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Chinese military claims to have new laser weapon that fires ‘infinitely’ without loss of power or overheating
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Chinese military scientists have announced a new laser weapon system that fires “infinitely” without loss of power or overheating.
Researchers at the National University of Defense Technology attributed the breakthrough to a new cooling system that releases gas through the weapon to remove heat and optimize laser flow for precision shooting.
The new cooling system would ultimately change the face of battle by allowing the use of lasers on drones and other smaller vehicles – something the US has tried and failed.
The US military has long worked to install lasers on drones and missiles, but has yet to overcome the cooling problem that China claimed to solve.
Chinese military scientists claim to have developed a cooling system for lasers. Technology pumps gas through the system and removes excess heat, allowing the weapon to fire indefinitely (stock)
“This is a huge breakthrough in improving the performance of high-energy laser systems,” said the team, led by laser weapons scientist Yuan Shengfu. South China Morning Post.
“High quality beams can be produced not only within the first second, but also retained indefinitely.”
Lasers work by stimulating emissions, according to Beijing time.
These are atoms or molecules excited in a crystal or gas gain medium at a higher energy state.
When the atoms or molecules fall back to the ground, they release photos which are magnified through optical feedback, which results in a high power laser beam.
The weapon’s mirrors and lenses keep the beam on a targeted path through the air, ultimately heating the gas, disrupting the flow, and scattering the beam.
Yuan’s team solved these problems by developing the Internal Beam Path Conditioner, which uses gas to remove waste heat and maintain a pristine gas environment within the weapon.
The US military has long worked to install lasers on drones and missiles, but has yet to overcome the cooling problem that China claimed to solve. The US Navy (pictured) can only use massive systems on top of large ships
The new cooling system consists of several parts, including a gas flow control system, an air source, a heat exchanger and an injection and suction system.
The air source first pumps dry air through the laser system, and the heat exchanger cools the components to the desired temperature.
In addition to removing excess heat, gas flow reduces turbulence and vibration in the laser for more precision.
And it’s also designed to keep the weapon’s focusing mirrors clean.
“Since the invention of the first ruby laser in 1960, people have been excited to switch from kinetic energy to laser energy for the rapid projection of energy at the speed of light, dreaming that the laser beams become ‘death rays’ that can instantly kill targets,” Yuan and his colleagues said.
“Unfortunately, 60 years have passed, and although various types of lasers have been developed, the application of high-energy laser systems has not been successful.”
The U.S. military has been the leader in breakthroughs in laser weapons, with some notable examples of high-energy lasers including the Navy Advanced Chemical Laser (NACL), the Middle Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL), the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL).
However, massive and heavy weapons only make them useful for large military vehicles like boats and tanks.
This limits their range and mobility, but Chinese research could change the way the nation conducts war – leaving the United States behind.