BOOKS
Beam Us Out, Scottie!
Beam Weapons:
The Next Arms Race
Written by Jeff Hecht
Lately "Star Wars" means not
Darth Vader and intergalactic der
ring-do, but President Reagan's
proposed new defense against
nuclear missiles. Reagan himself
has never clarified precisely what
he means, but Jeff Hecht's Beam
Weapons gives the clearest, most
objective analysis of the Star Wars
defense I've seen. Cofounder of
Lasers and Applications maga
zine, Hecht explains the exotic
new technology of military lasers,
particle beams, and x-rays, and
translates the "Pentagonese" de
scriptions of their use into English.
While Hecht argues that Star
Wars technology is not nearly ad
vanced enough to predict the final
product—or even if the final
product is possible at all —he sees
the apparent front running candi
date as a series of "battle satellites"
armed with beam weapons. Set in
orbit high enough to look into
Russia, the satellites would—in
theory —"see” any incoming Rus
sian missiles and zap them out of
the sky with some sort of energy
beam, probably a laser.
Technically, Star Wars has split
scientific experts into warring
camps. The Union of Concerned
Scientists, mostly academic lib
erals, call it impossible. Equally
prominent experts, mostly those
on the military payroll, are selling
Star Wars as a way to "make nuc
lear weapons obsolete." The short
age of crystal balls being what it
is, no one can say which side is
correct. The only thing a non-ex
pert can be sure of is that Star
Wars will appear in the tax bills
long before it does in the sky.
Hecht presents the Law of Tech
nology Marketing as "Any sales
projection is an overestimate, and
any marketing timetable is over
optimistic." Over two billion has
already been spent; one "sales pro
jection" for Star Wars is $40
billion over ten years. Consider
ing the average cost overruns for
military high tech runs around 350
percent, Star Wars costs will be
more astronomical than the tech
nology.
The technology is forbidding
enough. First, a laser capable of
handling at least 5 million watts
must be created. No current laser
approaches this power. Second,
the laser must be “weaponized" —
made small, dependable and oper
able without busloads of Ph.D.'s
hovering over every shot. Fre
quently, weaponization takes
longer, costs more, and succeeds
less often than the original crea
tion. Third—here's the hard part
— a laser radar (current radars are
not accurate enough) must be
created with a computer capable
of identifying the target, discrim
inating genuine targets from
"spoof" targets, tracking, and aim
ing the laser accurately enough to
hit a dime from 3,000 miles. This
must be done automatically. Hu
mans are not nearly fast enough.
Neither are today's computers.
Fourth, all this incredibly complex
gear must be robust enough, and
light enough, to be blasted into
space, then reliable enough to
work even without maintenance
and without realistic testing. And,
of course, it must be defended
against surprise attack.
Obviously, Star Wars, if it can
work at all, is many years and
many, many billions in the future.
Were it to go into battle today, it
might well make ballistic missiles
obsolete. (Because air, fog, and
rain can dissipate energy beams,
low flying missiles and bombers
would be immune. Some, at least,
would be bound to get through.)
Since in fact Star Wars will not be
around for 10 or 15 years (and
that, remember, is only the "sales
projection"), there is plenty of
time to think of defenses. These
range from polishing the missiles
to reflect the beams to blinding the
battle satellites electronic "eyes"
with counter lasers. Of course,
there are counter-counter meas
ures and counter-counter-counter
measures and so on ad infinitum.
Judging the future workability
of Star Wars technology may be
beyond human ability. But, sorry
to say, the hype surrounding it as
the "ultimate weapon" which will
make peace, not war, sounds dis
tressingly familiar. Hecht reminds
us that technological revolutions
often give us less than expected.
The supersonic airliner, the "white
hope" of the 70's, is the "white
elephant" of the- 80's. Oldtimers
may remember the atomic-pow
ered airplane which cost $1 billion
in the pre-inflation 50's, and never
flew. (Thank heaven!) Then there
is the famous "soviet submarine*
effect. The U.S. Navy finds lots of
Russian submarines prowling our
coasts exactly at the time the
Navy budget is being debated in
Congress. Anyone attempting
even to question an item of
military spending will face dire
warnings that the Russians are
building a bigger one. Hecht could
have mentioned the scandal rid
den C-5A superplane. During de
velopment, it cost more than all
Federal aid to education, and
promised to make it possible to
bring all our overseas soldiers
home. Years late, and billions
over estimates, the C-5A flies at
last, but now we are told we need
more soldiers overseas. And then
there was the Sergeant York anti
aircraft system, its granddaddy,
the Skywatch, and dozens of
other "ultimate weapons" which
only led to weapons even more ul
timate, deadly, and expensive.
If history teaches anything, it
teaches us that, unfortunately,
making today's weapons obsolete
simply means paying for tomor
row's.
— Kent Patterson
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STAY TUNED FOR MUSIC OF THE EIGHTIES
Weekly
Eye Opener
by Larry Deckman
(Taken from Felton and
Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most
Unusual): Louis XI of France
commanded the Abbot of
Baigne to invent a prepos
terous musical instrument to
entertain His Majesty's friends.
The Abbot good-naturedly
agreed to undertake the as
signment, and after a few
hours at the drawing board, he
gathered together a herd of
hogs —ranging from nursing
piglets to full-fledged swine.
