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Shark Toys Technology

Wicked Lasers Introduces Handheld One-Watt Green Laser 404

First time accepted submitter (and Slashdot coder) cogent writes "Wicked Lasers, famous for last year's 1000mW handheld blue laser, and infamous for its handling of six-month-long backorders, is now selling a green version. There are three power levels, each priced at $1/mW (300mW, 500mW, 1000mW). Since the eye is far more sensitive to green than to blue, this is pretty much the state of the art in putting-dots-on-stuff technology. Wicked Lasers sent out an email promising to handle backorders much better this time." Adds reader whitedsepdivine: "There is currently no disclaimer that this is not a lightsaber on their site, so we can only assume that this version is."
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Wicked Lasers Introduces Handheld One-Watt Green Laser

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  • Do these things come with a stun setting?

  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @12:38PM (#37317944)

    Might add a warning that at 1W (1000mW) your eye is 'sensitive' to just about anything in terms of damage from them, whatever color.
    Be sure you get good laser protective glasses with one of these things, and whatever you do *do not* aim it or reflect it into anyone's (or any animal's) eyes... its not a "toy".

    • by n5vb ( 587569 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:12PM (#37318450)
      I would add avoiding *scattered* light to the list of warnings. (It has a BRH Class 4 warning label, which does include that wording.) A bit safer perhaps than other wavelengths because your eye responds with very high sensitivity to 532nm green (so you're not in *quite* as much danger as you would be from short-wavelength blue or, far worse, UV), but you definitely want to be wearing 532nm notch filter glasses with side shields as even looking at the beam spot on a white (and non-specularly-reflecting) surface could give cause fairly rapid eye damage. (And you can't control who's staring at the beam spot in most cases.) Note: The beam spot of my 40mW DPSS laser is significantly brighter than I'm comfortable looking at for long..

      (Wicked also has pretty emphatic warnings in the manual [wickedlasers.com] about never aiming it at satellites. Me, I wouldn't want to be the guy who gets sued by or faces criminal charges from the operators of a commercial or government LEO satellite whose sensors are damaged by one of these. Goes at least double for whoever tries to show off to the ISS crew .. not a good idea.)
      • by SomePgmr ( 2021234 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:53PM (#37318976) Homepage
        I'm normally the first guy to say, "oh leave people be", but this kind of thing is one where I think I'd be happier with a person having to have some kind of minor license to buy one... if only to just create some token hurdle to ownership.

        The problem with lasers is that, whereas everyone knows how dangerous a firearm can be... people tend to treat lasers like toys with no consequences. "Yeah, yeah, don't shine it in anyones eyes... got it." But I have never seen someone wear eye protection when using one, much less making sure everyone for miles around had eye protection when they're shining it through windows, at passing cars, etc. And they're coming down in price so any goofball can screw around with pretty powerful ones.

        Maybe it's time to make sure people buying these things really understand how bad they can screw up with these devices in just a moment of bad decision making? And I don't mean clicking "I Agree" to a paragraph on a website that they didn't read. Maybe something more like a amateur radio test?

        For me, it's awkward talking favorably about regulation. Maybe I'm overly concerned about something that isn't really an issue.
        • by jasno ( 124830 )

          I was going to mod you up but I want to post to this story.

          I'm not sure what the best approach is, but I'm pretty sure 'something must be done'(tm). I'm pretty libertarian, generally, but I think we need to treat lasers capable of causing blindness as firearms - subject to the same constitution-friendly background checks and penalties for misuse.

          People are worried about blindness - yes, that's a big concern. However, living in a fire prone region, I'm also concerned about mass arson attacks. I think we'v

        • by smellsofbikes ( 890263 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @03:36PM (#37320224) Journal

          But I have never seen someone wear eye protection when using one, much less making sure everyone for miles around had eye protection when they're shining it through windows, at passing cars, etc. And they're coming down in price so any goofball can screw around with pretty powerful ones.

          FWIW when I bought the 350mW laser I'm using on my CNC mill to do marking and drill soldermask stencils, I'd already purchased a set of laser goggles designed for that wavelength, and always wear them when it's powered up. The reason I did that is because I've worked in three high-power laser labs, two commercial and one academic, and in all three at least one coworker had partial blindness from an unintended exposure. (In two of those, the person had been wearing laser glasses, and had just gotten unlucky with a specular reflection off a tool sitting on a desk that deflected the beam upwards between the edge of the glasses and the person's cheek, which is why I got against-the-skin-all-the-way-around goggles.) One dubious benefit to high power lasers in private hands is that it'll most likely be the owner's eyes that get fried in the reasonably short term.

