What is Miracl?

provocatively named Miracl is the only known successful controlled energy weapon of the United States. It means for "half of the infrared chemical laser" and is originally built to reduce anti-flying missiles, but its use has since been expanded to test aspects of anti-ballistic missiles and anti-satellite laser weapons. Miracl, built by TRW Incorporated, whose defensive wing was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2002, the spin-off-off of the famous Star Wars Ronald Reagan project, known for the consumption of billions of dollars with small useful hardware. Miracl has not yet been installed on ships, but its permanent home is a test device with a high energy laser (Helstef), in the White Sands missile range, New Mexico.

Miracl is the first chemical laser with a continuous wave in the world of Megawatt. Miracl operation method can be compared with a rocket engine where fuel, ethylene (cIZEMER, nitrogen trifluoride, (nf _{3 ). In the following energy reaction, free flour atoms are one of the combustion products. Helium and deutrium are combined with flourine downstream.}

deutrium combines with flourine and creates a deutria flourid while Helium modulates the reaction. Detrium Flouid is a lacing medium, intensely enlarging light because it jumps back and forth inside the laser cavity. The semi -closed mirror released the resulting optical energy into the focused beam with more than a megawatt capacity, which corresponds to 100,000 typical bulbs, but only 14 cm (~ 5 inches) in diameter.

Miracl tests have shown that he can actually take excursion missiles. In 1997, in the middle a lot of controversy, the laser was released on the satellite of the old Navy to measure the effects of ground laser weapons on satellite electronics. The test was successful.The controversy resulted in fear that the laser test violated contracts against the use of weapons in space. Anti-satellite attacks could be the basis for any war in which all big players would depend on the survey and navigation based on the satellite for all the features of the war.

Miracl is certainly the beginning of something bigger - both the army and the Navy showed great interest in the directed energy weapons and considered them to be the future of war. Because they do not take any ammunition, they are cheaper than conventional weapons. The fact that photons travel at light speed is also attractive.