Chinese scientists claim they have developed a converging energy beam weapon, but many are skeptical that they may have been influenced by watching too many sci-fi films like Star Wars.
Do you remember the moment in Star Wars when the Death Star obliterated Alderaan? Eight laser beams converged at a single point to create an ultra-powerful beam that wiped out the planet. It’s a memorable scene showcasing the relentless power of Star Wars.
While it’s unclear if they drew inspiration from this scene, Chinese scientists assert that they have created a new type of microwave weapon that combines multiple high-power electromagnetic waves. They can then focus these waves on a target.
This new microwave weapon combines multiple high-power electromagnetic waves. (Illustrative image: Variety).
The weapon system comprises several microwave transmission vehicles deployed at various locations. Each vehicle emits microwave signals with high synchronization precision, combining into a powerful energy beam to attack a target.
Microwaves are narrow energy beams that need to be precisely aligned to converge. This means the timing for emitting microwave signals must be controlled within a range of a millionth of a second.
According to the research team, each microwave vehicle must also be positioned accurately to the millimeter. China’s BeiDou satellite positioning system can provide location accuracy down to the millimeter, but it still does not meet the requirements of the new weapon system.
To attempt to overcome this, auxiliary laser distance measurement devices have been installed on each transmission vehicle to achieve millimeter-level positioning accuracy. Any change on the surface means that the microwave emitters will not be aligned correctly.
The activation synchronization must be within 170 picoseconds (or 170 trillionths of a second). To put this into perspective, a regular computer takes 330 picoseconds to complete a single processing cycle. To tackle this challenge, scientists have linked the transmission platforms via fiber optics to ensure they are properly synchronized. Each vehicle in the weapon system is also directly controlled by a mobile command center.
According to the South China Morning Post, a scientist involved in this project claimed that the combined power of the converging microwave beams has a synergistic effect of “1+1>2” – although such a claim violates the law of conservation of energy. However, a powerful combined microwave is much more useful than many smaller microwave sources.
It is likely that the Chinese research team has successfully achieved a converging microwave weapon system in a controlled environment. However, the chaotic nature of the real world presents tremendous challenges for any technology relying on such high precision.
