At 10:25 AM 1/15/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Teller's plan was to develop X-ray lasers, "pumped" by a exploding
>sub-kiloton nuclear explosive. The x-ray lasers would first be aimed at
>the ascending missle, or its descending payloads, and then the explosive
>would be detonated, destroying the laser in micro-seconds; but not before
>sending a burst of electrons and photons through the laser-tube. The X-ray
>beam would continue at 1/3rd the speed of light, striking its
>target. More modest laser defense technology seems now more plausible.
How is the X-ray beam slowed? This might be a useful effect - slowing
electromagnetic radiation in free (almost) space) would be a technical coup!
Perhaps you mean the debris from the burst travel at that speed?
Chuck Kuecker
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:56:19 MDT