[NOISE] What is "laser material"?

>   The Washington Post, April 25, 1996, p. A12.
>
>
>   Israelis Eye U.S. Laser As Anti-Rocket Defense
>
>       'Nautilus' Beam Burns Surface of Weapon
>
>   By John Mintz
>
>...
>   Moreover, a laser shot costs $3,000, compared to several
>   million dollars for a missile. Army officials envision the
>   Nautilus would be beamed from a truck capable of firing 50
>   shots before requiring more laser material. 

Does anyone have any idea what "more laser material" means?


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÷On Thu, 25 Apr 1996, Bill Frantz wrote:
> >...
> >   Nautilus would be beamed from a truck capable of firing 50
> >   shots before requiring more laser material. 
> 
> Does anyone have any idea what "more laser material" means?

I think it's something nasty like a flouride of some kind (I seem to 
remember reading that the biggest problem with anti-missile lasers has 
been stopping them frm disolving the pongos firing it. 

Definitely sounds nice if it works. I've had scuds fired at me and I 
didn't enjoy it :)

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Bill Frantz wrote:

> >   Moreover, a laser shot costs $3,000, compared to several
> >   million dollars for a missile. Army officials envision the
> >   Nautilus would be beamed from a truck capable of firing 50
> >   shots before requiring more laser material.
> 
> Does anyone have any idea what "more laser material" means?

It's this fluorescent goopy stuff, very sticky and tough to handle; I 
hear it smells *awful* too.  They have to use big compressors to pack
it into the laser tubes.  That's one of the reason lasers require so
much power.

Curiously, the popular novelty product "Silly String" is in fact a 
scaled-down "domestic" version of real laser technology.

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