        • by thelamecamel ( 561865 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @07:03PM (#37321972)

          Here in Australia, laser pointers above 1mW are considered prohibited weapons - in the same category as crossbows and knuckledusters. You need to get a prohibited weapons permit to own one (and keep it in a safe), and you need to get two more permits to buy one from overseas. I had to go through all this paperwork and police checks - and I was a scientist getting them delivered to my university office! Let's not tell the politicians about the CO2 lasers sitting in the labs downstairs eh.

    • by mrops ( 927562 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:24PM (#37318586)

      As power levels of these lasers are getting higher up, it takes a dumb kid living 200 yards away shining this stupid thing on my eye and causing injury.

      IMO, there should be licensing similar to guns. Maybe even training on how to handle these as opposed to Tom the fat wallet idiot ordering it off the internet.

    • Old physicist's jokes: "Do not look into laser with remaining eye."
      "You can only test a laser's functionality twice."
    • by RichardJenkins ( 1362463 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @02:22PM (#37319330)

      NO, it's a damn weapon. If you're out walking the streets with this, the police should be about as suspicious as if you're walking around with a kitchen knife in your pocket.

    • by NoSleepDemon ( 1521253 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @02:23PM (#37319356)
      I'm almost certain that someone in my town has something similar to one of these. My apartment's fairly high up overlooking a couple of main roads and residential neighbourhoods, and one afternoon I was watching TV when I was hit by an extremely bright green light that seemed to come from somewhere down the road, and which then briefly filled my whole vision. It wasn't a particularly pleasant affair, luckily whatever dickhead was shining it around didn't keep it in one spot for long. They really ought to be classed as weapons - it only takes one careless turd to wave one of these at a set of flats / office / condo and you've got a good chance of flashing someone in the eyes.
  • well okay... (Score:2, Flamebait)

    by bmo ( 77928 )

    At least it costs a kilobuck, so that the idiots who buy these things can also lose a bit of dosh while losing an eye.

    And since green also shows up in the atmosphere better, the cops can better locate you when you shine it on their helicopter.

    "Do not look into laser aperture with remaining good eye"

    --
    BMO

  • Warning: This laser's brightness is potentially hazardous to pilots' vision and satellite sensors. NEVER point it at an aircraft or a satellite.

    Wow. Nothing like fucking with the guys on the ISS for lulz. Maybe spot that new Air Force mini spy shuttle, or whatever it is.

  • I have a blue one (Score:2, Informative)

    by kurt555gs ( 309278 )

    It took forever to get. Then the charger didn't work, I emailed and got one in 3 days. (The repair department is much better than the order department where you wait and wait)

    Anyway, it's awesome. It burns things, It's fun. I love it.

    I also bought a Torch flashlight from them and waited months, actually given up ever seeing it, then it finally arrived. It's cool too.

    • Burns things how? Pics or it didn't happen. Video is even better.

      Can I use this to kill bugs on my ceiling. Will it work on asian stink bugs?

      • Burns things how? Pics or it didn't happen. Video is even better.

        Search youtube for "1000mW laser". There's a ton of videos of people burning stuff with them.

      • by jcoy42 ( 412359 )

        I have one. It'll pop a dark balloon in about 2 seconds. It will light a cigarette.

        As for burning things, I pointed it at a piece of 3/4" oak plywood and left it there. After about 5 minutes, it had charred it about 1~2mm deep.

        I expect it could have done more but it's not a very focused point. The actual "point" is about 1mm by 4mm at around 50cm. They have a lens kit which has a "Focusing Effect Lens", but I waited about 5 months before cancelling that order so no idea how well it works.

        The more obvio

  • by vijayiyer ( 728590 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @12:40PM (#37317980)

    As cool as this is, you really don't want one. Specular reflections off other surfaces can blind you instantly. There's no way to actually hand hold it with it powered in any remotely safe manner. If it doesn't terrify you, you don't know what you're dealing with, and if it does, you probably don't want one.

    • by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *

      No worries, anyone that stupid will have long ago blinded themselves with cheap moonshine anyway.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

      The goggles they do something. I am pretty sure they come with proper eye protection.

      • Proper eye protection would include goggles for all persons within the maximum dangerous range of the laser as drunken idiots and teenagers (and drunken teenage idiots) will be waving them around and bouncing them off shiny surfaces.
        • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

          So use it indoors.
          Seems pretty simple.

