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Re:US Navy ready to deploy laser for first time by jloughry on Tuesday February 18, 2014 @03:47PM (#7260933)
When a high power (megawatts) laser hits a surface, even a mirrored surface, the effect is more like a hammer than a reflection. This was studied extensively during the SDI program. Chrome plating missiles is, in the long term, ineffective; the beam transfers energy kinetically like a bullet, not through heating effects.

That said, it might work for now against kilowatt lasers.

Edit: an interesting and non-theoretical example of catastrophic optical damage is the "fiber fuse" effect: a spot of light burns its way along the length of a strand at about 1m/sec (destroying it as it goes). See this video (the narration is in Japanese):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVmIgaafERk

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