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The Washington Post, April 25, 1996, p. A12.

Army officials envision the Nautilus would be beamed from a truck capable of firing 50 shots before requiring more laser material.

At 09:05 PM 4/25/96 -0700, Bill Frantz wrote:

Does anyone have any idea what "more laser material" means?

It is a chemically pumped laser. The lasing material is driven to population inversion by a shock wave passing through explosive material. There is a loud bang, and all the optics go to hell for a while. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd@echeque.com