Download or read book Beam Weapons written by Jeff Hecht and published by Jeff Hecht. This book was released on 1984-03-31 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beam Weapons examines the directed-energy weapons that became a central part of the Reagan Administration's Strategic Defense Initiative, better known as "Star Wars." First published in 1984, it describes the science and technology behind directed energy weapons, the state of the art at the time Reagan launched the program, and the military issues involved. The first full-length book published on the topic, it exhaustively documents the technical and military realities and uncertainties.