[ExI] Power sats as weapons

[spike]

>. Behalf Of John Clark
Subject: Re: [ExI] Power sats as weapons

 

On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 4:30 PM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:

 

>> I don't think we need to watch power sats closely for one being turned
into a laser weapon.


>.I agree, we already have an excellent method for instantly vaporizing
cities and I don't see what additional advantage a laser would provide in
accomplishing that task.

 

It wouldn't be used for accomplishing that task.  A laser wouldn't need to
nuke the whole city, but rather just punch holes in the engine compartments
of the battle tanks, cook the missile batteries, slice wings off of fighter
planes, that sort of thing.  The war would be over, the people in that town
would read about it the next day in the press.  Then we get to retire those
methods for vaporizing cities, as that system is expensive to maintain.

 

A disadvantage I can see is that a space based laser might not be effective
in maintaining the old paradigm of mutual assured destruction.  With Iran
getting nukes soon, I don't know how to map the future of that notion.

spike

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