So much for a galaxy far, far away.
Chinese scientists have reportedly been developing a Death Star-esque space weapon that would use electromagnetic pulses to knock enemy satellites out of the sky, according to the Daily Mail.
While it won’t be powerful enough to reduce Earth to space dust — like the fictional planet Alderaan in the original Star Wars movie — the scientists have been able to combine multiple pulses of microwave radiation into a single powerful beam, the Daily Mail reported, citing the South China Morning Post.
“The weapon has now completed experimental trials for potential military applications thanks to breakthroughs in ‘ultrahigh-time precision synchronization,’” the Daily Mail reported. “This could be used for ‘achieving multiple goals such as teaching and training, new technology verification and military exercises,’” experts say.
“While the exact details of the weapon remain highly classified, Chinese academic journals suggest that microwave weapons like this are being developed for use in space.”
To wrap your head around the concept, think of the Death Star laser beam used to destroy Alderaan in A New Hope and vapourize rebel spaceships in Return of the Jedi. Seven electromagnetic pulses would merge into a single beam — but only if they all hit the exact same target within 170 trillionths of a second, according to the Daily Mail.
The feat was thought to be nearly impossible, the Daily Mail reported, because the technology exceeds the preciseness of atomic clocks on advanced GPS satellites. The atomic clock aboard China’s Tiangong space station, for example, is so precise that it is expected to only miss one second every few billion years, according to the Daily Mail.
“However, Chinese scientists say they have now been able to overcome these challenges by connecting each of the vehicles with fibreoptic cables,” they added, which would make the beam powerful enough to overwhelm satellites.
Recommended video
The revelation comes as militaries around the globe continue to tinker with direct energy weapon technology, which forgoes projectiles and explosives for powerful blasts of electromagnetic radiation.
The U.K. has been developing a Dragonfire laser weapon, the Daily Mail said, which can reportedly blast a drone out of the air and is accurate enough to hit a British one-pound coin from almost a kilometre away.
The U.S. air force’s Tactical High-Power Operational Responder (THOR) can also use “wide bursts of energy” to take out multiple drones.
No need for The Force, we guess.