Lasers

Lasers are highly focused beams of light that are often utilised as directed energy weapons systems. They are highly accurate due to moving at the speed of light, but suffer from decreasing effectiveness at longer ranges due to diffraction. They function by rapidly heating any targets they come in contact with, disrupting their structural integrity. Lasers are relatively slow-acting weapons, however, and can be foiled by thick layers of armour or exceptionally reflective surfaces. In order to better penetrate armour, lasers can be rapidly pulsed on and off in order to quickly heat small sections of a target, causing violent destabilisation and more quickly penetrating thick armour. Laser weapons are primarily used in the vacuum of space, since thicker atmospheres diffract light, greatly reducing lasers' effective ranges. For similar reasons, lasers can be counteracted by magnetic deflectors whose megnetic fields have been flooded with plasma.