The electrolaser is a "lightning gun" that works by using a UV laser to create a path of ionized air (Laser Induced Plasma Channel, or LIPC) between itself and the target, and releasing a massive electrical discharge down this conductive path to the target. It has the advantages of being able to stun (smaller weaponns only) or kill an organic target and disrupt/fry electronics, and that most armor, other than Zesuaium, will conduct rather than block the electrical discharge.
Perhaps the most unusual property of electrolaser weapons that the laser, and therefore the electrical discharge, can be reflected by mirrors or other highly reflective surfaces, since the laser does very little damage itself, unlike laser weapons (where the laser is powerful enough to simply damage or destroy any real mirror rather than bouncing off like some people woud have you believe); the electrical discharge hits everything in its path, not just the object at the end, so mirrored or reflective armor will turn "lightning" into "chain lightning" while offerring little or no protection. This is a double edged-sword - you can bounce a shot around a corner, but if you aren't careful you could accidentally bounce a shot right back at yourself.. Also, the discharge will also affect anything or anyone in direct contact with the target. In practice, however, this is only important for electrolaser hand weapons.
Electrolasers can be built in many sizes, from power armor weapons to large vehicle-mounted or turret-mounted cannons. They can even be mounted on a starship, though it would only function in a planetary atmosphere, or possibly a dense gas cloud or nebula. Small arms intended to be "non-lethal" weapons are currently available from Novacorp and Emrys Industries, but until now no heavy electrolaser weapons for disabling vehicles, power armor and similar or larger targets existed. Typically, the lasers in these weapons are from 3 cm to 1 m or larger across, depending on the size of the weapon, and they use extremely high voltages (often high enough to vaporize an unprotected human caught in the discharge).
A starship or aircraft, preferably a stealthy one, could also use a UV laser to "control" lightning to strike a specific target beneath a thunderhead by creating a LIPC connecting the thunderhead to the desired target. Since lightning always follows the path of least resistance, it will follow the conductive plasma channel created by the laser and strike the target. While somewhat impractical, this tactic disguises the attack as a random act of nature.
Perhaps the most unusual property of electrolaser weapons that the laser, and therefore the electrical discharge, can be reflected by mirrors or other highly reflective surfaces, since the laser does very little damage itself, unlike laser weapons (where the laser is powerful enough to simply damage or destroy any real mirror rather than bouncing off like some people woud have you believe); the electrical discharge hits everything in its path, not just the object at the end, so mirrored or reflective armor will turn "lightning" into "chain lightning" while offerring little or no protection. This is a double edged-sword - you can bounce a shot around a corner, but if you aren't careful you could accidentally bounce a shot right back at yourself.. Also, the discharge will also affect anything or anyone in direct contact with the target. In practice, however, this is only important for electrolaser hand weapons.
Electrolasers can be built in many sizes, from power armor weapons to large vehicle-mounted or turret-mounted cannons. They can even be mounted on a starship, though it would only function in a planetary atmosphere, or possibly a dense gas cloud or nebula. Small arms intended to be "non-lethal" weapons are currently available from Novacorp and Emrys Industries, but until now no heavy electrolaser weapons for disabling vehicles, power armor and similar or larger targets existed. Typically, the lasers in these weapons are from 3 cm to 1 m or larger across, depending on the size of the weapon, and they use extremely high voltages (often high enough to vaporize an unprotected human caught in the discharge).
A starship or aircraft, preferably a stealthy one, could also use a UV laser to "control" lightning to strike a specific target beneath a thunderhead by creating a LIPC connecting the thunderhead to the desired target. Since lightning always follows the path of least resistance, it will follow the conductive plasma channel created by the laser and strike the target. While somewhat impractical, this tactic disguises the attack as a random act of nature.
