Chinese scientists build a laser weapon that can operate without cooling in Sahara Desert
Chinese researchers have developed a two-kilowatt (kW) fibre laser capable of operating without the protection of heating or cooling systems across Earth's most extreme climates – from temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Arctic to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Sahara Desert
The device, designed for quick and ultra-portable deployment for both defence and industrial purposes, starkly contrasts with counterparts with similar power output such as the
European HELMA-P or
India 's IDDIS, which require truck transport with container-sized cooling units to achieve a 1km (0.62 miles) kill range on drones.
Led by Chen Jinbao, vice-president of the National University of Defence Technology and a national award-winning pioneer in
high-energy lasers , the team overcame a decades-long challenge: stabilising laser performance across 100-degree temperature swings.
Their innovation hinges on some radical design choices, including 940-nanometre pump lasers with minimal thermal drift, directly injecting light via nine forward and 18 backward fibre-coupled diodes.
They also put pump combiners outside the resonator to isolate heat-sensitive components. Coiling ytterbium-doped fibre at around 8cm (3.1 inches) diameters helps to suppress parasitic lightwaves.
'We have achieved a technological breakthrough in the performance of wide-temperature operating fibre lasers,' wrote Chen and his colleagues in a peer-reviewed paper to be published in the Chinese-language journal Higher Power Laser and Particle Beams in July, now available online.
At the laser's core lies a dual-clad optical resonator – 99 per cent reflective gratings at both ends sandwiching ytterbium-doped fibres. When pumped, ytterbium ions emit photons amplified into a lethal 1,080nm beam, filtered and collimated through quartz caps.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Standard
11 hours ago
- The Standard
South Korea to raise concerns to US over potential curbs on chipmakers' China operations
Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
The unsung spleen may play a big role in fighting diabetes: Chinese scientists
Advances in the transplant of cells into the spleen could transform one of the body's 'expendable' organs into a hub for treating diabetes , two Chinese studies have found. Research published last month by scientists at Nanjing University and other institutes found that 'shielding' islet cells could improve their survival after being transplanted into the spleen to treat type 1 diabetes. They also found that the spleen – a more promising long-term survival site than the conventionally used liver – could be engineered into a transplant hub with the help of nanoparticles. 06:23 Can China claim the leadership mantle after the US quits the WHO and Paris Agreement? Can China claim the leadership mantle after the US quits the WHO and Paris Agreement? 'If the safety and effectiveness of the spleen as a host organ for islet transplantation are fully demonstrated through systematic clinical studies in the future, the spleen can be used as an ideal organ for islet transplantation,' said Dong Lei, professor and vice-dean of the Nanjing University school of life sciences, who contributed to both studies. An estimated 589 million adults worldwide have diabetes, with this number expected to rise to 853 million by 2050, according to the International Diabetes Federation. China has the highest number of adults with diabetes in the world, at more than 140 million people. Type 1 diabetes is a genetic autoimmune disorder characterised by the body's immune system attacking islet cells in the pancreas that make insulin, the hormone needed to store and convert blood sugar into energy. While symptoms of type 1 diabetes, which accounts for about 5 per cent of cases, can be managed using medication, such as insulin injections, there is no cure for the condition.
South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Yum China rolls out AI agent, to help, not replace store managers
Advertisement The assistant, named Q-Smart, was an AI-powered management system that enabled natural language interactions with store managers through wireless earphones and smartwatches, the nation's largest restaurant operator announced at an inaugural AI Day event at its Restaurant Support Center in Shanghai. Q-Smart was designed to assist frontline managers with daily operations, including labour scheduling, inventory management, and quality and safety inspections, it said. An introductory video showed Q-Smart's abilities, including monitoring product sales data, adjusting preparation plans, notifying managers and reminding staff to confirm orders. Having completed its initial development and testing phases, Q-Smart was now undergoing pilot testing in select KFC locations with continuous iterative upgrades, Yum China's chief technology officer Leila Zhang said at the event. Zhang emphasised the company's well-established digital infrastructure in restaurants, noting future plans to integrate more wearable devices and deploy Q-Smart in more stores. 'We believe that Q-Smart will not only help Yum China improve its operational efficiency, but can also serve as an example for the digital transformation and smart development of the catering industry,' Zhang said. Advertisement 'Regardless of how AI technology evolves, it remains an assistant to humans,' CEO Joey Wat said. 'From the beginning, we've positioned it to empower, not replace, our employees.'
