So Hand-held Laser Rifles Are A Thing Now...

[YingJanshi]

https://youtu.be/E3YCACZQ72Q

...yeah, okay, okay, maybe not quite...but it's still cool...  ::) ::)

[elf25s]

if you can get your hands on class 4 laser you can build a rifle. and yes you can make it portable only problem is a power supply and you can get at least 4 shots or less, at least from what i had seen.
also blue ray lasers in blue ray players can be used as either burners or cutters depending on set up and output.

[Kidd]

Interesting

So actually you'd usually see nothing from a laser weapon, no beam, just a coloured spot on the impact surface which would anyway be burning and shooting out sparks, smoke etc.

[elf25s]

yes pretty much...the so called beams and lances are pure sci fi invention to make them look "cool". most lasers like class 4 are not visible to human eye anyway.
about 10 years back to prove a point and on a bet my friend took apart and rebuild the bar code scanner laser found in registers into a burning laser that did cut through wood about 1 cm  and after some lenses were added to the rig he was able to turn it also into an etching laser he could use on aluminum. but the kicker was when he replaced the laser with a laser from 2nd gen blue ray player....that thing was punching holes in would up to 2 cm or so with less power needed. needless to say element in laser did not last too long.
but to be honest it took long and you were better off using a magnifying glass...

[Weirdo]

Interesting

So actually you'd usually see nothing from a laser weapon, no beam, just a coloured spot on the impact surface which would anyway be burning and shooting out sparks, smoke etc.

If the beam is powerful enough, there should be heat shimmer along its path as it superheats the air it passes through, as well as glow wherever random dust particles/bugs/whatever are incinerated. If the beam is REALLY powerful, I'd imagine there are visible effects from ionization of the air molecules.

[glitterboy2098]

honestly i could see manufacturers adding a simple green laser pointer system (which do have visible beams) to a laser weapon, purely because people expect to see a beam. for an industrial system, such an indicator would also have a valuable safety function as well.

[Lazarus Jaguar]

That sounds like something out of Rifts.  In the books they do point out lasers make no noise.  But manufacturers found users expected to hear something, so added an electronic noise maker.

Which I could see being done with something like this.  Nice inidcator that it's on

[glitterboy2098]

electric vehicle manufacturers are actually looking into adding sound-FX to their vehicles while moving, because it turned out they were quiet enough (and what sounds they do make are too unfamiliar) that pedestrians were more likely to not notice a vehicle approaching.

https://www.popsci.com/article/cars/designing-sound-effects-gently-warn-pedestrians-silent-vehicles
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1272218/Silent-electric-cars-Star-Wars-sound-effects-warn-pedestrians-coming.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/11/AR2010061105343.html

[Weirdo]

That could go poorly. Just wait until people figure out how to customize their car-is-coming sounds, and choose what they want like a ringtone, then remember how many people in this world are jerks...

[Kit deSummersville]

That could go poorly. Just wait until people figure out how to customize their car-is-coming sounds, and choose what they want like a ringtone, then remember how many people in this world are jerks...

I'm not the biggest DMB fan but "Crash Into Me" would pretty pretty ironic....

[grimlock1]

That sounds like something out of Rifts.  In the books they do point out lasers make no noise.  But manufacturers found users expected to hear something, so added an electronic noise maker.

Which I could see being done with something like this.  Nice inidcator that it's on

The laser itself is basically silent, aside from its associated power supply, but the I imagine that the boiling metal would have some associated noise.  Recall that the narrator mentions a stream of presurized air to blow the vaporized material out of the kerf.  We don't hear that on the video.

[Matti]

If the beam is powerful enough, there should be heat shimmer along its path as it superheats the air it passes through, as well as glow wherever random dust particles/bugs/whatever are incinerated. If the beam is REALLY powerful, I'd imagine there are visible effects from ionization of the air molecules.

When MacGyver encountered a laser security system (or whatever), he lighted up 3 cigarettes and smoke revealed the beam. Does this have any truth on it?

[Weirdo]

Smoke or fog will reveal a beam, but you'd need a hell of a lot more than three cigarettes to do it, unless RDA likes sticking smoke flares in his mouth.

It would likely show up as an intermittent flickering for a damage-grade beam. The smoke would reveal the beam, the particles would almost instantly be incinerated, so after they flare out the beam would no longer be visible until new particles moved into the area or the beam itself moved. The amount of visible beam would depend on how much smoke was in the room, plus air and beam movement.

Given that a laser can light up a path through a cloud instantaneously, I wonder how long until someone experiments on their utility in igniting FAEs, intentionally or otherwise.

