The Death Star, soon a reality? Chinese scientists claim to have developed a weapon that would use a system resembling that of the famous Death Star of Star Warsor being able to fire a laser beam to destroy planets. The particularity of this directed energy weapon would be to focus several beams of microwaves towards a single target.
“A directed energy weapon involves sending not a solid projectile but energy. Either in the form of an electromagnetic pulse, or in the form of a laser, or in the form of a plasma,” explained Stéphane Audrand, international risks consultant, previously with 20 Minutes.
Very high synchronization and precision
Often associated with the realm of science fiction, directed energy weapons are nevertheless in full development and can be used to destroy targets such as drones or missiles. And the challenge of this new weapon lies precisely in the ability of scientists to succeed in synchronizing the different microwave beams to work, as reported by the British newspaper The Independant. The goal is for the different beams to converge to form a single ray.
Synchronization requires very high precision, the error of which must not exceed 170 picoseconds (1 picosecond = 0.000 000 000 001 second). According to the media, this synchronization would have been successful thanks to optical fibers connecting the devices emitting microwaves.
The precise characteristics of the weapon have not been revealed and it would be better to forget our memories of The Death Star immediately. The imposing artificial sphere from George Lucas's imagination emitted a giant laser beam capable of destroying planets. Nothing reassuring… The fact remains that if Chinese scientists have taken a first step, they will now need to know how to reproduce the experiment in real conditions (and outside the controlled framework of research).
