From Death Rays to Light Sabers

摘要

Evidence suggests that Reagan valued lasers more as a symbol than as a strategic weapon. Many scientists, engineers, journalists, and informed policymakers recognized that the laser's chief advantage in missile defense was its speed. Yet it was the laser's popular image of clean and precise power that made it the centerpiece of Reagan's SDL This clean, precise nature was by no means obvious. Laser weapons were first imagined as terrifying death rays, capable of contaminating large areas. But the popular press about lasers did not sensationalize death rays so much as provide a place for scientists and engineers to vie for control of the laser-weapons research agenda. Meanwhile, as the laser became an everyday tool for refining surgery, audio recordings, and a variety of other technologies, it also became a metaphor for precision.