Fastest Submarines

IMAGINE A SUBMARINE SO FAST THAT IT CAN outrun a torpedo. That could soon be a possibility, thanks to a breakthrough propulsion method that Chinese scientists claim could produce the fastest submarines in the world.

- Kyle Mizokami

The approach would involve submarines using "laser propellers"-a system in which lasers create tiny explosions that would propel the submarine forward at previously unheard-of speeds.

The idea of lasers as a form of propulsion dates as far back as 1972, when it was originally proposed as a method for powering spacecraft. In atmospheric travel, the technology is fairly straightforward and understood: The underside of an aircraft is blasted with a laser that superheats the air underneath it, creating a plasma that explodes the air and propels the craft upward. But atmospheric laser propulsion has only been tested with scale models.