Target for Military Laser
date: label: date made
content: 1984
notes: label: Description
content: Potential military uses for lasers have attracted both government funding and popular interest. While laser ”ray guns” remain in the realm of science fiction, significant research has been conducted toward that goal. In the 1980s, tests of a deuterium-fluoride (or DF) chemical laser were conducted at the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal. A chemical reaction created the energy necessary to generate a laser beam. As this object shows, that beam can be quite powerful.
label: Description
content: In 1985, the Army transferred this test target to the Smithsonian. The target consists of six steel plates, each about 2 mm thick, bolted together. A hole of decreasing diameter is burned through the target from front to back. Information provided with the target reported that a 130 kilowatt laser illuminated the target from a distance of 60 meters for 5 seconds.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Laser
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content: Work and Industry: Electricity
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content: Military
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content: Energy & Power
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content: Lasers
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from the U. S. Dept. Of the Army; Army Missile Command
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0321.01
label: accession number
content: 1985.0321
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0321.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: laser target
label: Other Terms
content: laser target; Lasers and Masers
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 6 in x 5 1/4 in; 12.7 cm x 15.24 cm x 13.335 cm