They're at it again. This time, the "Sith" (what else?) laser that couples two of those same "Arctic" model 1W lasers into a "Darth Maul" style dual.
A friend of a friend just ordered one of the Arctic models. Hopefully, I'll get a look at one without burning off parts of either of our bodies.
Lucasfilms lawsuite in 3....2.....1.....
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, that's a geekgasm!
I'm just a hayseed, so I'm dying to know what the heck a man can do with something like that? Outside of impressing the hell out of fellow hayseeds, of course.
ReplyDeleteScott, when you figure it out, let us all know.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool, but I can't figure out what it's good for. It's not a sword or a light saber. If someone tried to spin it like they were Darth Maul in Star Wars, they'd certainly hurt someone or burn something. A reflection could do the same thing.
But... it is a geekgasm.
I've simply got to display my ignorance once again: I thought there were restrictions on what wattage civilians could buy in a laser, like <5mw? Tell me I'm wrong, please, since this makes it look like you can buy higher wattages.
ReplyDeleteExcellent question, Reg. Obviously if they're selling these 1 Watt lasers, that isn't the case. I know there are various classes of lasers, and the small laser pointers you can get at a filling station are low power.
ReplyDeleteI notice the listing says safety glasses are included, but I'd still be concerned about anyone else in the area.
These are more like a gun than a light saber or a knife. That beam goes until it hits something that stops it, and might reflect any number of times. If you catch a reflection of a good surface that will blind you just as quickly as the main beam.
The safety disclaimer on that web page pretty clearly spells out some of the problems.
I wasn't sure these were being sold in America, as I've seen cell phone disruptors for sale too, and supposedly American citizens cannot legally purchase them.
ReplyDeleteCall me "paranoid", but it occurred to me that, were we ever invaded by the Chinese (oops, no Chinese Red Dawn movies allowed ;-), or a swarm of black helicopters, something along these lines might work great for interfering with NVGs. Easier to target with than a .308, and possibly more immediately effective without necessarily being lethal.
In one of Tom Clancy's novels, John Clark and Ding Chavez take out a some enemy aircraft with a very powerful light or laser, simply by blinding them on landing, IIRC. I understand some SWAT teams will use NVGs from time-to-time, too.
It certainly would never be useful as a toy, since it is obviously quite dangerous to vision in the higher wattages, especially with the risk of reflection as you point out. It would be difficult dealing with having injured someone accidentally with one of these devices.