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Re:Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers by pclmulqdq on Monday March 17, 2025 @06:52PM (#43393565)
Shoot a laser pointer at the receiver and there's a good chance you have jammed the thing.
Re:Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers by slt2021 on Monday March 17, 2025 @08:22PM (#43394362)
how do you detect/find the receiver? thats seems to be a problem
Re:Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers by _carbyau_ on Monday March 17, 2025 @09:17PM (#43394745)
I thought comms was two way.
Re:Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers by slt2021 on Monday March 17, 2025 @10:57PM (#43395323)
so you have a laser and want to jam the comms channel. How do you find where the comms channel is, where is the receiver, where do you point your laser to jam enemy comms?
Re:Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers by _carbyau_ on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @02:21AM (#43396289)
I agree it is not an easy task. But lasers can be detected with the right equipment (think the classic "laser through fog" but happening to plain air molecules), unit movements can be tracked and straight sight line is a significant logistical restriction.

But if they were only receiving. Well, that's going to be pretty hard to confirm and even if you "jam" it, then so what?

Re:Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers by Tuna-Fish on Tuesday March 18, 2025 @03:01AM (#43396456)
> But lasers can be detected with the right equipment (think the classic "laser through fog" but happening to plain air molecules)

You are assuming that the only source emitting at the specific wavelength is the laser you are targeting. This is not how it would work, the side using laser comms would also fly decoy drones that bathe the sky in the same wavelength as the comms channel.

This is also key part of how LPI radars on stealth aircraft work. Yes, in a spherical cow in vacuum environment you can in principle always trace a radar signal back to its source. But add a whole bunch MALDs radiating on the same band as the radars, and suddenly it becomes impossible to pinpoint the sources.