High Energy Laser Progressive Wavefront Modeling

Abstract : High energy lasers have the potential to revolutionize naval warfighting by providing a weapons platform that has greater precision and speed than anything currently available. These lasers can be mounted on ships for surface warfare or mounted on satellites for strikes anywhere around the world. Crucial to the development of these lasers is an understanding of how different atmospheric conditions affect the laser's propagation and the shape of the beam when it finally illuminates the target. Dr. Bill Colson from the Naval Postgraduate School Physics Department developed a computer model for simulating these beams; however, his program can only output two dimensional slices of the three dimensional laser. Theoretically, the beams should be forming "noodles" of energy that break off from the main beam, but that can be difficult to see from Colson's original output. This project aims to modify Colson's program so that it can create three dimensional models of the laser beams, and show the progression of the beams over time.