Russia has become the only country in the world to feature full-fledged combat lasers in its army. This achievement was possible because of scientists from Moscow and the Moscow region. Their designs, which were secret until recently, are now successfully being applied in both industry and medicine, and even when extinguishing fires.
Dmitri Melnikov reports about the rays that can destroy enemies and save people.
Although the details of combat lasers are secret, it is possible to understand the principle of their action by studying their civilian use. These containers are a mobile laser complex, produced by scientists and engineers from Troitsk.
The blue boxes house the laser's cooling system, the gray ones form the telescope guidance system. It can cut metal up to 50 millimeters thick. In fact, it's a laser gun with a limited range.
In real-world conditions this laser was used during a fire in the Yamal Peninsula gas field. A drilling rig, which weighed 240 tons and had collapsed into the well, was impossible to take apart because of the burning gas. Then, the Trinity complex was delivered from Moscow, which cut parts of the rig from a distance of 70 meters with a laser beam and allowed the fire to be extinguished.
An extremely powerful energy source is required to create a destructive beam, but the laser target detection devices have long been used not only by the military and not only on the ground. The onboard defense system, "President S", developed in Samara, protects aircraft from guided missiles fired by surface-to-air missile launchers. The laser system is installed on board, tracks shots from the ground, and depending on the situation, either suppresses the guided missile system using a laser beam, or deploys thermal decoys.
"President S" is used actively in civilian helicopters, working in military conflict zones. However, laser technologies are spreading faster and wider in medicine. Lasers are used in every specialty: from ophthalmology to surgery.
The Russian Academy of Sciences, General Physics Institute: the medical laser system "Lazurite" was developed and manufactured here.
- Here is the radiation that later hits the kidney stone.
- How long does the procedure last?
- It's very short. In real time the laser works less than a minute on each kidney stone.
In a few seconds, micro-pulses destroy kidney stones the size of ten cubic centimeters. A thin fiber optic cable can penetrate any area without damaging the patient's tissue.
- When absorbed the laser pulse generates a cavitation bubble which creates a shock wave that destroys the stone when it collapses.
In industrial production, lasers are most widely used in metalworking: cutting and laser spot welding. In Obninsk, for example, specialists learned to increase the strength of parts with a laser. This is a national "know-how". The world's laser technology race is not only between the militaries.
Dmitri Melnikov, Ivan Ponomarenko. Vesti.
