Nature.com recently posted an article about their first BENDY LASER BEAMS being fired. The article was available at http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090409/full/news.2009.360.html?s=news_rss, but has now been taken down to be viewed only by subscribing customers.
The bendy laser, which they dubbed the Airy Laser (apparently whoever discovered or suggested the theory was called Airy) uses some sorta technology which I understood at the time that I read the article, but unfortunately don't remember. It's still a longshot from homing lazers due to the fact that they can only significantly bend weak lasers, but it's a big step nontheless.
Due to this laser ionizing the air it travels through, it effectively creates a path that remains, which means that in the event that the laser is interrupted by an obstacle, it can reform easily, cutting through smoke for example. A publicly suggested application is the use of these lasers' ionized-air effects to deflect lightning, or to be precise, carve a path in the air for lightning to go through, effectively creating a shield against disasters.
If this topic has been done before, my apologies. Just didn't wanna take the risk of not telling everyone here.
The bendy laser, which they dubbed the Airy Laser (apparently whoever discovered or suggested the theory was called Airy) uses some sorta technology which I understood at the time that I read the article, but unfortunately don't remember. It's still a longshot from homing lazers due to the fact that they can only significantly bend weak lasers, but it's a big step nontheless.
Due to this laser ionizing the air it travels through, it effectively creates a path that remains, which means that in the event that the laser is interrupted by an obstacle, it can reform easily, cutting through smoke for example. A publicly suggested application is the use of these lasers' ionized-air effects to deflect lightning, or to be precise, carve a path in the air for lightning to go through, effectively creating a shield against disasters.
If this topic has been done before, my apologies. Just didn't wanna take the risk of not telling everyone here.