Orbiting space junk, of which there are an estimated 500,000 pieces at present, presents a huge threat to the future of human space exploration – one solution that just might stick: lasers mounted on orbited telescopes. Other ideas currently floating around include janitor satellites and trash trucks in space, but these approaches are generally limited by the need for cumbersome vehicle of some kind to make its away around picking up pieces one by one.

This alternative laser system, based on technology used in particle accelerators, employs an array of thousands of optical fibers that act in concert to produce a powerful plasma pulse capable of slowing a piece of debris until it falls out of orbit and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere – no need to collect anything after all. It would have a range of over 50 miles, requiring less movement to track and deal with individual elements of trash.

From Motherboard: “To eliminate this orbital minefield, a proposal outlined in a forthcoming Acta Astronautica paper would take advantage of the Extreme Universe Space Observatory, or EUSO, a new Japanese space telescope that’s slated to join the ISS in 2017. The EUSO wasn’t intended for garbage duty—in fact, its primary aim is to detect UV light emitted from high-energy cosmic ray showers entering Earth’s atmosphere at night. But the telescope’s powerful optics and wide field of view also make it the perfect tool for spotting small, high velocity debris as it hurtles about the ISS.”

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The holograms we know and are a little creeped out by today are generally created by projecting images onto a medium. The infamous Michael Jackson hologram that performed at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards? He was created by projecting a “digital head connected to an actor.” While we are edging ever closer to Star Wars-type holograms, the limitation remains that the image source still needs something to reflect light off of before it reaches your eyes as a 3D image.

Japanese company Aerial Burton has moved holography in a completely new direction. They created 3D moving images in mid-air using laser plasma technology. Their technique doesn’t require fog, water, or a screen to create images; the lasers simply ionize molecules in the air. The company accomplished this using a 1kHz infrared pulse laser directed into a 3D scanner. The laser hits pre-defined points in mid-air, instantly creating short-lived pockets of plasma by ionizing molecules at the appropriate points.

This so-sciencey-it-makes-your-head-kind-of-hurt technology has its limitations, though. It can’t create detailed images like the projection method can. The little bursts of light are so short-lived that the projector has to continually blast laser beams to continue displaying the image. The system was designed to be portable enough to fit into a car, which is an important aspect for Aerial Burton. They envision the technology being used to project information or directions in emergencies, so when there’s a natural disaster you will only have to look to the sky to find an evacuation route or safe haven.

The post Lasers Ionize Mid-Air Molecules to Make Moving Holograms first appeared on Gajitz.