When the demonstration is being given in the desert, are we to assume that this is the first time the lasers have ever been fired? Wouldn't he already have lots of big holes in the rocks?
I am a very decisive person, I think.
Wouldn't he already have lots of big holes in the rocks?
The "somewhere else" was right inside the hangar. Right after the BIG show, we saw Braz take them inside and demonstrate the qualities of Unobtanium with a smaller laser. I'm sure the big laser outside was ONLY intended to be used if the military showed up. The technology is the exact same as the smaller one so other than testing pre-ignition of the laser every once in a while, there was really no reason to ever fire it before.
And with Zimsky stealing his previous works and him working on this for the last 20 years out in the Utah Salt Flats, it was easy to see that Braz was extremely cautious about where and how he would use his equipment. "Lots of big holes in the rocks" would be the opposite of cautious.
there was really no reason to ever fire it beforeEngineering 101. Build a full scale model of a successful small one and then not test it(sarcasm). Metal fatigue, defective welds, ineffective power supply, etc, etc, etc. Then, let it sit outside for years, waiting for someone to demonstrate it to, only to find out the $5 "fire" button doesn't work.
"Lots of big holes in the rocks"No. But 1 or 2 wouldn't have raised suspicion. A couple well placed sticks of dynamite could collapse the holes into indistinguishably rubble.