| I was working on a high power producing dye laser system about 1992 which was mounted on a Humvee. We never reached the power levels to overcome atmospheric loss and divergence but it was impressive anyhow. The chemical compounds used in the cavity of lasers today are much easier to use than dyes. Since the materials don't burn up so quickly by the power source, the output is more consistent and the wavelengths are not attenuated by the same physical problems we were dealing with.
__________________  “War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.” —John Stuart Mill |