Laser guns are almost here

[DOC_Agren]

[Onix]

I'll have to look for the article, but I always wondered why you don't hear more about masers (microwave lasers) in development. They were the first directed energy device made, so why aren't they more prominent. Turns out they required cooling to near absolute zero to work. Just recently though, a room temperature maser was made using a nitrogen doped diamond. It's nowhere near a weapons grade technology but it makes them much more plausible. I wonder if a maser could be used as a non-lethal deterrent device like the big military microwave emitters that make you feel like your skin is burning? That's cool that you wouldn't be killing but scary that you could torture with it. Klingon Pain Sticks anyone?