Sure - the beams look pretty in Star Wars - but seeing the impact would be dramatic enough, considering how ultra-powerful Honorverse beam weapons are.
Digby wrote:There have been a lot of arguments for and against the absence of sound in space. My view is that remaining true to the science and keeping it silent is something to be exploited for dramatic effect. It is insufferably patronising to introduce sound simply because one thinks the audience is dumb.
On the other hand, I concede that laser beams would have to be shown as thin lines of light. Otherwise there would be no way for the audience to link a distant explosion to the sudden damage or destruction of the target.
However, I see a problem for the purists. Presumably the beam remains roughly constant in diameter between source and target. If the camera viewpoint is near the source, the beam would soon dwindle to invisibility on its way to the target. A similar problem occurs when the viewpoint is near the target. Is there a way to cope with this difficulty?