Next to laser energy

In the future fuel will become unnecessary for unmanned vehicles, because they can operate by laser, a US company claims.

Modern armies depend on fuel. For example, 80 percent of the cargo is carried to the front lines of coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. So no surprise that fuel convoys were always the target of the rebels.

Nearly 1,000 soldiers have lost their lives as security guards for fuel vehicles in the past decade. In that situation, Tom Nugent, president of LaserMotive in the US, wants to replace gasoline and oil with laser in the aircraft supply. Nugent says his company's initiative will save thousands of lives in the future.

Discovery quoted Nugent said the revolution in military fuel will start with an engine capable of launching the laser. A laser that is much larger than the laser that we often see in everyday life. Its width is about 20 cm when it is launched. During the move, the width of the laser increases continuously. The launcher is placed underground and under direct or remote control of a person.

The destination of the laser is unmanned aerial vehicles. They operate in automatic mode and are equipped with solar cells. The distance from the point of launch to the destination is about one kilometer.

By the time the laser reaches the solar cell, its intensity is about 10 times stronger than sunlight. However, the human eye can not see it.

When the laser is exposed to a solar cell, the photons in the laser are converted into electricity in such a way that the solar cell turns the light into electricity. But because the laser has only one wavelength of light, the conversion of it into electricity is far more efficient than the conversion of sunlight - which has many wavelengths - into electricity. Sunlight (or white light) is made up of monochromatic light. Each monochromatic light has its own wavelength.

As such, the photon in the laser will become the power of the motor vehicle. Nugent says the laser can provide power to the motor vehicle forever, as the laser beamer will operate continuously. In addition, motorized vehicles can carry a small battery in case the laser is interrupted.