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Originally posted by greenkoolaid
I don't see the point of a space race, other than ego. If the Chinese are the first to land a man on Mars or something along those lines, good for them. I don't think it will be a good milestone for just the Chinese but for all of mankind.
Kilowatt for kilogram, this is
the world's most powerful solid-state laser. Its invisible beam drilled Yamamoto's inch-thick steel plate in two seconds. Add larger crystals and it will eat steel a mile or more away.
"What we're building," Yamamoto explains, "is a laser weapon."
After sinking 40 years and billions of dollars into beam weapons, defense scientists are on the cusp of what could be a military revolution -- warfare at the speed of light.
"We've made a quantum leap here," said Randy Buff, solid-state laser program manager for the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command. "We're anxious to get out there and do something."