Mar 08
When I was an undergrad, lasers this powerful were generally kept bolted down to equipment and you had to wear goggles when you were using them. Admittedly, you were only in trouble if you sat down right in front of one or held your hand in front while it was firing. Still lasers this powerful can be dangerous depending on how you use them, and Patrick Priebe decided he wanted to use his laser to build a pretty cool looking pulse laser gun.
At the heart of the beast is an actual 1-Megawatt laser, fitted with a pulse head that opens when the gun is “fired.” The gun is capable of emitting powerful, short bursts of focused IR light, enough to burn holes in plastic, thin metals, and even Styrofoam. The whole thing is about 2 pounds and is about a foot long, and is powered by four lithium-ion high capacity batteries, which will buy you about 50 shots on a full charge.
Priebe even built a futuristic-looking casing around the gun to make it look like a real sci-fi weapon. Before you start wondering why police and soldiers aren’t carrying these things around, remember how few fires you get on four batteries. Also worth noting is that while Priebe’s pulse laser is great for popping balloons and burning holes through plastic sheeting, it’s not powerful enough to be used against people or vehicles – although it would probably deliver a pretty nasty burn if used repeatedly on bare skin.
Check out the video of the gun in action behind the jump.
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