Hmmph, Amateurs!

So I'm reading my daily Engadget and lo and behold, someone has developed a 'Death Ray'. Now I give props to the students at Tel Aviv University and recognize that they are still only students, but to steal a famous quote... I've seen a death ray, and that sir, is no death ray.

First of all, it looks unwieldy. We make death rays in the form factor of a gun because that is what people are used to in a weapon. Larger death rays are of course mounted into orbital satellites but from the specs mentioned we're not talking about a death ray intended to kill thousands, more of as tactical death ray.

And it needs a steel plate as a shield? Do you honestly think any serious user wants to walk around with a death ray that has a big steel plate on the front of it? Not only would you get laughed at, you would have a big steel plate interfering with your aim. Any decent death ray will have a tight enough beam that you won't need a shield to protect yourself from the death ray, and shielding from the death rays of others is provided by specialized clothing, not big awkward steel plates.

In the end this work represents a good first effort for non-evil university students, but their work still has a long way to go if they want to produce something that is actually usable in the field.