          I own a gun, that could kill people. So far I manage to use that responsibly, no reason a laser could not be used in the same controller manner.

          • A gun is pretty limited by the noise it makes, and by the fact that you have to aim it. Aim the laser at a prism (or basically anything semi-reflective-- white paint on the side of a house?) and watch as everyone around you gets eye damage, silently, immediately. Guns also have a very limited range at which they are effective-- handguns are well under a kilometer i believe. Im sure this laser is effective at well over a mile.

            And unlike gunshot wounds, im pretty sure eye damage from lasers is generally pe

            • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

              Gunshot wounds from many firearms are permanent in the sense that dead men don't heal.

              Not sure about a mile, but .300 win mag is good out beyond 1000 meters, 1500 meters should be doable . You would not hear it at all that far away. The bullet gets to the target before the sound.

          • by SleazyRidr ( 1563649 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @02:12PM (#37319184)

            I think the issue is that everyone knows that guns are dangerous, so they get treated with respect. People think of laser pointers as especially cool flashlights, while they are as dangerous as a gun to someone's eyesight. Sure, they do have the small warning box near the bottom of the product page, but the title reads "Green Laser Pointer...", so you know these'll get bought by people who don't realise what they can do.

      • The goggles they do something. I am pretty sure they come with proper eye protection

        I didn't realize they came with a pair for everybody else that might get hit by the same beam. Does the laser pointer come with a 30 second advance warning, too?

        Or should we all just start wearing them by default - http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/stcharles/news/article_1e221000-e502-56f6-b5e5-90530677a8c2.html [stltoday.com] - just because some people are irresponsible and some companies are irresponsible enough to sell to irres

        • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

          The vendor is not responsible anymore than a hammer maker is responsible when someone kills his spouse with a hammer.

          I don't have to fill out registration forms for guns. All I needed was a drivers license and a simple call to the police. Only handguns have those restrictions.

          • Its significantly harder and messier to kill someone with a hammer than it is to blind someone with a laser.

          • by mr1911 ( 1942298 )
            Not even handguns are registered, if you live in one of the few states that is still almost free. Yes, they do run a background check, but that doesn't usually take more than a few minutes. Some states even bypass the fed background check if you have a concealed carry permit.

            But none of that is registration yet. The FFL still retains the form with the s/n recorded, so a database of owners isn't too far off.

            The longest part of buying a gun is waiting on the dealer to complete the 4473. Most are overl
        • I really hate things like this. Nitwits at a local beach vacation spot buy the lower powered versions ($30-$130, don't recall the wattage) and shine them EVERYWHERE. I know kids who have had them shined in their eyes, though briefly and without any damage. At night stretches of hotels are nothing but roaming green dots.

          The difference between these and guns is that guns go BOOM, kick, and are well known to produce devastating damage to humans. Laser pointers are silent, have no recoil, and just make brig

          • briefly and without any damage

            There's no proof of that without a proper opthalmic examination. The thing about retinal damage, is you can't see it. Your vision routes around blind spots - you already have one in each eye, the fovea, that you are unaware of unless you make an effort to detect it.

        • by Amouth ( 879122 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:39PM (#37318772)

          Those who do can go fill in paperwork and registration forms - no different from guns (not that that is working out particularly well in a market that's flooded with the things).

          i think the part that is different here is that the average Joe views a gun as a dangerous weapon - one that if i pull the trigger i have the chance to alter someones life and i'm responsible for it.

          the average Joe views a laser pointer as a toy.

          this product is anything but a toy - and anyone who teats it as such will pay the consequences (along with the people around them).

          While i'm against laws preventing me from owning something like this (or a gun, which i don't currently), I'm all for mandatory safety training & certification. If there was a machine that had something like this on it in Industry - there would be safety training, and that is for people who deal with them on a daily basis (same as cops and guns). The fact that we let the average Joe with no training go wild with it is just irresponsible, and sadly it is more likely the people around this person who will pay for it.

      • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:13PM (#37318464)

        The comment about proper eye protection is naive. Eye protection for a 1W green laser would only protect against attenuated reflections. Such a laser should only be operated inside an appropriate enclosure, or in a closed room while mounted in a fixed position below eye level with now reflective surfaces in the room. There would need to be appropriate signage on the doors to the room.

        No one who cannot calculate Nominal Hazard Zones should be making decisions about operating the laser.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @12:56PM (#37318238)

      "If it doesn't terrify you, you don't know what you're dealing with, and if it does, you probably don't want one."

