Thus it seems the lasers we have today would be capable of doing many of the things we see in Star Wars. But researchers say the laser could just as easily have melted it. MlRACL purposely did not destroy the satellite, since the test was designed merely to show that the laser could target and hit the satellite. In a 1998 test, MlRACL, a 2.2-megawatt laser, was able to hit a satellite in Earth orbit. A series of pulses can drill through hard materials like titanium or diamond.Ī megawatt laser can burn a hole through a jet up to six miles away-though it needs to maintain contact with the aircraft for one to two seconds. The amplified light of lasers can also be very powerful. Lasers can produce a steady beam for long periods, or they can produce a very intense beam in short pulses, occurring thousands or millions of times per second. While a laser is basically just light, it is light that can be focused onto a precise spot and can have high, extremely concentrated power. The Death Star's planet-destroying weapon is said in the Star Wars Encyclopedia to be a super-laser. Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from the 1999 book The Science of Star Wars by Jeanne Cavelos.
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