand a chance.When the Germans invented the U-boat, or submarine, before World War I they changed marine warfare forever. The innovation of tanks suddenly minimized the efficiency of foot soldiers. Most recently, the United States development of the atomic bomb ended a war and ushered in a prominent new era of nuclear weaponry. Evolution of war has happened before and will inevitably happen again, we need to insure that we keep pace with this evolution so as not to be left in the