diy lasers are irresistibly dangerous _ gadget lab _ wired

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IY Lasers Are Irresistibly Dangerous

Dylan Tweney May 16, 2011 | 7:00 am | Categories: Hacks, Mods and DIY

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cades after its birth, the laser is still irresistibly cool.

w many other fifty-somethings can you say that about?

Also:

This Day in Techy 16, 1960: Researcher Shines a Laser Light

Photo GalleryYears of Real-Life Ray Guns


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Photo Gallery

ppy Birthday, Lasers: Wired.com's Best Laser Stories

en though lasers are as common as dirt now, appearing in everything from DVD players to supermarket scanners tomputer mice, there's still a certain appeal to a beam of coherent, monochromatic light. Especially if it's dangerously

werful.

it's no surprise that people can't resist playing with lasers, building their own, customizing them and, of course, settin

ff on fire with them.

eodore Maiman probably never foresaw the ways his creation would be used when he first turned it on in 1960. But

in, he might be happy to know that someone has come up with actual laser rayguns.

ove:

ulse Laser Gun Mk II

the top of the do-it-yourself laser pyramid is this amazing pulse gun, capable of pumping out 1 megawatt of coheren

ht in short pulses.

the video shows, that's enough to punch holes in plastic and, of course, pop balloons. Add a focusing lens and the baser light creates a tiny, intensely hot ball of plasma that can burn holes in aluminum and char wood.

weighs almost 2 pounds, but has a self-contained battery pack capable of 50 shots. It may not be practical as a weaplike other powerful lasers, it's very, very dangerous.

oto:Hack N Mod


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ltoids-Tin Laser

e Altoids tin is a favorite container for DIY projects. It's cheap, easy to work with, compact and looks cool.

makes perfect sense, then, that you'd want to make an Altoids tin that can set things on fire, by bundling a laser and

tery pack inside.

en better, this project requires no soldering. All you need is a tin, a 200-mW green laser diode, a switch, a battery pat holds two AA batteries, some electrical tape, and a startling lack of common sense.


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c-Lighter Laser

's face it: Altoids tins are kind of quaint. Putting a laser in the body of a Bic lighter? Much more macho!

u can do it, too, if you can take apart the lighter without setting yourself on fire, hollow it out with a Dremel tool, th


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k in a laser-driver module and a blue laser diode. The laser components are both available from LaserDIY.com orpkay.com, the source of this video. You'll also need a small 4.3-ohm resistor and a switch. Tear open a 12-volt batter

ract a couple of button cell batteries, cram it all inside the lighter, and there you go.

e laser is powerful enough to ignite fireworks or light cigarettes, the video claims.

f course, as with any laser, never point it at yourself or any living thing," the voiceover helpfully adds, while showineo of a man aiming the laser at himself to light a cigarette.

ou make this project to light your smokes, you may also want to buy an eye patch to cover up your soon-to-be-blin.


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owerful Laser Diode

s laser project was obviously created by someone with slightly more common sense, because the video begins with rning to wear safety goggles. The laser body also has a red status LED on the side, so you can tell if the thing is onhout pointing the business end at your eye.

e laser has more than 1 watt of power, which is a lot: It's enough to light matches (even from the wood end) cut throck electrical tape, and set paper on fire.

er Pointer Forums has the details on this project, along with lots of other information on how to take harmless,

ocuous laser pointers and turn them into dangerously fun toys.


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aser Host Assembly

dern lasers, electrically speaking, are diodes: They are components that allow current to flow in only one direction.

ey work by converting electricity to coherent light on a specific wavelength.

ny "burning lasers" make use of a 1.1-watt laser diode that emits light at the 445-nanometer wavelength. Thevelength makes for a blue light, and the wattage makes for stupid levels of power. (Most cheap laser pointers, bytrast, are less than one-tenth as powerful.) Add a lens and it can be focused tight enough to set things on fire.

t you also need something to hold your laser diode and its battery, and that's where this laser host assembly comes inically everything you need for your overpowered laser pointer, except for the diode, the batteries, and (if you want)s.

