Odd, lasers I know can't be focused. They can be bent and shaped
by mirror. But focus is not how it works. Laser means parallel light.

Martin

On 8/28/2015 9:48 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 14:35:40 +0000 (UTC), unk wrote:

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:47:41 -0400, Ed Huntress wrote:

Here it is, the latest laser toy from Boeing, designed specifically to
set drones on fi

http://www.wired.com/2015/08/welcome...-laser-cannon/

It's a 2kW laser that's controlled by a standard Xbox 360 and a laptop.
Although the article doesn't say so, it's probably powered by an
off-the-shelf IPG fiber laser, like the big laser cannons that are being
deployed on US ships.

Every kid in America is going to ask for one for Christmas. g

How far away would you have to be for that not to blind you?

Probably on the Moon. g A 2 kW laser, focused for a destructive spot
like, that, is damned dangerous.

The thing is, though, that it probably goes out of focus pretty fast.
It would depend on the spot size at some distance. These are not
strictly parallel beams; they have to focus them with lenses. But
fiber lasers, which are the ones typically used for these small-scale
millitary applications, have a wavelength that is particularly nasty
for human eyes. That's why the fiber cutting lasers used in fab shops
are enclosed with heavily-tinted enclosures, while CO2 lasers are not.