marcos comments on I can whistle at the speed of sound

submitted 2 years ago by sjmarf@sh.itjust.works to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[–] marcos@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago (1 child)

A laser strong enough to be used as a weapon will probably not leave a lot of medium on its path.

But the front-most part will still travel at less than c. It will just speed-up after a while.

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[–] sinkingship@mander.xyz 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

I'm curious. What happens to the medium? Does it simply get pushed aside? Or pushed along? Or will it eat up some energy and react to something else?

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[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 years ago

Much like lightning, a powerful enough laser will ionize the air. That ionized air is hot and rises, just like the ionized gasses from combustion.

A powerful laser will look like a beam of fire.

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