Are lasers capable of producing explosions ,or is that just fictional filler?

In summary, fiction often portrays lasers as having the ability to produce explosions, but this is not always accurate. With the right technology and amount of energy, lasers can cause explosions by heating and vaporizing matter. This is seen in inertial confinement reactors, where lasers are used to create miniature thermonuclear explosions. Some research is also being done on using lasers as weapons, with the goal of creating explosions by ablating a layer on the surface of the target. Laser resurfacing in medical procedures also causes small explosions by vaporizing thin layers of skin. However, not all lasers are capable of producing explosions, as it depends on the amount of energy and the material being targeted.
  • #1
promeus
27
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Please read this carefully before answering,in fiction lasers are quite common and they seem to have the property to produce explosions.I am not asking if they exist,I am asking if with the right technology can laser beams produce explosions.Is this just some myth or is there some truth to photons being able to produce explosions?
 
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  • #2
In inertial confinement reactors, they shoot lasers at a pellet of deuterium and tritium to create a miniature thermonuclear explosion.
 
  • #3
It's not necessarily a "property of lasers," it's more about the consequences of high energy density. If you fire a laser with enough energy at some matter, it could cause nuclear fission, which would liberate a huge amount of energy from the matter, causing an explosion.
 
  • #4
IIRC an area of research in laser weaponry is looking into creating lasers that ablate a layer on the surface of the target creating a plasma that expands rapidly; essentially creating an explosion. I think it's called pulsed laser projectile or something like that.
 
  • #5
Has medical uses but does this really count as an "explosion"?...

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/laser-resurfacing-surgical [Broken]

Laser resurfacing uses a laser to send out brief pulses of high-energy light that are absorbed by water and substances in the skin called chromophores. The light is changed into heat energy, and the heat then destroys (vaporizes) thin sections of skin, layer by layer.
 
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  • #6
Absolutely. If you suddenly overheat a small area, it will explode. You'd need an extremely powerful laser, but if you are using it as a weapon, it'd have to be that powerful. It'd probably be pretty different than you see in the sci-fi movies, but the concept itself is solid.
 
  • #7
Lasers are used sometimes in fluid mechanics research to generate small explosions for use as disturbances in wind tunnels.
 
  • #8
promeus said:
Please read this carefully before answering,in fiction lasers are quite common and they seem to have the property to produce explosions.
If you think about typical movies scenes: For those explosions, you usually need some explosives in the target (hydrocarbons can be fine, too) - if you can heat that with lasers, it might explode.
 
  • #9
The title to this thread is a bit to general. SOME lasers are capable of producing explosions. Your run of the mill pocket laser pointer puts out a few milliWatts and will never cause anything to explode.

I used to work with a http://www.coherent.com/downloads/AVIA532-30_DSrevB_1.pdf laser, which produced a 3OW green beam. As produced its 3mm diameter beam could flame paper or cause a bad skin burn instantly. Focused to a 30um spot it vaporized Silicone. I never saw an explosion of any kind.

I talked with an ex AirForce tech who claimed to have seen a 50cm wide path of glass fused from desert sand caused by their laser.

The 30W laser I worked with consisted of a 55lb box of power supply and control electronics and a 110lb box with the laser head and water cooling plumbing. The laser that supposedly burned a glass path in the sand was contained in and powered by a C130 aircraft. In other words it was huge. Lasers are not a real effient devices the Coherent consumed several hundred watts to produce the 30W beam. High power laser beams do not come easy or cheap.

Explosions are not the normal result of a laser, as witnessed by the laser on Curiosity which is capable of delivering very high energy but short term pulses. One could say that the spots left behind by Cursioitys laser are the result of a small explosion, how big of an explsion did you want? A megaWatt for a few milliseconds is able to vaporize (explode?) a small bit of most any rock.
 
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  • #10
I'm sure that it depends on what the laser is hitting. Also, I believe that the light could be converted into kinetic energy upon contact, in certain circumstances, which would cause an explosion.
 

1. Are lasers actually capable of producing explosions?

Yes, lasers can produce explosions under certain conditions. When a high-powered laser is focused on a specific target, it can cause the target to heat up rapidly, resulting in an explosion. This is known as laser-induced plasma or laser-induced breakdown, and it has been used in military applications and scientific experiments.

2. Can lasers produce explosions in space?

Yes, lasers can produce explosions in space, although the process is slightly different. In space, there is no air to heat up and create an explosion, so lasers use a process called laser ablation. This involves heating up a material until it vaporizes, creating a small explosion-like effect.

3. Are laser explosions as powerful as traditional explosions?

It depends on the specific circumstances and materials involved. Laser explosions can be more precise and targeted, but they may not have the same destructive force as traditional explosions. However, with advancements in laser technology, their power and capabilities are continuously improving.

4. Can lasers be used to create controlled explosions?

Yes, lasers can be used to create controlled explosions in a variety of applications. In addition to military and scientific experiments, lasers have been used in industries such as mining and demolition, where precision and control are crucial.

5. Is the depiction of laser explosions in movies and TV shows accurate?

Not always. While some aspects of laser explosions shown in media may be based on real science, they are often exaggerated or simplified for entertainment purposes. Additionally, the use of lasers for explosions is still in its early stages, so the technology shown in media may not reflect current capabilities.

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