Chinese scientists claim they have made a converging energy beam weapon — but did they really, or have they been watching too much Star Wars? Do

Chinese scientists claim they have built a Death Star-inspired beam weapon

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2024-11-25 13:30:16

Chinese scientists claim they have made a converging energy beam weapon — but did they really, or have they been watching too much Star Wars?

Do you remember the moment in "Star Wars" when the Death Star destroys Alderaan? Eight laser beams converge at a single point to form a super-powered laser that obliterates the planet. It was a memorable scene that demonstrated the unrelenting power of the Empire.

Although it is unclear whether they were inspired by the scene, Chinese scientists claim they have created a new type of microwave weapon that combines several high-powered electromagnetic waves. They can then concentrate them onto a target.

The weapon system consists of multiple microwave-transmitting vehicles that are deployed to different locations. Each of the vehicles fire microwaves with high-precision synchronization. These merge together into a powerful energy beam to attack one target.

This is a lot harder than it seems. Microwaves are narrow beams of energy that need to be precisely aligned to then converge. This means that the timings with which they are fired need to be controlled to within millionths of a second.

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