$56 at the disturbingly named Survival Laserwebsite.

more background, see this discussion oflow-cost 445-nm, 1-watt laser diodes.


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aser Diode From a DVD Burner

u don't need to go out and purchase a new laser diode: You can also harvest one from an old optical drive. DVD burmore powerful lasers than regular CD or DVD drives, and the Lightscribe DVD burners have the most powerful on

ich they presumably use to inscribe lettering on the top surface of the discs.

tting the diode out of a DVD drive can be a tricky process, though. It's easy to bend the connectors, as this hobbyistnd out.

oto:Andrew Magill/Flickr


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aser Flashlight-Dazzler

me people are consumed with focusing laser beams into tight spots to set things on fire. This guy went the other

ection, diffusing the beam from a green laser pointer so it becomes a powerful flashlight.

ow makes a bright, 6-foot-diameter circle of light at 100 yards away. If you were to point that at someone's eyes, it

uld probably be very disorienting indeed, which is why the maker suggests it could be used as a dazzler weapon.


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aser Projector

t everyone is using lasers to set things on fire or dazzle midnight intruders. Micah Elizabeth Scott put considerable e

o making a homebrew laser projector that can display vector graphics on the wall. The heart of her system is a 30-men laser and two hard-disk motors, which turn mirrors to aim the beam.

e result is pretty amazing: It's compact, programmable, bright and has a Bluetooth interface.

details, see Scott's hard-disk laser-scanner project page, and check out hersubsequent update.

oto:Micah Elizabeth Scott/Flickr


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aser Engraving System

other ambitious, constructive project: This guy built a homemade laser CNC system from the internals of an old prin

me servos, and an unspecified laser diode. It's controlled by software running on an Ubuntu Linux PC, and can be uscutting paper for stencils, engraving wood and cardboard, cutting plastic pieces, and engraving printed circuit board

e project page is skimpy on specifics, but if you're at this level, you can probably figure out the details yourself, righ


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liked this.

urning Laser Maglite

our appetite for lasers has been whetted and your fear of bodily injury and blindness hasn't yet intervened Thw To Guy has a detailed guide to making a burning laserin the body of a flashlight. It's a step-by-step guide withailed photos for each stage.

the author reminds you: Be careful. Don't use this laser to play with your pets. And do not look into your laser beam

least, not with your remaining eye.

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Also:

New Use for Lasers: Blinding PiratesNASA Considers Shooting Space Junk With LasersVideo: Navy Laser Sets Ship on FireMaking Rain Clouds With LasersArmy Turns to Lasers for Copter Defense

Happy Birthday, Lasers: Wired.coms Best Laser Stories

Dylan Tweney is a senior editor at Wired.com and publisher oftinywords, the world's smallestgazine.

low @dylan20 and @gadgetlab on Twitter.

gs: 445nm, Altoids, danger, diodes, DIY, fire, flashlight, frikkin' lasers, how-to, lasers, weaponst Comment | Permalink

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Now all they need to do is get some sharks and attach these lasers to their heads.

PEW PEW PEW PEW!

Sharks - I'm voting for the freaking sharks!

http://www.mwahahahahahaha.com...

Warning: Do not point laser into remaining eye.

Yeah, and print the warning in Braille.

Now, if only we had do-it-yourself portal guns . . .

If these ever become popular on the mass market we are going to have a serious problem. Miniature laser

technology has advanced faster than our ability to repair the human eye. The first time an innocent bystander is

blinded by one of these there's going to be laser control legislation.


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The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the rights of freedom loving Amer

to hold and bear arms. The Framers sagely foresaw the development of laser technology and recognized

lasers as legitimate weapons for personal defense and resistance to government tyranny. That being said

government must not deny, abridge, or regulate my God-given right to lawfully carry a green laser. Besi

law abiding citizens should be able to protect themselves against the criminal element. In the future of lashootouts and armed robberies, a gun will get you laughed off the street (spaceship, martian colony, or w

have you). I hereby petition the NRA to begin the important work of protecting our freedoms of laser. F

order of business should be to change their name to the National Rifle and Laser Association.

