Chinese laser gun which burns flesh from half a mile away 'perfect for assassins'

Reptile

Reptile

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Experts say the first targets of the weapon will know about it is when they drop down dead

A terrifying new laser rifle which can set fire to flesh from up to half a mile away will be perfect for assassins, spooks have reportedly said.

The 'Laser AK47' weapon, developed in China, is said to be capable of causing 'instant carbonisation' of living matter.
And intelligence sources say they believe the ZKZM-500 laser assault rifle is a gun to be scared of.

An insider told the Daily Star : “The first anyone knows that an attack has taken place will be when the target burst into flames or drops down dead.”

Laser gun which burns flesh from half a mile away 'perfect for assassins'

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The best of the article is towards the end:

“Such a laser may prove incapable of even popping a balloon,” one report on industry news website TechCrunch said.

“There’s just no way that a laser powered by a lithium-ion battery that a person could carry would be capable of producing the kind of heat described at point-blank range, let alone at 800 metres,” it said.

The writer said: “Hopefully they give a real-world demonstration of the device soon and put me to shame.”
 
I'll believe it when I see it. Li batteries for a hand held weaponized laser under 7 lbs? No hard figures in the report, but wouldn't the beam divergence you'd get from this level of laser be pretty damn large at half a mile? I could be wrong, but I feel like this is more of a "please hold still for 10 seconds so I can focus on the same spot to burn you at 30 yards" type of gun, and the rest is hype.
 
ReluctantDecoy said:
I'll believe it when I see it. Li batteries for a hand held weaponized laser under 7 lbs? No hard figures in the report, but wouldn't the beam divergence you'd get from this level of laser be pretty damn large at half a mile? I could be wrong, but I feel like this is more of a "please hold still for 10 seconds so I can focus on the same spot to burn you at 30 yards" type of gun, and the rest is hype.
Click to expand...

No.

A 3mm dia. beam, pointed at the moon, would yield about a 75mm spot on the surface, given typical beam divergence of most lasers. I'm sure you could tighten that up further with some addl. optics on the output.

Power is the problem. Lasers are extraordinarily inefficient. Something handheld, even operating in a pulsed mode, would likely not be able to produce any significant output more than once. The just suck down too much power. Either they've solved the battery energy density problem, somehow invented new physics, or they're full of shit.
 
RumRunner said:
Great, they are making it so easy that anyone can now be an assassin.
Click to expand...
Years ago, a friend of mine (fellow Aspie, quite a bit older than me - sadly he's long passed on now) frequently expressed the desire to be Lord High Executioner. If he could be that, I could certainly be an assassin. [grin]
 
Friday said:
No.

A 3mm dia. beam, pointed at the moon, would yield about a 75mm spot on the surface, given typical beam divergence of most lasers. I'm sure you could tighten that up further with some addl. optics on the output.

Power is the problem. Lasers are extraordinarily inefficient. Something handheld, even operating in a pulsed mode, would likely not be able to produce any significant output more than once. The just suck down too much power. Either they've solved the battery energy density problem, somehow invented new physics, or they're full of shit.
Click to expand...

That's a lot of assumption though. Aperture size and power are unknown (unless that 3mm was more than a guess), so you can't truly calculate divergence, and I already touched on my disbelief that a Li battery pack could produce such results at 1/2 mile.
 
If you're being assassinated and you feel an acute burning sensation just make sure to stay still. If possible try to move some vital organs into the path of the beam.
 
ReluctantDecoy said:
I'll believe it when I see it. Li batteries for a hand held weaponized laser under 7 lbs? No hard figures in the report, but wouldn't the beam divergence you'd get from this level of laser be pretty damn large at half a mile? I could be wrong, but I feel like this is more of a "please hold still for 10 seconds so I can focus on the same spot to burn you at 30 yards" type of gun, and the rest is hype.
Click to expand...
Everyone is afraid of the unknown. NATO was scared sh**less of the MIG 25 until Lt. Viktor Belenko defected to Japan in one. It was examined and it was proven that it was not the threat NATO strategists thought it was. Same with the 5.45mm Soviet rifle round. Rumors abounded that its velocity was well over 4,000 fps and that the wounds it inflicted were not survivable. Again, proven false. And so it continues....
 
Lasers do suffer from more beam divergence the more power you dump in. Basically. Once the air gets heated, you need to change the optics. Is it pulsed? Or continuous?
 
308rifleman said:
Everyone is afraid of the unknown. NATO was scared sh**less of the MIG 25 until Lt. Viktor Belenko defected to Japan in one. It was examined and it was proven that it was not the threat NATO strategists thought it was. Same with the 5.45mm Soviet rifle round. Rumors abounded that its velocity was well over 4,000 fps and that the wounds it inflicted were not survivable. Again, proven false. And so it continues....
Click to expand...

This isn't fear. I grew up with Star Wars, so part of me wants to go "pew-pew" in my lifetime, so here's hoping for trickle down military weaponry for civilians. I'm just saying I don't believe a word of it given that they were saying they got these results with a 7 lb battery operated gun. It seems very exaggerated at best.
 
Reptile said:
Experts say the first targets of the weapon will know about it is when they drop down dead

A terrifying new laser rifle which can set fire to flesh from up to half a mile away will be perfect for assassins, spooks have reportedly said.

The 'Laser AK47' weapon, developed in China, is said to be capable of causing 'instant carbonisation' of living matter.
And intelligence sources say they believe the ZKZM-500 laser assault rifle is a gun to be scared of.

An insider told the Daily Star : “The first anyone knows that an attack has taken place will be when the target burst into flames or drops down dead.”

Laser gun which burns flesh from half a mile away 'perfect for assassins'

Mass Compliant?

Group Buy?
Click to expand...


I'm sure it will be easier to get this weapon than trying to get a new Massachusetts compliant Glock.
 
ReluctantDecoy said:
That's a lot of assumption though. Aperture size and power are unknown (unless that 3mm was more than a guess), so you can't truly calculate divergence, and I already touched on my disbelief that a Li battery pack could produce such results at 1/2 mile.
Click to expand...
It was a calculation I did in my second year Physics class, so no, it is not an assumption. I could bore you with all the particulars and detail of the existing optics of 1980's gas lasers, but I doubt it would help change your mind. Lasers and highly convergent and coherent light sources. My point was that the optics aren't the issue, the energy efficiency and feasibility of a hand carried power sources make this (currently) impossible.
 
Friday said:
It was a calculation I did in my second year Physics class, so no, it is not an assumption. I could bore you with all the particulars and detail of the existing optics of 1980's gas lasers, but I doubt it would help change your mind. Lasers and highly convergent and coherent light sources. My point was that the optics aren't the issue, the energy efficiency and feasibility of a hand carried power sources make this (currently) impossible.
Click to expand...

I wasn't questioning your calculation, just whether or not 3mm was what they are using. As I pointed out, there are almost no hard figures in the source link. You also keep on missing the fact that I'm also doubting the feasibility of a hand held laser that would actually function to this description. I'm not sure why you keep in reiterating what I already agreed to.
 

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