High-Energy Laser Beam Weapons

Abstract

In this section, we talk about beam weapons and their applications as directed energy weapons. The origin of laser technology dated back to a prediction made in 1916 by Albert Einstein where he suggested that an atom or molecule could be stimulated to emit light of a particular wavelength when light of that wavelength reached it, a phenomenon called stimulated emission. It had already been recognized that atoms and molecules emit and absorb light spontaneously, without outside intervention. In 1928, R. Ladenburg showed that Einstein’s prediction was right. At that time, stimulated emission seemed to be a very rare occurrence that was inevitably overwhelmed by spontaneous emission. It would be many years before physicist learned how to create the right conditions to make practical use of stimulated emission in lasers, the physics of which we know today. The 1970s saw a series of breakthroughs that rekindled military interest in high-energy laser weaponry. These developments were centered in two areas, carbon dioxide and chemical lasers, the technology of which are known today. The CO₂ laser’s potential for high-power output was recognized soon after it was first demonstrated by Patel although technology of gas dynamic laser was invented in 1967. Similar work was reported at about the same time by a Russian group which may have stimulated from American research works [1].