US military pioneers death ray bomb

Guardian ^ | 08/14/03 | David Adam and Suzanne Goldenberg

[Eala]

Robert, it's now mentioned on Slashdot under Stimulated Gamma Decay Weapons." It's not directed (focused) as the "death ray" title (ya just gotta love the ill-educated press) suggests.

[xm177e2]

I remember whispers of a "death ray" battle-rifle. One that could slice an advancing force in half like butter. One that could fry tanks and jets from a mile away. If we developed it we obviously don't have the huevos to deploy it.

Why would we want to tip our hand? Something like that should be saved for a dire situation (or at least, we should save it until we're absolutely sure we're ready to conquer the world). Not that I believe those sorts of rumors.

[Right Wing Professor]

So how could they "focus" the rays (emitted omni-directionally from random decay) so that the rays all go one direction and can be aimed? How do you "turn off" the device so it can be stored and transported

The idea, apparently, is to excite nuclei to a metastable, rotationally excited state, and then use stimulated emission to cause them to emit all at once, possibly coherently. You'd probably need an intense flux of monochromatic gammas to get it started, but once it did, it would self-sustain.

I posted a link earlier in the thread that had some more detailed information.

I think you'd be looking at a gamma bomb rather than a directed device. Even if a gamma ray laser were possible, I can't see how you'd build a laser cavity for gammas.

[Robert A Cook PE]

They're not exactly "reflective" from a surface are they?

Hmmmmmmmmmn.


What would you call it?


Maser (microwave) ....Laser (light) .... Gamma ...


A graser?

(Reminds me of a bovine who lives in south LA.)

[Mr. Silverback]

Oh, sorry.

No, my bad. I forgot what the conventional freeper meaning of Zot is.

[Prodigal Son]

rigorous testing is required..may i suggest france and germany as perfect testing sites

Would it please you to kill as many French and Germans as possible? Just a question.

[saminfl]

Who else would be in the arms race?

[rrrod]

only the ones that have said the usa deserved what happened on 9-11....they have chosen their side ..let them rot!

[Prodigal Son]

Let them rot. That seems to be your favorite phrase. How many Germans have said that? Again, just curious. The only person I have personally met to have said that the Americans deserved 9/11 was a British lady and she told me that to my face on 9/11 even as her own countrymen lay dead and dying in the rubble of the WTC.