Laser cloak could hide Earth from extraterrestrial beings

A simple laser beam could disrupt aliens' observations of Earth, making it look like there's nobody home on the third rock from the sun, a new study suggests. David Kipping, an astronomer at Columbia University in New York, said he first considered this idea when he heard about the strangely dimming star that was detected recently by NASA's Kepler space telescope.

Laser Focus World's take:

Scientifically, this method has multiple flaws. Specifically, it depends upon knowing 'where' the aliens are located and what types of imaging or detection equipment (materials, wavelength) they might have. Not to mention that it is difficult to pre-suppose the intelligence of potential life forms in outer space who may possess detection equipment beyond the physical optical realm. Nonetheless, it demonstrates that lasers, which continue to thrive in a shaky economy, have many unexplored potential uses.