ONR Free Electron Laser Lives!

[Netmaker]

http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/offic ... ctron.html

I thought this program had fallen under the budget axe. Happy to see that there's still some life to it

Does anybody have any thoughts as to the suitability of the FEL for Civil Engineering purposes?

Tunneling (subways, water conduits (capture arctic water runoff and transport to the mid-west before the Ogallala Aquifer runs dry), (trans)continental-vacuum trains),

mining (preferably in conjunction with Planetary Resources ,

grading (some mountain top removal for the purposes of building a mag lev/rail assisted launch system as in Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress)

Obviously power is an issue but hey, this is the Polywell forum

Continuous run time could be an issue.

Do you use narrow beam and slice and dice or widebeam and vaporize (if possible)?

[krenshala]

grading (some mountain top removal for the purposes of building a mag lev/rail assisted launch system as in Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress)

Nit to pick: Heinlein's concept was coil, not rail, based.

[]-> 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----->

Each coil is a solenoid/electromagnet, and the payload is fired through it by having the coil energize long enough to accelerate the payload, but shutting down so the playload reaches the center of the coil about the time the B field collapses, to avoid getting decelerated ( "sucked back") by a still energized coil. More coils means more acceleration, but things gets trickier the faster the armature (payload) is moving. Its a balance between timing of power to the coils and amp-turns that will accelerate the payload while still collapsing the B field before the payload can pass the coil. I never have found the time to make a coil gun.

[Netmaker]

I'm not picky about how the launch system is implemented as long as it works competitively.

It's been a few decades since I read Heinlein's TMIAHM.

My interest is in what commercial applications there are that would help drive the development of a civilian FEL and what benefits could be derived from such.