"Outlaw lasers, and only outlaws will have lasers!"

"You can pry my laser out of my cold, burnt fingers!"

When the second amendment is read as a whole, it is clear that it protects

the right of the people to bear arms within the context of an organized

militia. Not bear arms to every redneck and moron walking on U.S. soil. The NRA of course has

deep pockets to sway the meaning and "intent" or "spirt of the law" their way.

It protects the right of people to bear their own arms so that they can be organized into a

militia, if necessary. It doesn't say that the state of North Carolina can keep one with my

on it in a closet. It says that I can keep my own, so that if I am called to join a militia at th

behest of the state of North Carolina, I am able.

I'm a card carrying ACLU member and avowed liberal. I don't own a gun, but I'm an exce

reader.


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That's a pretty contorted interpretation of the Second Amendment, but such contor

are probably necessary to reconcile an absolute right to own small projectile firearm

with today's reality. You really think the Second Amendment guarantees your righ

own a weapon so that you can serve in a militia, and that this is relevant today? In

case, on the one hand, why stop at guns? Rifles and pistols can't even defeat Gadd

incompetent military. You'll need to do better against Canada, let alone a tyrannica

Federal government. You'll need at least some rocket launchers, high explosives, an

preferably surface to air missiles if you want to make any headway, so why don't w

people possess these? Or small nukes if they can afford them... Should we?? On thother hand, since the Amendment also mentions "well regulated," does that not sug

that people might be barred (on the state level at least) from using or carrying their

weapons unless enlisted in a militia. Incidentally I wonder when is the last time a S

actually used such a militia--since the Civil War that is.

the founding fathers wrote explicity they desired the america people to hav

ability to protect themselves from the american government.

something about just having fought a revolution and such.

You see we use the small weapons to go get the larger weapons. They are i

national guard repositories conveniently stationed everywhere and staffed b

locals. Goes back to the apocalypse way of thinking. If they ever shut dow

Wal-Mart you don't need a bunch of supplies. All you need is some camo a

gun and some shells.

If it's not relevant, then Congress can change the Constitution.

As for the rest, you need to understand that the term "arms" was used to ref

what we call "Small Arms" in today's language. It was not an abbreviation f

"armaments" although they share the same root. And yes, we did originally

allow people to own heavy weaponry, for example it was more common for

cannon and Naval war ships to be privately owned.


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The term "well regulated" means to be properly trained and supplied, you a

confusing a more modern usage which applies to enacting policies and cont

Again, they come from the same roots but do not mean the same thing.

slozomby: I know why THEY wrote it that way. The question is how is that

relevant in America today? We have no state militias. Firearms are one of

least effective most counterproductive ways to "protect" yourself against th

government. As in most advanced countries, our government exercises a

monopoly on the use of serious military force. Trying to contest that monop

will get you dead or in jail in a hurry. Owning a gun or a hundred does not

change that calculus in the least.

Okey dokey Just Sayin. Good luck to ya.

Skeptikal: You're evading the whole connection with state militias (the impe

for my directly addressing the Second amendment). These NO LONGER e

and were they to be reconstituted and armed with small calibre weapons wo

have exactly ZERO meaningful effectiveness against any potential enemy,

especially the feared tyrannical Federal Government. The Second amendm

as written, is antiquated, archaic, a relic of a different time. The reasoning

to carry it forward into the present as an individual (and nearly absolute) rig

own one class of weapons is willfully ignorant or obstinately literal (and it

doesn't work even on this level). The result has been only hundreds of

thousands of dead Americans, the equivalent of a second Civil War--exactlywhat the Founders had in mind I am sure.

Take a glance at http://www.historycooperative....


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How about you take a glance in my anus instead? When is Wired going to h

some forum Mods or give us a spam report button?

all you're doing is further proving my point with comments like

that...well done.

The Supreme Court says your "clear" is false.

Look up the current definition of "unorganized militia" in the US Code: every adult betwe

18 and 45 not disqualified by felony.

