The Navy has a dream: to strap their shipdecks with laser cannons. The biggest obstacle is an awfully ironic one: sea air wreaks havoc on laser beams.
For lasers to work optimally, a beam of concentrated light needs to pass in a straight line at a target. But sea air is packed full of crud, from dense water particles to salt molecules and regular pollution. All that diminishes what’s called the “fluence” of a beam — the amount of radiated light it puts on a target; its zapping power, in other words. The traditional way to compensate for atmospheric distortions — with a “guide star” beam that tells you how much water and brine is in the air – hasn’t been effective enough. All attempts to burn through that crud with higher-powered energy weapons have flopped.
So now the Navy is taking a new approach, asking businesses to make the sea air safe for lasers.
Read More: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/06/navy-wants-to-make-sea-air-safe-for-laser-beams/
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