• @Glowstick
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    1025 months ago

    Actually, c is the speed of light in a vacuum, but light travels slower through a medium, like air. So lasers shot through air will actually travel slower than c.

    • @Bassman1805
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      565 months ago

      (For anyone curious, the speed of light in earth air is like 99.97% as fast as in vacuum)

      • @5oap10116
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        345 months ago

        Do you know what the religious affiliation of these space lasers will be?

        • @dohpaz42
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          215 months ago

          You have a lot of chutzpah to ask such a question. Oy! What would your mother say?

    • @marcos
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      75 months ago

      A laser strong enough to be used as a weapon will probably not leave a lot of medium on its path.

      But the front-most part will still travel at less than c. It will just speed-up after a while.

      • @sinkingship@mander.xyz
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        15 months ago

        I’m curious. What happens to the medium? Does it simply get pushed aside? Or pushed along? Or will it eat up some energy and react to something else?

        • Tlaloc_Temporal
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          65 months ago

          Much like lightning, a powerful enough laser will ionize the air. That ionized air is hot and rises, just like the ionized gasses from combustion.

          A powerful laser will look like a beam of fire.