      Well, I actually have a 2.5W blue laser, but yes - it terrifies me and I treat it with the respect it deserves, wear proper eye protection, keep body parts away from it, and only operate it in a safe/controlled environment with no 'random people' around. The people calling it a 'light saber' scare the bloody crap out of me, as if its some 'cool toy'. A 1W laser is about as much of a 'toy' as an AK47 or a flamethrower, and deserves every bit of proper training and handling as those do.

      • by TheRaven64 ( 641858 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:04PM (#37318330) Journal

        A 1W laser is about as much of a 'toy' as an AK47 or a flamethrower

        So, you mean it's not a toy, it's a really fun toy?

        • by Tsingi ( 870990 )

          A 1W laser is about as much of a 'toy' as an AK47 or a flamethrower

          So, you mean it's not a toy, it's a really fun toy?

          The more I read, the more I agree with you.

          I definitely shouldn't have one.

      • A 1W laser is about as much of a 'toy' as an AK47 or a flamethrower, and deserves every bit of proper training and handling as those do.

        The Wicked Laser 1KW Green Laser, the very best there is. When you absolutely, positively, got to blind every motherfucker in the room; accept no substitutes.

    • by kimvette ( 919543 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @12:58PM (#37318250) Homepage Journal

      I have wanted one for the longest time but have resisted for precisely the reasons you cited. All it takes is one bystander to glance at the reflection even from a distance, and they're injured for life. It's not worth it even for such a fantastically fun toy.

      I've been thinking about a 70mW-90mW laser for a while but even that poses a high risk of injury even at a significant distance.

      (obligatory WARNING: DO NOT STARE INTO LASER WITH REMAINING EYE.)

      • Yeah I had a friend that had a 35mW green laser (from Wicked Lasers, IIRC). It was mildly dangerous, but only if you looked at the beam directly (apparently, it could blind, but so long as you were careful the effects wouldn't be permanent). That is the brightest I would ever want a hand-held laser to be. The reflections were almost painfully bright, but not enough to blind, and the beam was very clearly visible. Also, it could light dark objects on fire with some time, making it just about perfect. Oh and
        • by kimvette ( 919543 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:23PM (#37318574) Homepage Journal

          I've lusted after 1000mW diodes for a long time with the idea of programming beam splitters, mirrors and the like to produce laser shows for parties and family events but it's just too dangerous for close quarters. Kids will insist on playing with them, or if I goof, or anything fails, the idea of blinding someone is scary.

          I do need a brighter pointer for astronomy (easier aiming of telescopes and cameras, pointing objects out to others, etc) and 1000mW would be perfect for that (a nice bright clear beam even in low-dust conditions) but the risk of dropping it or a chance reflection off an insect, bat, bird, etc. is just too great because at that level a close range reflection would mean near instant blindness. Even the 70mW-90mW (WL has a 75mW model) is a bit much, but 25mW might not be enough and if you go 50mW, why not go for 75mW for $10 more?

          I'd love to play with a 1000mW laser, but since you can't look at the specular reflections, or objects you aim it at without protection, what's the point? What can you safely do with it once you pop a balloon with it, or light a book of matches or burn a wasps' nest? The fun would die out pretty quickly. You can't cut steel with it, you can't weld with it, or really do anything practical with it, and it'd be a boring toy once you've experienced the novelty of popping a balloon or two from across a field using nothing but a beam of light and find there isn't anything you can safely use it for.

          • I've lusted after 1000mW diodes for a long time with the idea of programming beam splitters, mirrors and the like to produce laser shows for parties and family events but it's just too dangerous for close quarters. Kids will insist on playing with them, or if I goof, or anything fails, the idea of blinding someone is scary.

            Arent laser-light shows-- especially homemade ones-- also spectacularly dangerous?

            • Yes, that's kind of my point. There really isn't any purpose to the 1000mW laser unless you want to present a high risk of blinding people. :-(

          • by Kagura ( 843695 )

            I do need a brighter pointer for astronomy (easier aiming of telescopes and cameras, pointing objects out to others, etc) and 1000mW would be perfect for that (a nice bright clear beam even in low-dust conditions)

            I have a 5mW basic cheap green laser pointer and it is MORE than bright enough. You don't need a 10 or 50 or 1000mW laser to point telescopes and cameras. The beam is clear enough, even before but especially after your eyes become attenuated to the dark!