Under a velvet tent, he lined
them up with the low-voiced
porkers on the left, the middle
range sows in the middle, and
the soprano piglets on the
right. Then the Abbot modi
fied an organ keyboard, at
taching the keys to a complex
apparatus terminating in a
series of small spikes, one pois
ed over the rump of each pig.
The courtiers were gathered to
gether and the Abbot played
his keyboard, causing the
spikes to prick the pigs, who
.naturally let out a piercing
squeal, each in its particular
voice range. The tunes were
actually recognizable, and the
concert was adjudged a success
by all.
Safe Skiing
by Michael Fuchs
When heading into the back
country this winter season, don't
forget to pack along a good dose
of common sense.
A pleasant outing can turn into
a miserable ordeal in a matter of
minutes. So like a good Boy
Scout, be prepared. Stay alert to
changing weather conditions and
to your surroundings. Know your
limits. In your search for silence
and solitude, remember you are
distancins yourseit from possible
assistance. Winter rescues in the
Cascades are difficult at best, and
help rarely can arrive within 12
hours of notification. No one is
immune to adversity, so be re
sponsible for your self. Enter the
wilderness with the knowledge
that an overnight bivouac is a dis
tinct, if slight, possibility.
The following are winter recrea
tion guidelines suggested by the
US Forest Service and the Uni
versity of Oregon Outdoor Pro
gram.
What to Wear
To maintain a comfortable
body temperature, use the layer
ing method. Wear clothes of vary
ing warmth rather than one large
parka or a single thick sweater.
Add layers as your body cools;
remove layers as you warm up.
Remember, you can lose 30 per
cent of your body heat by leaving
your head exposed. Avoid hypo
thermia: Wear a cap!
Essentials for Winter Travel
• Wool pants or knickers (no blue
jeans or cotton pants)
• Heavy wool socks, inner socks,
extra wool socks
• Wool hat or balaklava
• Long underwear (polypropylene
works well)
• Wool shirt
• Wool sweater, fiber pile coat
• Warm jacket
• Waterproof raingear
• Windshirt or shell
• Wool or leather gloves, extra
• Gaiters
• Sunglasses
What to Carry:
• Trail map and compass
• Flashlight and batteries
• Matches, candle, firestarter
• Emergency food supply
• Ground insulation (ensolite pad
to sit on)
• First aid kit
• Sunscreen
• Whistle
• Signal mirror
• Waterbottle
• Watch
• Emergency shelter
• Nylon rope
• Ski repair kit (basket, screw
driver, binding parts, screws,
roll of tape, ski tip)
Before You Go
Check weather conditions: Na
tional Weather Service, 689-1321.
Let friends know of you plans.
Mark your route on a map for
them and indicate when you plan
to return and make sure you
notify them when you get back.
If You Are Lost or Injured
Stay calm-decide on a course
of action. Trust your compass.
Backtrack, if possible. If not, send
two people for help. Don't aban
don your skis. Build a fire and
shelter (a snow cave is deal). Stay
out of the wind. Keep an ensolite
pad or tree branches and your skis
between you and the snow. Mark
your camp so it is visible from the
air. Distress signals: three smokes,
three shouts, three whistle blasts
or three of anything that will at
tract attention. Do not travel at
night.
Lake Ice
Do not venture onto the in
viting expanse of a frozen lake.
Thick snow can blanket and in
sulate a lake, keeping the ice from
developing a thick crust. Do not
try to determine if the ice is safe.
Assume that it is not.
Avalanche
Again, be aware of your sur
roundings. A slope need not be
steep for an avalanche to occur.
Many avalanches happen
on
slopes of less than 30 degrees, and
relatively small avalanches kill 42
percent of their unwary victims.
The best protection against get
ting caught in an avalanche is to
avoid areas where they might oc
cur. Narrow clearings running
down slopes and wide open steep
slopes are likely avalanche paths.
To get around these areas, stick to
higher ground or the windy side of
the ridgetop, away from cornices.
If this is not practical, travel in the
valley, away from the bottom of
the slopes. Take the time to plan
your route carefully.
A Few Last Words
It is essential that you make
thorough preparation and take
precaution on every outing to the
backcountry. A healthy respect
for yourself and for Mother Earth
will ensure peace of mind for you
and safety tor your party.
These organizations offer free
low-cost
instruction
on
an
aspects of winter backcountry
travel. Check them out.
• U of O Outdoor Program,
686-4365
• Eugene Parks and Recreation
Department, 687-5333
In the event of any outdoor
emergency, contact: Lane County
Sheriff's Office, 687-4160.
Sno Park Permits
Under state legislation, Sno
Park permits are required in desig
nated winter recreation parking
locations throughout Oregon.
Permits are available at
any
Oregon Department of Motor
Vehicles office.
Trail Etiquette
• Avoid snowshoeing or walking
on cross-country tracks.
• When taking a break, step out
of the ski track to avoid damage
to the track.
• When skiing in a track, give the
downhill skier the right of way.
• When being overtaken by
another skier, step out of the
track and let him or her pass.
• Leave pets at home.
BedgBredkfast
Imall family style inn with cheerful rooms 9 hearty breakfast
216 Maple Street • Florence, Oregon 97439
Telephone (503) 997-8000