From: Eugen Leitl (eugen@leitl.org)
Date: Wed Jan 08 2003 - 15:27:55 MST
On Wed, 8 Jan 2003, Kai Becker wrote:
> PMJI, but this means to aim a tightly focused high energy beam (many MW)
Think of it not a tightly focuses beam but as an anisotropically radiating
star. You can do a lot if you can 98% of Sol's output go into 2% of
selected space radiants. And you can do a lot better, of course, by
tracking an armada of gray sails each hundreds of km across over lightday
distances.
> to a hit a moving target across several hundred million kilometers,
> probably being crossed, reflected or diverted by comets, planets, ships -
Not if your phased array radiator itself is lightminutes to lighhours in
aperture.
> or habitats. If the energy density in the beam is enough to keep a whole
> habitat warm and bright, the same energy, focused to a beam a few meters
> wide, could also burn the habitat or fry a ship on its way to the
> habitat. Pretty dangerous, IMHO.
Of course you could fry a planetary surface that way, if used as a weapon.
But no one would be dumb enough to stick to planetary surfaces at that
late stage of the game, right?
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