Where are those laser weapons? They work nicely in science fiction, but why don't we hear about them on the modern battlefield? And do the science fiction writers even get it right? We'll learn a little about lasers, their history, how they're made, and why they sometimes catastrophically self-destruct, very much like a bad launch at Cape Canaveral. We'll also learn how to build a laser; it's not as difficult as one might think. And no equations.