[Kit deSummersville]

Given that a laser can light up a path through a cloud instantaneously, I wonder how long until someone experiments on their utility in igniting FAEs, intentionally or otherwise.

"Hey you know that trick I used to do with a lighter after chili night at the Frat? Well, here's the battlefield version of it!"

[Weirdo]

I look forward to the day when this stuff is familiar enough that you have to be drunk to try that, as opposed to merely untrained.

[glitterboy2098]

Smoke or fog will reveal a beam, but you'd need a hell of a lot more than three cigarettes to do it, unless RDA likes sticking smoke flares in his mouth.

when mythbusters tested this myth, they found two things..
1) the beams on real laser tripwire systems are infrared, and thus invisible to the eye even when particulates are blown across them.
2) the amount of particulates required to make a beam clearly visible* was enough to actually trip the sensor.


* they actually used night vision goggles to see if the IR beam's would show up as the smoke was blown across.

[pheonixstorm]

And don't forget that video is almost 5 years old now.

[GRUD]

That sounds like something out of Rifts.  In the books they do point out lasers make no noise.  But manufacturers found users expected to hear something, so added an electronic noise maker.

Which I could see being done with something like this.  Nice inidcator that it's on

In 1984, at Basic Training, I fired a training round from an M72 LAW.  It was recoilless, and since I had earplugs in I didn't hear any noise of it firing after I pressed the trigger.  I was about to do "Remedial Action" for a mis-fire, when I saw a small puff of smoke down range.  I can DEFINITELY see the need for SOME sort of indicator when a laser rifle/pistol fires!  :o  Even a slight vibration would work, since a sound would help alert any enemy to your position.

[Empyrus]

Can't find the quote but i believe one section of Atomic Rockets site mentions that a laser gun would make noise a bit like that of a conventional firearm. But the source would be the target, flash-heating material basically creates a small explosion.
The gun itself would be mostly silent naturally. Simple grip vibration (think console controllers) would probably work to alert the user that his weapon works.

[CrossfirePilot]

That could go poorly. Just wait until people figure out how to customize their car-is-coming sounds, and choose what they want like a ringtone, then remember how many people in this world are jerks...

I would totally have "Ride of the Valkyries" as my cars ring tone!

[pheonixstorm]

Good idea! That or O Fortuna

[grimlock1]

Can't find the quote but i believe one section of Atomic Rockets site mentions that a laser gun would make noise a bit like that of a conventional firearm. But the source would be the target, flash-heating material basically creates a small explosion.
The gun itself would be mostly silent naturally. Simple grip vibration (think console controllers) would probably work to alert the user that his weapon works.

I've seen some cell phone photos snapped while the phone was vibrating.
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--9e6t1Cz6--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18kz352i2c2qqjpg.jpg

Might be a bit of an issue for keeping the sights on a target.

[Empyrus]

Well, there is a difference between 400g phone/camera and 4kg gun vibrating slightly. Presumably vibration affecting accuracy can be engineered away though, or there is some other alternative, reliable method to indicate the gun is active to the user.

[guardiandashi]

Well, there is a difference between 400g phone/camera and 4kg gun vibrating slightly. Presumably vibration affecting accuracy can be engineered away though, or there is some other alternative, reliable method to indicate the gun is active to the user.

heh put one of the sound effect thingies from the old star wars toys in it, IE a small electric motor that spins a gear against a piece of plastic, or, a vibration module based on the same idea ie. it does something that makes some kind of indicator noticeable to the user, but not real obvious to anyone else.

[CrossfirePilot]

It could be a setting next to "Safe, Burst, Full Auto"

1. Star Trek Phaser
2. Han Solo's Blaster
3. Party kazoo

[Daryk]

OK, that got a laugh!  :D

And I encourage all those who miss the old emoticons to switch to the "BattleTech 2.0" Theme.  They're still there, if nowhere else yet...

[GRUD]

It could be a setting next to "Safe, Burst, Full Auto"

1. Star Trek Phaser
2. Han Solo's Blaster
3. Party kazoo

So, for you, "Party Kazoo" is equal to "Full Auto"?   ???  Please don't invite me to any of your parties!   :o


 ;D

[elf25s]

something to pick every ones interest...and yes there are more videos including lasers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEaDhDTciQ

btw looked up some prices for class 4 lasers they had dropped quite a lot to get nice and high parts it would be anywhere from 3500 to 5000 thousand usd now its about 2000

as for the sound as far as i can tell coil gun has it when projectile displaces air in the "barrel" and it varies with a design.