The scientists associated with China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) have allegedly come up with a super-powerful microwave weapon design by working on a quantum phenomenon, which was tapped in briefly by the Soviet Union during the Cold War era.<\/p>\n
The microwave weapon designed by China\u2019s scientists is claimed to be capable of repeatedly firing 10 gigawatt power beams, which is more than enough to kill drones, satellites, and more.<\/p>\n
Currently in the design phase, the design was run on simulations by the Chinese scientists, who showed it was capable of generating the high power needed to kill off satellites with ease.<\/p>\n
A report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) says that the high-power beams could disable solar panels, crash computers, sever communication links, and more on low-orbit satellites and spacecraft. Moreover, it can carry out these attacks without revealing its location, making it extra dangerous.<\/p>\n
Going forward, the weapon can also extend its range to higher orbits. The scientists say it could one day be able to hit satellites that are considered too far away.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s microwave weapon design with \u2018superradiance\u2019 tech<\/p>\n
The most interesting thing about the new microwave weapon design is that it has a very fast repeating rate \u2013 as much as 126 million times per second, according to the SCMP report.<\/p>\n
The report also mentions<\/a> that the inspiration for the design has come from a quantum phenomenon seen in a Soviet lab.<\/p>\n Superradiance is described as a phenomenon of\u00a0collective emission of light from a group of atoms. The phenomenon relies on the quantum mechanical properties of atoms and their interactions with light.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Chinese team from the PLA Academy of Military Sciences and Key Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology on High Power Microwave took inspiration from the concept to come up with the new design.<\/p>\n Simulations show its potential<\/p>\n The scientists carried out simulations using a computer and came to the conclusion that the microwave weapon was able to produce the first pulse with a power of 16.6 GW. Following the first pulse, the later ones had power above 10 GW and each lasted around 0.77 nanoseconds.<\/p>\n Moreover, it fires off the pulses at a high frequency, which makes it difficult for the target to evade them.<\/p>\n According to the SCMP report, the team wants first to turn the design into a real machine. Challenges remain, but the team hopes they can be resolved with modern technology. The team also mentions using a Cherenkov generator to make \u201cultra short pulses with a peak power exceeding 100 GW and a conversion efficiency as high as 2.18.\u201d<\/p>\n Microwave weapons around the world<\/p>\n Earlier in April, China had unveiled a microwave weapon that could fire<\/a> over 10,000 times without failing. The weapon was supposed to disable drones, missiles, aircraft, and low-orbit satellites.<\/p>\n The weapon was reportedly capable of producing ten to thirty pulses per second.<\/p>\n