The only moron here is you.

"When the second amendment is read as a whole, it is clear that it protects the right of the

people to bear arms within the context of an organized militia "

If that is true, then likewise, the 4th amendment would only protect home owners from

warrantless searches...."if read as a whole".

Statist.

What I mean is: The Constitution was not meant to be "read," but rather felt, followed, an

protected from liberals and moisture. "Reading" all too

often involves critical reflection and is inherently relativistic,


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encouraging perversion of original intent. We must not yield to this

temptation. The Founding fathers knew exactly what they were doing, so

we don't need to.

Get a life. The way this country is going we'll all soon need out guns, in case the "have no

get through the barbed wire I have around my house in California!

The way things are going, there is a very good chance that both you and I *will be*

"have nots"! We will need those weapons to take the country back from the oligar

Texas Constitution is PERFECTLY CLEAR on the SUBJECT:"

Sec. 23. RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. Every citizen shall have the right to keep

bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have pow

by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime. " Nope you cannot

keep or bear arms against the Government. nor can you Keep and Bear Nuclear Weapons

explosives, or Fully Automatic Weapons. You have the right granted to you by your make

bear arms to protect yourself from CRIME and to feed your family and to protect your St

and Country from outside attack..

"When the second amendment is read as a whole, it is clear that it protects the right of the

people to bear arms within the context of an organized militia "

If that is true, then likewise, the 4th amendment would only protect home owners from

warrantless searches...."if read as a whole".

It's a curiously strong laser!


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Bah, all of these require you to buy a pre-made laser diode. Where's the fun in that? Tell us how to make one ou

a paperclip and some bubblegum like MacGyver.

Sean Connery! You can say it about Sean Connery and he's older than his 50's. He's gonna turn 80 soon and he'

badass. AND...he's beaten plenty of lasers in his time.

It may sound boring, but are you aware that most of these DIY lasers may cause severe damage in your eyes?

Whatever sets things on fire will certainly destroy eyes. Thats not fun anymore.

Thank you captain obvious. lol

What's next, smoking is bad for me?

With that in mind, I drew a Venn diagram of people bright enough to build their own lasers compared to

people stupid enough to point lasers into their own, or another person's, eyeball. Rest assured, the overl

was vanishingly small.

Well, not if you aim it at your own eye, obviously.


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At this intensity even a small reflection off of any surface its pointed at could destroy your eyes,

isn't just a presentation pointer.

Not only that, but green laser diodes frequently emit dangerous levels of IR as well, and th

operator won't realize he/she is in danger until the damage is already done. (Use an IR

thermometer to check for IR-won't be an accurate temp reading, but will display increased

temp. vs. ambient if IR present).

I fear that the availability of cheap, powerful SS laser diodes might end up killing the hobb

Until recently, the only ways to get powerful green beams involved Ar and other laser typ

which require considerable more technical knowledge and plain old trial and error to get

running than the diode emitters. Individuals committed enough to play with the big tube l

typically also understood safety issues, and people did not get hurt.

Now that laser diodes at retina-scorching power levels are available cheaply, I can envisio

lots of young guys playing around with them casually as if they were just laser pointers on

steroids, clueless as to the dangers. (What you don't know definitely can hurt you when it

comes to lasers.)

1 megawatt? bullshit! Probably 1000 milliwatt.

2 days ago One more retweet from

RT @WiredFeed: Photo Gallery: DIY Lasers Are Irresistibly Dangerous: Even though lasers are as common as d

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3 days ago

This looks and sounds awesome: DIY Lasers http://bit.ly/ifFrJx

3 days ago

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/LqVWl6R

3 days ago

DIY lasers. Dangerous but fun... http://ow.ly/4Wfek #DoNotTryThisAtHome

3 days ago

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4 days ago

This sounds like a #Eureka plot! "DIY Lasers Are Irresistibly Dangerous" http://goo.gl/5IlKF cc: @bergopolis

@edfowler @EurekaWriters

4 days ago

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