I was reading "Redemption Ark" by Alastair Reynolds a few days ago and I came across something that struck me as funny because we are always complaining about the opposite:

Since the character is observing an actual space battle in the early 27th century, it must be true!

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

So firing off a laser during one of these "space battles" would be a lot like releasing the ball in a pinball machine? Cool. Never know what it might hit en route and where it might end up. That could kind of discourage you from firing at all.

Well, um... no, not exactly. When you shine a laser through a cloud of gas or other particles, some of the photons are reflected and scattered at angles to the laser beam. The beam itself will barely be affected and will go pretty much straight, but the stray photons will allow the laser to be seen.

The quote is a parody of what most people into science fiction say; that you can't see lasers in space. The author makes it so that the science fiction movie (hologram) makers have it the opposite way from how they have it now; they have it so you can't see lasers. But in reality, the debris from a battle would allow you to see the lasers. Makes you think, doesn't it? :wink:

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Rats. ops: I kind of liked the idea of the space cowboys firing ricochet lasers around.

"Space cowboys"?

Darn it, you just reminded me of an awful awful awful awful awful episode of Challenge of the Super Friends, where Green Lantern had to go fight some robot-cattle rustlers on planet Texicana.

Well, it's not up the quality of Josie and the Pussycats in Outerspace I guess?

Someone made a comment before about some story where they had problem aiming the laser guns since the beams were invisible:

Solution: Smash a few containers containing compressed gas, "contaminating" the vacuum so that the laser beams became visible.

On the same subject, Larry Niven seems to think laser guns work best for slashing work. Fire, then slash your beam across the target.

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"We do not require reality to conform to the expectations of the ignorant"

Maybe you meant my posting?

If you are in space using laser weapons surely you have some kind of fire control that can aim a laser?

Even back in WWII Radar controlled gunnery systems were in use with electro mechanical 'plotting tables' giving firing solution in real time.

Why would you need to see the beam?

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'

Because its a Well Known Fact that in any random science fiction story, the future feels the need to occasionally throw technology at a problem when there is no need whatsoever. Fashionable warriors of the future wouldn't be seen dead with something as boring as an optical sight on their gun.

Firing invisible lasers is so much more difficult than conventional weaponry, where bullets travel so slowly you can see where they are going. Or something.

A visible laser beam would give away your position anyways....With an invisible beam a laser would make the perfect sniper weapon--silent, no location give-away, where you aim is where you hit (no windage/elevation adjustments)...

Lots of ways to aim--from small spotting laser visible through an helmet mounted display, zero on on exact target and hammer in a full powered pulse, to a simple old fasioned sight....

I agree--some stories throw in tect for tech sake with no reason--then have stuff more primitive than current technology. ..

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"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." — Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

441!!!! :)

Usually anything to do with weapons or their fire control systems, although there was a movie in about 1985 with Tom Selleck, it was called Runaway and there were guns with cool homing bullets that could swerve rounfd peope or objects between the target and the gun.

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'

Voila: the ZF-1. It's light. Handle's adjustable for easy carrying; good for righties and lefties. Breaks down into 4 parts, undetectable by x-ray; ideal for quick, discreet interventions. A word on firepower. Three thousand round clip with bursts of 3 to 300. With the Replay button (another Zorg invention) it's even easier. One shot, and Replay sends every following shot to the same location. And to finish the job, all the Zorg oldies but goldies. Rocket launcher. Arrow launcher, with explodin' and poisonous gas heads. Very practical. Our famous net launcher. The ALWAYS efficient flame-thrower. My favorite. And for the Grand Finale, the all new "Ice Cube System!"

What does the red button do? [BAM!]

Anybody ever play Syndicate? There were invisible beam lasers in that game and my agents never had a problem aiming them!

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

As did "Who Killed Roger Rabbit"...

Tom Selleck is Roger Rabbit? I'm getting confused...

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Hey,The Supreme Canuck. How would you say in Latin, you 'can not beat a dead horse?' Love latin, but as an iliterate in this language (Latin); as well as English and French, I assume you can only try.

Uh...wha...uh...you see...uh...um...

Ah nuts.

All right. You got me. I know absolutely NO LATIN WHATSOEVER. I'm just a big faker. I just remember my sig from somewhere and it seemed to stick in my mind...

But I do know French!

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Oh, just so you don't get the wrong impression, I've never actually claimed that I knew any Latin. You see, nobody ever asked me! Until now, that is...

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Ok, listen up, it's lesson time. Here are some useful latin phrases that everyone should know:

Exercitus ingens urum salutavit. Obdormivit urus.
The huge army greeted the buffalo. The buffalo fell asleep.

non commodus est mihi desilire.
It is not convenient for me to jump down.

Euge! Murus sum! Eheu, ardeo.
Hooray! I am a wall! Alas, I am burning.

Imperator concidit ut brassica esset.
The Emperor fell down in order to be a cabbage.

Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione.
I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult.

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur.
Oh! Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out.

and my personal favorite

Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur
Anything in Latin sounds profound.

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People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.