          • I'd love to play with a 1000mW laser, but since you can't look at the specular reflections, or objects you aim it at without protection, what's the point? What can you safely do with it once you pop a balloon with it, or light a book of matches or burn a wasps' nest? The fun would die out pretty quickly. You can't cut steel with it, you can't weld with it, or really do anything practical with it, and it'd be a boring toy once you've experienced the novelty of popping a balloon or two from across a field using nothing but a beam of light and find there isn't anything you can safely use it for.

            Well, mine's not 1W, just 350mW, but it, in combination with a CNC mill, or even my previous setup where I had swapped it in place of a pen in an old HP x/y plotter, did a fine job of: drawing fancy graphics on wood, precisely and rapidly cutting paper (my girlfriend is a collage artist), precisely and rapidly cutting fabric for sewing projects, and I'm currently working on making really inexpensive PCB soldermask stencils using it. I do have some really nice laser goggles, and when it's running, I'm the o

      • 1W is a frightening amount of power for something marketed like this.

        Warning: Do not stare at neighboring town with remaining eye.

    • by Alef ( 605149 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:02PM (#37318302)
      I work lasers on a daily basis. At 1000 mW, I would avoid looking even at a diffuse reflex at any reasonably close distance. I would never handle one of those without protective glasses and it mounted towards a beam stop.
    • by TheLink ( 130905 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:07PM (#37318370) Journal
      Yeah it's like an easily concealed fully-automatic machine gun that can fire continuously for one to two hours till the battery runs out, with an "effective range" of up to 149 metres (see NOHD).

      AND any idiot/scum with 1000 bucks can buy it and use it, no need for a license or training.

      It doesn't actually do direct lethal damage but anyone who thinks this is fine is either stupid or ignorant (or is already blind and has no nonblind entities he/she cares about).

      There are already idiots/scum with high powered lasers. In one case, some spectators were shining high powered lasers at the opposing team's players in football match. I'm not sure how high powered they were, but those players certainly noticed and complained. They eventually lost the match, but I don't blame them, I would refuse to play in such conditions. I would actually recommend that the match be called off or boycotted. Not worth permanent eye damage.
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by kevinNCSU ( 1531307 )

        Yeah it's like an easily concealed fully-automatic machine gun that can fire continuously for one to two hours till the battery runs out, with an "effective range" of up to 149 metres....

        ...It doesn't actually do direct lethal damage

        Sooo...not like a machine gun at all then?

        • by vux984 ( 928602 )

          More like a machine gun that only shoots you in the arm or leg. That's would be ok to carry around right?

        • Yup - worse, by reckoning of the Geneva Conventions. Weapons designed to blind are banned, whereas machines guns are totally ok.

    • by drolli ( 522659 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:50PM (#37318942) Journal

      I fully agree. I (being a physicist) can not imagine any purpose for this laser outside a firmly mounted case inside a lab or workshop.

      If you write on the lase: don't point it to aircrafts, then this is exactly what some asshats are going to do.

  • by hellfire ( 86129 ) <deviladv@gmTOKYOail.com minus city> on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @12:47PM (#37318082) Homepage

    No popcorn for me :(

  • 1 watt lasers have been around for years. You can buy the diodes. This is just cute packaging. It's not powerful enough to be a useful weapon or cutting tool, and it's too powerful in a narrow beam to be a useful illumination source.

    In the CNC laser cutter world, this is viewed as a very weak laser. [hackaday.com] Commercial laser cutters start around 30 watts (for thin plastic and wood) and go up to about 5KW (sheet steel).

    • by ThorGod ( 456163 )

      So...what's the average price for a 30w commercial laser cutter? How about a comparable 1w laser diode + driver system?

      My laser knowledge is probably outdated since I've read old texts on laser experiments. But, last I knew, laser diodes aren't always 'true lasers' like, say, a gas laser. Something about how the waveform varies too much between exiting photons. What I've read, and please inform me, is that diodes can't be used for all experiments.

    • What's a weapon, though? It causes immediate, permanent damage to your opponent's unprotected eyes. That's pretty weapon-like. If you can rob someone of an entire empirical sense, that's worse than chopping off a finger or something, no?

  • Need Sharks (Score:3, Informative)

    by cheezitmike ( 537630 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @12:55PM (#37318212)
    Nice friggin' lasers. Now we just need some friggin' sharks to go with them.
  • I understand longer wavelength light (i.e. -> infra red) but blue photons have higher energy than green ones, so would a blue laser be better or worse than a green laser for burning/meltng stuff?

