Suggestion: Stationary Super-Laser

  • Behold, the next logical step in Mining Laser advancement: The IC-L-2000 Laser Accumulator. By combining the output of multiple mining lasers into a single point in a Lapotron crystal matrix, the resulting focused coherent light beam can bore tunnels through solid rock, deter intruders, and even transmit power over vast distances!


    Allow me to introduce to you the IC-L-2000 family of components:


    The IC-L-2000 (Laser Accumulator)
    The heart of the system is the IC-L-2000 machine itself. The block is placed like any machine, and the laser’s exit aperture can be re-directed to any face using a common wrench.
    It is created with three mining lasers and a Lapotron crystal around a machine block, with two advanced circuits in the corners between the lasers.
    Upon supplying a sufficient amount of power, a targeting beam is emitted from the aperture. (This beam is similar to the beam from the survey beacons found in BuildCraft, in that while it is visible, it is completely harmless.) The targeting beam can be used for prism placement, or to mark out straight survey lines across the world.
    However, upon supplying redstone power to the IC-L-2000, the laser is switched into duty-mode: the current draw increases almost tenfold and the beam becomes coherent. This is when the magic happens.
    (A word of caution: touching the coherent beam is not advised, as it will result in deep tissue burns, optical nerve damage, and instantaneous loss of life.)


    The IC-L-RP (Refracting Prism):
    The beam coming out of the aperture travels in a straight line out from the face of the machine. The IC-L-2000 weighs just shy of a metric ton, making repeatedly moving it difficult at best. One of our design engineers suggested the use of wheels or casters, but he was promptly fired. The machine remains stationary, but the beam can be redirected through the use of prisms!
    Prisms are created with four glass and four tin around a machine block.
    Laser Refracting Prisms are blocks placed into the path (or anticipated path) of the beam, and the beam is the re-directed through the exit aperture: the face selected by a wrench after placement. A beam can enter a prism from any side, but will only exit the prism through the exit aperture.
    Upon supplying redstone current to a prism in the path of a targeting beam, some of the beam is reflected back into the IC-L-2000, causing it to be switched into duty-mode: the beam then becomes coherent as long as redstone current is applied. Removing the redstone current brings the laser out of duty-mode.
    The beam completely loses coherency somewhere between 150 to 200 meters from any exit aperture (either from the laser or from prisms), so it must be re-focused through a prism over vast distances. The boys in the lab have made this an intentional feature and not a limitation; an unattended beam can cause extensive collateral damage, and would eventually make it out to the Farlands, thus violating various established treaties.
    The prism also serves one additional function: Firing a portable mining laser at any face of a prism will cause your beam to exit the prism's aperture in a straight line, thus guaranteeing your fired shot to be perfectly straight every time.



    The IC-L-REG (Laser Receptor Electrical Generator)
    An unobstructed coherent light beam carries with it a lot of power. The receptor can be placed into the path of a coherent beam, and as long as the beam hits the face of the receptor, it converts the coherent beam’s photonic energy into usable electrical current.
    Receptors are created with three glass blocks and solar panels in parallel, two advanced circuits, and a machine block. Like the prisms, applying redstone current to a receptor in the path of a targeting beam will cause the IC-L-2000 to go into duty-mode.
    Due to moisture and particulate matter in the air, the amount of current put into the Laser will not match the current received at the Receptor, even under ideal conditions. Even though the losses experienced over distances are much better than those you would get using glass fiber cable, there is a 10% reduction in received power for every prism the beam passes through, and there is also an overall 50% reduction in received power if the beam passes through rain or snow.


    Suggested uses for your IC-L-2000 family of components:


    Tunnel Boring:
    Upon hitting a solid block, a coherent beam destroys the block and vaporizes the surrounding eight blocks in a plane perpendicular to the beam (a 3x3 panel, much like the Destruction Catalyst in EquivalentExchange) at the staggering rate of once per second.
    The beam has no effects on liquids, as water and lava harmlessly disperse the beam. Obsidian, reinforced stone, and bedrock are currently the only materials that can withstand sustained laser exposure indefinitely. However, the beam is still hot enough that any sand bordering the 3x3 panel is fused into glass, and gravel is roughly fused into cobblestone, preventing unsightly cave-ins. Due to safety regulations, we are still deciding whether this feature will be included in the standard model, or the advanced model.
    It should be noted that it is not advisable to use the tunnel-boring laser for resource gathering purposes, as only about 10-25% of the vaporized material can be reclaimed.


    Laser Fencing:
    If a harmless targeting beam is focused back into a prism already supplied by a beam, it creates a closed-loop, causing the beams power in the loop to instantly increase somewhat. The beam in the closed loop is not coherent, but can damage any living tissue it comes in contact with, much like uninsulated HV cable. Doesn’t your family deserve the peace of mind that only a laser fence can provide?
    (Caution: it is not advised to feed a coherent beam into a closed-loop, as prism vaporization or harmful laser-leakage out of prism faces will occur)


    Wireless Power Transmission:
    Using the laser in combination with a receptor, you can ‘beam out’ power to forward bases and outposts; to charge equipment, run machines temporarily, or to provide an instant emergency boost to a facilities power infrastructure… whatever you need power for most, when you need it.


