Chemical Lasers
Chemical lasers are types of lasers that derive their power from a chemical reaction. Here laser light is produced by using a specific chemical to cause a reaction with a gas in the laser model’s set up. Chemical lasers can be a lot more powerful than other types of lasers. These kinds of lasers were brought to light in the 1960s-1970s.
There are various types of common chemical lasers. These include:
- The All Gas Phase Iodine Laser (also referred to as AGIL)
- The Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (also referred to as COIL)
- The Deuterium Fluoride Laser (also referred to as DF)
- The Deuterium Fluoride Carbon Dioxide Laser (also referred to as DFCO2)
- The Hydrogen Fluoride Laser (also referred to as HF)
- The Cold Chemical Laser (also referred to as CCL)
Chemical lasers have various uses, most of which have historically been in the commercial, industrial or military sectors. This is, in part, due to the potential strength of this kind of laser. Nowadays, COIL lasers, for example, are often researched and developed for military projects such as field target weaponry that could potentially shoot down flying or mobile targets. Cold Chemical laser technology is also being investigated as a weapons option.