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[Eric Blank]

That's not perpetual, and also useless. The heat of Earth's interior is from the planet's formation 4 billion years ago. We do not possess the capabilities to meaningfully hinder or accelerate the cooling process.

Actually it's produced by the decay of radioactive isotopes in the mantle. Early attempts to gauge the age of the Earth attempted to go purely by the expected cooling rate of an iron sphere with Earth's diameter and some estimated initial temperature, but failed to account for radioactive decay. I think the estimate that used that alone was something like 90,000 years. Can't remember now and I can't be arsed to find my textbooks.

Also, using highly-reflective outer plating on fighter jets WOULD result in an increase in the amount of time it takes for lasers to heat and damage the aircraft. Giving you an extra second or two could actually save your life. Also, you could put large mirrors on aircraft to reflect lasers fired from your own ships, allowing the aircraft to in effect redirect the light towards a target out of the ship's line of sight without demanding the aircraft be able to haul and provide power for the laser itself.

[misko27]

Yes, given the plans are traveling very, very fast, a second is alot.


Wait, isn' t the navy getting ready to deploy a railgun?

[Remuthra]

It's a laser railgun. It fires laser pointers at high speeds by using the power of electromagnetic fields.

[Lightningfalcon]

Yes, given the plans are traveling very, very fast, a second is alot.


Wait, isn' t the navy getting ready to deploy a railgun?

I have no idea.  The last time I ever really did any sort of in deph research they were planning on doing so.  It wouldn't result in a re-emergence of the battleship, but it make much better naval artillery. 

[Loud Whispers]

Wait, isn' t the navy getting ready to deploy a railgun?

Ship and tank mounted railguns

Railgun research was cancelled.

Killed by Senate. $211M had been put into it and the Senate didn't like the idea of putting $60M more into the project.

[Max White]

60m is pretty much a drop in the bucket for the US economy isn't it?

[Loud Whispers]

60m is pretty much a drop in the bucket for the US economy isn't it?

What is the US economy but a multitude of drops? Many drops were thrown away to try and save the whole. And the senate believed they never would have mounted them on ships anyways.

[Aptus]

Boo those politicians, railguns are so much cooler than lasers.

[10ebbor10]

That's not perpetual, and also useless. The heat of Earth's interior is from the planet's formation 4 billion years ago. We do not possess the capabilities to meaningfully hinder or accelerate the cooling process.

Also, using highly-reflective outer plating on fighter jets WOULD result in an increase in the amount of time it takes for lasers to heat and damage the aircraft. Giving you an extra second or two could actually save your life. Also, you could put large mirrors on aircraft to reflect lasers fired from your own ships, allowing the aircraft to in effect redirect the light towards a target out of the ship's line of sight without demanding the aircraft be able to haul and provide power for the laser itself.

You could also replace your jet engine with a parabolic mirror, and fly on laser power provided by a nearby High Energy laser.

Returning is a bit problematic though.

[MonkeyHead]

The trouble is, reflective to laser also means reflective to radar, so you would be highly visible. Stealth materials (as in radar absorbing) would also absorb laser light. So, will we see a trade off, or will stealth be more important, as you cant shoot at what you cant see.

[sneakey pete]

Ship and tank mounted railguns

Railgun research was cancelled.

say what? they were testing them a few months ago.

[Loud Whispers]

Ship and tank mounted railguns

Railgun research was cancelled.

say what? they were testing them a few months ago.

The only articles I could find about any recent testings all dated that the tests took place 2008 - 2010, the project being scrapped in 2011. For some reason it was still reported as far onwards as 2012.

[Lightningfalcon]

Boo those politicians, railguns are so much cooler than lasers.

Who cares if we go bankrupt?  Having a railgun would be just compensation. 

[Loud Whispers]

Boo those politicians, railguns are so much cooler than lasers.

Who cares if we go bankrupt?  Having a railgun would be just compensation.

Polite necro, because really, this was too awesome not to mention:
MARAUDER is, or was, a United States Government research project. It is an acronym of Magnetically Accelerated Ring to Achieve Ultra-high Directed Energy and Radiation. It was first reported on August 1, 1993.

The objective appears to be the firing of 1 meter diameter toroids of magnetically contained plasma. The toroids behave in a similar manner to spheromak plasma reactors. As of 1993 the project appeared to be in the early experimental stages. The weapon was able to produce doughnut shaped rings of plasma and balls of lightning that exploded with devastating effects when hitting its target. The project's initial success led to it becoming classified and no more details of how it developed after 1993 are available.

The Murricans were researching that 20 years ago. Just what other goodies have they been stockpiling for all this time? Really, we only ever get to hear of the weapons that fail... That is, until they enter the theatre of war.

Better than railguns.

[MonkeyHead]

Secret plasma cannons? Quick, turn them on the Somalian pirates...

I mean, how dead do you need to kill something?