• Question: can a beam of light be used as a weapon?

    Asked by mawmanjr01 to Adam, Catherine, Leila on 22 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 22 Mar 2012:

      Yes, if it’s strong enough – basically a laser.

      Shining a strong laser has the same effect as focussing the sun through a magnifying glass onto some grass (or ants… I was a very cruel child!). It makes the light very intense on one spot, making it very hot and setting fire to the target.

      In 2010, the US Navy tested laser weapons on unmanned drones. Here’s a video:

    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 22 Mar 2012:

      Yep! IF you think about it, anything can be used as a weapon with enough ingenuity. Shining mirrors in soldiers eyes has been used to great effect in a lot of action films I’ve seen!

      But Lasers can be made powerful enough to be a weapon. They’re frequently used /on/ weapons, as targetting aids or for guided missiles hitting their targets.

      Lasers just heat up the area. Loads of things already use lasers for cutting, so it’s not that hard to make a harmful one.

      Things like microwave or infrared lasers are also being developed that do weird stuff like melt metal and other things.

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