    Given we know that exposing your eyes to any laser light is a bad idea, and that blue light has more energy but your eyes are way more sensitive to green, which color laser would potentially be a higher risk for damaging your eyes (say from specular reflections)?

    • The most important thing would be, what wavelengths does the material you're cutting absorb? Whatever it absorbs best will heat it for cutting the fastest, I would think. The blue is a greater risk for damaging your eyes, both because the photons are higher energy and because your eye sees it less well so you are less likely to say "damn, that's bright" and look away. For vision, the higher-energy photons matter more than absorption, because the damage done to your eyes is not so much heating damage as b
  • by Lucas123 ( 935744 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:16PM (#37318510) Homepage
    When I used this laser for my Power Point presentation, the projection screen ended up looking like a kiddy's scissor class had cut it up for a paper doll!
  • by craftycoder ( 1851452 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:23PM (#37318578)

    Can any explain why they want one of these exceedingly dangerous "toys" lying around? This seems like the kind of thing that felony reckless depraved indifference assault charges was designed for.

    • by kirkb ( 158552 )

      Second amendment!

      - pretend to have weapons around for "protection"
      - actually have it because its cool and/or makes you feel like a big shot
      - eventually gets used to [accidentally | deliberately] kill or injure self or others.

    • by ErikZ ( 55491 ) *

      No difference than any other exceedingly dangerous "Toy" that the average person owns.

      Stop trying to be everyone's Mommy.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @02:10PM (#37319170)

      There is no legitimate use. I have a 4mW green laser pointer, and that is clearly visible in daylight and quite enough. The only use I see is as an anti-personnel and anti-aircraft weapon. In quite a few countries possession only will land you in jail. And there are quite a few stupid scumbags that point these at airplanes or helicopters for fun. One went down for several years here recently for pointing it at an ambulance helicopter in flight. That is 4 times attempted murder. (pilot, EMT, doctor, patient). Quite even making the pilot unable to fly safely for 15 minutes can kill the patient. You can do that with a much smaller laser already.

  • by lazn ( 202878 )

    So with blue and green 1w handheld lasers... are there Red ones available? With that we could get white!

  • The video mentioned several times that this laser is "too powerful to be used as a gun-sight". I'm not a shooter, so I honestly don't know why... Couldn't having a potentially eye-frying, laser-pointer-of-the-gods be a handy thing to attach to a tool that you intend to utilize for inflicting grievous bodily harm or death?
    • No, no, no - blinding an opponent is against the Geneva Convention. You're only allowed to humanely kill them by ripping holes in them with supersonic slugs of heavy metal, or burning them alive and violently dismembering them with incendiary devices dropped gently from aerial craft.

      What kind of cruel bastard are you?

    • by Ksevio ( 865461 )
      Well that would be in violation of the Geneva convention for one thing, so you won't want to be using it in any wars.
    • by jockeys ( 753885 )
      Because you can inadvertently blind yourself (temporarily or otherwise) if the beam reflects? Even with very bright weapon mounted lights (think a little flashlight that puts out 100+ lumens) this is a risk, you can easily reduce your night vision or disorient yourself (moreso with the ones that flash, e.g. some SureFire models) if the light sweeps a window or a mirror.
    • Because any chance object you shine it at might reflect enough of the beam back at you to blind YOU? Or alternately, the goggles you need to protect yourself from it blunt your tactical awareness so much that you get pwned with an entrenchment tool?

  • FDA ban (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:44PM (#37318848)

    You can give them Money, but unless the FDA allows them into the country, you would need to buy an airline ticket to get one:

        http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_254.html

    unless they have resolved all the issues, which, I doubt.

  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @01:50PM (#37318938)

    Take care that this counts as a weapon in many countries and possession without a matching laser-permit can land you in jail. Here you need a permit for any laser class 3 or above, i.e. > 5mW. Also it is very easy to permanently blind someone with this thing by reflection only. If you are stupid enough to point it at a flying airplane or helicopter (quite a few people are), you will go down either as a terrorist or for attempted murder. Or with this thing likely for completed murder as most helicopters and quite a few airplanes do not have a second pilot. Pointing it at a moving car can have the same effect. It is quite amoral to sell these to normal people.

  • by vinlud ( 230623 ) on Tuesday September 06, 2011 @04:21PM (#37320732)

    I consider these 'toys' much more dangerous then a machinegun. Why? Because while a nut with a machinegun can actually kill people, you cannot hide the fact that you are doing it. With a laser gun like this it is easy to blind people for life without anybody knowing who did it.

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