Raymond G. Van De Walker writes:
> What's he gonna use for power? Most lasers are less than 1% efficient,
> especially short-wave lasers.
The portable version is supposed to be based on a recently developed laser diode. You'd only a very short pulse to create the ionized channel, afterwards it should be self-sustaining for the duration of the discharge.
Vehicle mount applications could use harmonic generation, since power is not a problem.