Russia Creating Superlaser at Nuclear Strength

[Susurrus]

http://rt.com/news/russia-superlaser-thermonuclear-weapon-123/

[Lobotomy]

What scares me about military technology is that we are usually only able to see the tip of the iceburg; everything else they are working on is confidential.

[Comrade Samuel]

Turmoil? Russian people are discontent? What's the government's solution here? BUILD A GIANT F*CKING LAZER!

[Os Cangaceiros]

I like the article's title: "Russian superlaser to be as good as H-bomb"

As good as an H-bomb? Sounds too good to be true!

[eric922]

All this technology and we waste it trying to build the goddamn Deathstar. I'm slowly losing faith in the future of humanity.

[Hexen]

I'm slowly losing faith in the future of humanity

Do not fall into this trap of simply blaming humanity for everything (the human nature falsehood) which is bourgeoisie way of thinking. It's the capitalist system of what's to blame here.

[piet11111]

I first thought they where building a laser weapon but alas its just a nuclear fusion reactor that uses a laser to trigger it that could be used to study what happens in a hydrogen bomb explosion without using an actual weapon.

My inner nerd was hoping for a death ray just like those lame 50's movies about the evil commies.

[eric922]

Do not fall into this trap of simply blaming humanity for everything (the human nature falsehood) which is bourgeoisie way of thinking. It's the capitalist system of what's to blame here.
True, Capitalism wastes so much scientific resources on bullshit like this. Once socialism is a reality, we will probably advance at much faster rate.

[Martin Blank]

This is only going to feed the rumors that Vladimir Putin is actually a James Bond villain.

[Yazman]

Why do people think this is some sort of military technology, or some sort of weapon?

It's one of many methods that could result in nuclear fusion becoming a regular power source. The purpose of this is to build a laser powerful enough that it can ignite a sustainable nuclear fusion reaction.


alas its just a nuclear fusion reactor that uses a laser to trigger it that could be used to study what happens in a hydrogen bomb explosion without using an actual weapon.Read the full article (don't just skim), or do some cursory research on inertial confinement fusion (wikipedia, for example) you would know that that is just a side benefit of the reactor. Its main purpose is for researching nuclear fusion with an eventual goal to establish a sustainable reaction, for power. It's been done for a while in the US now, and it isn't a military endeavour by any means. Anybody even interested in energy science should already know about the National Ignition Facility in the US, which is where their research into ICF is taking place.

All this is, is another NIF, but in Russia, essentially. It has nothing to do with the military. There could be military applications (potentially, but not much of real significance since building an ICF facility for weapons research would be a colossal waste of time and money), but this is not a military facility and isn't going to be used for that purpose.

This is one of the most promising fields in nuclear fusion. The people in here acting as if this is some big bourgeois waste of money need to get their heads on straight, especially since nuclear fusion is almost certainly the way of the future when it comes to clean and efficient power generation. If ICF turns out to be a dead end in regards to power generation, then have at it. But that hasn't happened and it is fairly promising at this point.

This sort of research is important, this is actually some good news out of Russia for once.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Why do people think this is some sort of military technology, or some sort of weapon?

Because the word "weapon" is in the url? :confused:

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Because the word "weapon" is in the url? :confused:
And, you know, this is the first paragraph. Emphasis mine:


Russia has launched a $1.5 billion project to create a high-energy superlaser site which designers pledge will be the best in the world. Capable of igniting nuclear fusion, the facility will be used both for thermonuclear weapon and civil purposes.

[piet11111]

Read the full article (don't just skim), or do some cursory research on inertial confinement fusion (wikipedia, for example) you would know that that is just a side benefit of the reactor. Its main purpose is for researching nuclear fusion with an eventual goal to establish a sustainable reaction, for power


its just a nuclear fusion reactor that uses a laser to trigger it that could be used to study what happens in a hydrogen bomb explosion without using an actual weapon.

I do not see anything that is factually incorrect.
The "could" means that its not its primary function.

And i am excited about more fusion research but my inner geek would have loved a death ray just that bit more.

[Yazman]

I just realised this is in the wrong place. Should be in Sciences & Environment. Thread moved.