20年前,当罗纳德·里根总统提出它的“战略防御倡议”时,高能激光器的研制者所面临的最大问题之一,是要使它们脱离地面工作。据说那时一位身居高位的科学家曾经开了一个玩笑,说这种激光武器实在太庞大,其唯一的用途,可能就是把它们投到敌方的目标 Twenty years ago, when President Ronald Reagan came up with its “Strategic Defense Initiative,” one of the biggest problems facing high-energy laser developers was getting them out of the ground. It was said that when a scientist in high position used to joke that the laser weapon was so huge that its sole purpose could be to throw them into the enemy’s target