Laser Pumped Flying Saucer Spacecraft
Why Worldbuilding Stack Exchange recommends it
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange answerers link it as real footage of beamed-laser propulsion when they need evidence that a laser-driven craft or laser-heated air plasma can work.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2016 to 2018.
What it is
A short 2008 clip about Leik Myrabo's Lightcraft, a saucer-shaped spacecraft concept pushed by a ground-based laser, with possible use of other beamed energy such as microwaves. It shows the concept and test flights, posted on the SpaceRip channel.
Cited in 1 Wikipedia article, including Lightcraft.
What people said
Cites Thucydides · 2016-01 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “How does weather affect the space laser's 'beam'?”
At high enough energies to be "interesting" (i.e. a lethal weapon) the energy of the laser beam will be absorbed by the molecules of gasses that make up the atmosphere. The initial effect is simply to recreate a lightning bolt effect (the air rapidly expands, then rushes back into the low pressure pocket where the beam passed, creating a thunderclap). As the amount of energy in the beam increases, the air molecules themselves will become affected by the beam, ionizing and creating a plasma. Sadly for you, the plasma has the effect of absorbing the laser energy in a positive feedback effect, until the beam energy is blocked and no more energy hit the target. The plasma will actually flow up t
Cites Thucydides · 2018-01 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Sky Train Blimp Plane?”
Liek Myrabo [LINK] has taken that idea to 11 by bypassing electrification and harnessing the power of lasers to directly power aerodynes and spacecraft, something he calls a " Lightcraft [LINK] ". [LINK] Basic concept. The mirror on the bottom focuses the laser so intently the air explodes into a plasma for thrust [LINK] Model of the lightcraft [LINK] Model Lightcraft under laser power While sadly the funding for this research has not been forthcoming, there have been proof of principle flights [LINK] and open air flights [this video] , so this does work. (more about this here [LINK] ) Now strictly speaking this is a ramjet or thermal rocket (depending on if you are using air as the reaction mass
Cites Muze · 2018-01 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Can liquid nuclear fuel be injected and ignited like petro from a fuel injector?”
[LINK] [![enter image description here][5]][5] Model Lightcraft under laser power While sadly the funding for this research has not been forthcoming, there have been proof of principle flights [LINK] and open air flights [this video] , so this does work. (more about this here [LINK] ) [LINK] Using the same method, could lasers or protons be beamed from a space stations or ground be used to detonate nuclear gas/dust/fuel injected from ports into the thrust chamber. Similar to a piston engine the chamber would fill and then detonated but many times a second? [LINK]
Cites Escaped dental patient. · 2018-10 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “The Complicated Nature of Photokinesis”
Pulse laser powered propulsion [this video] has been around for a while aspects going back to the 1950s. For the Lightcraft [LINK] to work lasers or masers (microwave versions of the same thing) are focused: to heat the air at an extremely high temperature up to 30,000 degrees, transforming it in a plasma that violently expands .... acting as an external pulse detonation engine producing thrust. Emphasis mine. I see no reason that your characters could not work hard on their ability and learn to create intense focused pulses of light to manipulate objects. Plus there might be a cool TszszszsT sound to accompany it.