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Posts Tagged “
Lasers
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mad defense tech
lasers
Navy Initiates a Five-Year Plan to Build Laser Blasters
Long range laser weapons that do more than make little red dots show up on distant objects have long been a dream of science fiction creators and the military alike. Now it looks like a true, long-range laser blasting weapon may be ready for action within the next five years. The Navy is ponying up cash for three defense contracts to build out a laser developed a few years ago at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The laser, called a FEL (for "free electron laser"), can generate 10,000 watts of power, all across the visible spectrum. That means it could theoretically be optimized to shoot through fog or cloud. The Navy wants its current contractors to develop a prototype 100 kilowatt FEL, and then later one on the megawatt level. Noah Shachtman has all the details over at his Wired blog Danger Room. [Danger Room]
triviagasm
We've told you all about our favorite rayguns, blasters, flechette pistols, and laser guns before, but where did they all come from? Laser pistols are as identifiable with science fiction as rocketships, aliens, and robots, even though the first laser wasn't invented until 1960. So what spurred science fiction writers to start arming their characters with atomic blasters and disintegrator rays?
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The Secret Origin of the Ray Gun in Science Fiction
We've told you all about our favorite rayguns, blasters, flechette pistols, and laser guns before, but where did they all come from? Laser pistols are as identifiable with science fiction as rocketships, aliens, and robots, even though the first laser wasn't invented until 1960. So what spurred science fiction writers to start arming their characters with atomic blasters and disintegrator rays?
More »
Star Wars Battle Found in Google Sky?
If you're like us, you spent a lot of time over the weekend goofing off with Google Sky, the cool new application from Google that lets you search the starry night sky the same way you search Google maps. You can move around, zoom in, and get popups with information on what you're seeing. But there's no helpful popup for this Star Wars battle that one io9 reader found in Google Sky right here. Sure it might just be an artifact or lens flare, but those streaks sure do look like giant laser blasters. (Thanks, Luke!)
If you're like us, you spent a lot of time over the weekend goofing off with Google Sky, the cool new application from Google that lets you search the starry night sky the same way you search Google maps. You can move around, zoom in, and get popups with information on what you're seeing. But there's no helpful popup for this Star Wars battle that one io9 reader found in Google Sky right here. Sure it might just be an artifact or lens flare, but those streaks sure do look like giant laser blasters. (Thanks, Luke!)
triviagasm
All the Best Futuristic Guns for Your Holster
Science fiction has three iconic images that definite the genre: aliens, rockets, and rayguns. Whether due to our obsession with phallic guns, or the idea that a laser pistol is just too cool to pass up, the scifi gun has endured since H.G. Wells introduced them as a "Heat-Ray" in 1898's War of the Worlds. As good old Han Solo would later say, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Read on for our list of the best things that go PEW PEW PEW! More »
space war
Super Lasers Of The Cold War
By the early 1980s, the Soviet Union will have a fleet of space shuttles far superior to our own, plus a network of space stations and a second fleet of orbital vehicles to service them. Oh, and mega laser weapons. That was the prediction in a 1974 book Soviet Conquest From Space. How did Peter James get it so wrong? More »
planet hulk
Must Read: Planet Hulk
Must-read graphic novels are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale.Title: Hulk: Planet Hulk
Date: 2006-2007
Vitals: Four of the Earth's top Super-heroes decide the Incredible Hulk's all-smashing rage could one day wreck everything. (Maybe because every single story about a future Hulk shows him either ruling the world, or surviving after humanity has become extinct?) So they shoot the Hulk off into space, and he goes off course, landing on the savage world of Sakaar. The planet's cruel, corrupt imperial government enslaves the Hulk and turns him into a gladiator — and transforms his customary rampage into something like justice. More »
