And, having been in the business of designing space-based DEWs, I can say with a high degree of confidence that there are none.
Biden was just free-associating a popular news item with the ruins. "Mr. President, be sure to mention the 'right roof color.' It will excite the crazy types and ruin their credibility."
The color of the roof would not matter at all. Color reflectance only works partially and would not be a barrier to a powerful beam. But in any case, available laser weapon technology is all based on infrared wavelengths, and to IR a blue roof would look black.
Also, laser weapons are clear-weather weapons. They will not penetrate clouds and smoke---and targets cannot be seen through clouds or smoke. The statistics for cloud-free line-of-sight from space to ground are generally poor. (I had occasion to research the subject for a system design.) Use as an incendiary weapon has long been understood, but equally well understood as a frivolous use of a valuable asset better applied to other targets. (Once you burn up your laser fuel or reactants, all you have left is expensive junk.)
Laser weapons from space do not project from all directions, as would be needed in order to melt automobile wheels on both sides of a car.
And that's why they don't. Once you find that the design is impracticable (can't be done, for technical, logistical, or financial reasons), you sigh and roll up the drawings and wait for time to change the circumstances or boundary conditions. Lasers are not magical contrivances; they require lots of heavy, expensive technology and plenty of power supply.
Do you really think that everything that has been designed has been built? There are various levels of design. And there are whole coffee table books about the advanced aircraft designed by the Third Reich which never were built. The U.S. has plenty of abandoned or down-selected designs that either were not built or only made it to the point of a mock-up or prototype.
And, having been in the business of designing space-based DEWs, I can say with a high degree of confidence that there are none.
Biden was just free-associating a popular news item with the ruins. "Mr. President, be sure to mention the 'right roof color.' It will excite the crazy types and ruin their credibility."
The color of the roof would not matter at all. Color reflectance only works partially and would not be a barrier to a powerful beam. But in any case, available laser weapon technology is all based on infrared wavelengths, and to IR a blue roof would look black.
Also, laser weapons are clear-weather weapons. They will not penetrate clouds and smoke---and targets cannot be seen through clouds or smoke. The statistics for cloud-free line-of-sight from space to ground are generally poor. (I had occasion to research the subject for a system design.) Use as an incendiary weapon has long been understood, but equally well understood as a frivolous use of a valuable asset better applied to other targets. (Once you burn up your laser fuel or reactants, all you have left is expensive junk.)
Laser weapons from space do not project from all directions, as would be needed in order to melt automobile wheels on both sides of a car.
"I designed space based DEWs, but I can assure you they don't exist"
Kekkkkkkkk
And that's why they don't. Once you find that the design is impracticable (can't be done, for technical, logistical, or financial reasons), you sigh and roll up the drawings and wait for time to change the circumstances or boundary conditions. Lasers are not magical contrivances; they require lots of heavy, expensive technology and plenty of power supply.
Do you really think that everything that has been designed has been built? There are various levels of design. And there are whole coffee table books about the advanced aircraft designed by the Third Reich which never were built. The U.S. has plenty of abandoned or down-selected designs that either were not built or only made it to the point of a mock-up or prototype.
wasted career then.