    Future Advancements:


    The boys in the lab are currently working on fitting the components into advanced machine blocks instead of regular machine blocks. They say that if we keep supplying them with top men to replace the ones that are killed during testing, then they will make even greater strides.
    I’ve been told that an advanced laser can bore tunnels twice as fast and provide four times as much damage in a fencing configuration. They’re also working on a way to transport some of the vaporized material back to the accumulator, but that tech won’t be available for quite some time.
    I’ve heard that optics in a Prism made with diamonds instead of glass are so clear as to provide no loss of beam strength through the exit aperture, and in most cases can even provide a very slight increase. A portable mining laser fired into an advanced prism can expect to have its effective range and power increased by almost 50%.
    They say that an advanced Receptor, made by cramming two standard receptors into an advanced machine block along with a Lapotron lens, can collect almost all of the power transmitted, and have losses caused by inclement weather reduced almost completely.
    Whether they can make good on these promises has yet to be seen.
    We also have specialists working on a beam-splitter: a specialized prism that would reduce a coherent beam into multiple targeting beams, with an exit aperture on each face that can be opened or closed with a wrench. Targeting beams can be further split with no measurable loss, creating multiple arrays of laser fencing. If you can imagine fenceposts made of stacked prisms, creating a multiple-beam-high fence, then that is certainly a formidable thought, indeed.

    • Official Post

    1. 2-3 Eut and "tenfold" isn't exactly much.
    2. There's already a laser mod.
    3. I will probably ignore 2. and still create a huge-sized T4 Mining laser later on
    4. which will go in tandem with the orbital cannon.
    5. That wasn't a joke.

  • Yes. But make it more EU-costly. Like 64 EU for actual fire, and 8 for targeting.

    Quote

    It has become a little stubbly. Implement facial hair growth in IC²? Vision continuously grows more furry until you shave. (approx once every 2 minecraft days ;P)


    Steve shaves with his chainsaw.
    Check out Factorio- A game where you build a factory from scratch.

  • 1. 2-3 Eut and "tenfold" isn't exactly much.

    Yes. But make it more EU-costly. Like 64 EU for actual fire, and 8 for targeting.


    I'm going to admit that early power-consumption projections were based on ideal laboratory conditions. Creating a field-expedient laser from available resources (glass fused from common beach sand instead of pure silicate, energy crystals created without redstone-vapor depositing chambers, etc.) would require a much, much more substantial energy requirement to get a functional coherent beam out of the accumulator.

  • YES YES YES and to power it.... Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Superfuel Nuke TNT Energy Crystal Energy Crystal Energy Crystal Energy Crystal Energy Crystal Energy Crystal Energy Crystal Uranium Cell Uranium Cell Uranium Cell MFS-Unit MFS-Unit MFS-Unit

  • 1. 2-3 Eut and "tenfold" isn't exactly much.
    2. There's already a laser mod.
    3. I will probably ignore 2. and still create a huge-sized T4 Mining laser later on
    4. which will go in tandem with the orbital cannon.
    5. That wasn't a joke.

    Are you by any chance trying to get back at the people in Futurecraft for calling IC2 " low tech " and "primitive" either way this will be epic :D

  • Are you by any chance trying to get back at the people in Futurecraft for calling IC2 " low tech " and "primitive" either way this will be epic :D


    WHERE! I declare a thread war on those IC2 haters! Ill kill them with my (so called) low tech Jetpacks and (explode mode) mining lazers! whos low tech now!

    • Official Post

    Let the device have a "charge bar" that you would have to use lapotrop crystals for, maybe even UU-matter to power this freak of a T4 laser! That way it does become somewhat mobile, but still you would need a shitload of blue lap crystals..


    And the device might also have a X factor of power vs range that it is capable of reaching, lets say once its reached the charge limit for an actual shot, and targeting, each lap crystal will increase the range X numbers.. this way, an "easy" *coughs* method of making the underground tunnel for the future electric carts ! Wheeeeee

  • Scruffy: If they’ve finished charging up, why should they need Lapatron Crystals? :P
    Maybe the actual charging could be faster with more crystals, or it could take the energy directly out of them (as explanation), so once the laser is targeted and focused, range could be determined by their number.
    Just another idea, sounds better to me. (No wonder, guess who had it ;) )

  • 1. 2-3 Eut and "tenfold" isn't exactly much.
    2. There's already a laser mod.
    3. I will probably ignore 2. and still create a huge-sized T4 Mining laser later on
    4. which will go in tandem with the orbital cannon.
    5. That wasn't a joke.


    My space station/satellite just got a hell of a lot cooler.

    Still remember the convo ending with "No, stop bugging me, cables transmitting energy are totally not possible! Use the batterys."

  • My space station/satellite just got a hell of a lot cooler.

    ........... Please wait. This unit has shut down and must restart due to sheer awesomeness. *beep*
    ...
    ...
    ...
    Thank you for waiting for shutdown and restart. Please continue as normal. Also, just 64 EU for a massive orbital LASER SATELLITE!?!?!?!? (Not directed at the above.) 64 EU/t for a 8-24 tick targeting period, maybe.

    Have yet to blow up any Reactor . It's only a matter of time, though. Actually, I may go for a CASUC design, but doubtful.
    "Are you sure this will work?"(My friends)
    "I have no idea! Let's do it anyways!"(Me.)


    Generation 27 The first time you see this, put it in your signature and add 1 to the number. Call it a social science pyramid scheme.

  • ........... Please wait. This unit has shut down and must restart due to sheer awesomeness. *beep*
    ...
    ...
    ...
    Thank you for waiting for shutdown and restart. Please continue as normal. Also, just 64 EU for a massive orbital LASER SATELLITE!?!?!?!? (Not directed at the above.) 64 EU/t for a 8-24 tick targeting period, maybe.


    I was planning on constructing a satellite in the sky with a teleporter unit to get up to it, was going to gather power into large units using solar panels for various things so I could live up there.. however with the addition of orbital lasers.. I might just wreck everything below me instead.

    Still remember the convo ending with "No, stop bugging me, cables transmitting energy are totally not possible! Use the batterys."