Advanced laser weapons are coming: ‘huge breakthrough’ in high-energy lasers

Chinese researchers have made what has been termed a “major breakthrough” in high-energy laser technology. Thanks to the new cooling system, Chinese lasers can now work “forever” in theory, efficiently removing the accumulated waste heat. According to the researchers, this innovation could enable high-energy laser weapons to be longer-range and more effective.

Laser guns that can work forever can be made

This discovery, made by scientists at the National University of Defense Technology in China’s Hunan province, solves an important technical challenge in the development of laser weapons. This means that potentially high-energy lasers can now produce continuous, high-performance laser beams using new technology.

“This represents a major breakthrough in improving the performance of high-energy laser systems. High-quality beams are not only produced in the first second, but also indefinitely,” the team led by laser weapons scientist Yuan Shengfu wrote in the paper published in Acta Optica Sinica, a peer-reviewed journal in Chinese. can be protected,” he says.

The new cooling system is claimed to work by combining “advanced structures” and optimized gas flow to remove heat, while simultaneously reducing turbulence and vibration within the laser. It also helps keep the laser gun’s focusing mirrors clean.

“Since the invention of the first ruby ​​laser in 1960, people have dreamed of switching from kinetic energy to laser energy for rapid projection of energy at the speed of light, and laser beams becoming ‘death beams’ that can instantly kill targets,” Yuan and colleagues said. Although various types of lasers have been developed after decades, the application of high-energy laser systems has not been successful.

“US systems are inadequate”

Various countries, including the United States, have tried to develop high-energy laser weapon systems for military purposes, but these have not been included in the inventory, at least for now, or the projects have been shelved. Chinese scientists claim that the main reason for the cancellation of these projects is that their destructive forces did not meet expectations. For now these weapons also have a limited effective range of only a few kilometers due to heat build-up during operation. To combat this, Yuan’s team developed a compact and efficient internal beam path modifier. The system blows gas through the gun to remove waste heat and improve gas cleanliness. It also aims to optimize gas flow and minimize size and weight.

China’s system consists of several key components, including an air source, a heat exchanger, a gas flow control system, and a gas injection/suction system. The air source provides clean, dry air to the system, while the heat exchanger cools this air to the desired temperature, theoretically making continuous operation possible.