Time to sell your guns...

[secure]

Sign me up!!!!

[dubya]

Ummmm, I kind of want one.
I am wondering if I might hurt someone (or myself).
Why, oh why, did you post this?
The experimenter in me sure wants to see what it can do!

[muleman]

I would like to see a demonstration of that thing.

[aaangel]

i'll take 2! wifey wants one now.

[A-R]

Wow, how often have i been working in the garage and find myself saying "I could finish this project faster if I just had a light saber to cut through this giant hunk of metal that is in my way"

[LongHairedRedneck]

Hmmmmm..... If you click the link to the manufacturers website they have them in stock for $197 and around $30 shipping.

So who is gonna be the guinea pig and buy one?

[Rex B]

Not so fast there. I thought I wanted one until I did some research.
It seems a laser of that strength will blind you.
Not just if it's pointed in your eye - the reflected light from a piece of paper will permanently blind you if you are not wearing protective glasses.
Beyond that, most of these cheap green lasers put out enough visible light to blind you, but they also leak a ton of IR, which is invisible, and often is way stronger than the visible light. The IR alone can blind you, or anyone nearby.

No thank you. I don't want to be around something that can so easily blind me permanently.

[JJVP]

I would like to see a demonstration of that thing.

Not the same one, buy it is also 1Watt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXTLkZqDVDU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[The Annoyed Man]

Oh God do I want one of those, but if I had it, I'd be afraid to turn it on!

[MadMonkey]

I want one before they're banned. Hopefully I can pick one up soon

They require just as many precautions as a gun though. 99% of the time (literally) that I see a kid pick up a laser pointer, the first thing they do is shine it into someone's eye.

You could instantly destroy lives with something like this. I can only imagine an angry highschooler getting ahold of one (don't tell CNN I said that).

That being said, this is slightly ( ) different than a regular pointer. I know I'd keep mine in the safe.

[Fangs]

I want one before they're banned.

[HankB]

I've had occasion to work with a variety of higher-powered lasers as part of my job, with wavelengths from the UV through deep IR . . . let me assure you that a 1 watt green laser will damage your retina in a small fraction of the time it takes you to blink if it hits your eye either directly or via specular reflection.

. . . the reflected light from a piece of paper will permanently blind you if you are not wearing protective glasses.

A diffuse reflection of a 1-watt laser probably won't do that - unless your eye is close to the paper, the blink reflex will probably save your sight.

I want one before they're banned. Hopefully I can pick one up soon

Too late . . . unless you're a scofflaw.

Under the law in Texas, lasers of this power are already supposed to be registered with the State, and are subject ot other regulations.

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/radiation/p ... _10_08.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are two forces behind these regulations - the first is that some cosmetic practicioners have injured people by improperly using lasers for various procedures.

The second is, oddly enough, homeland security.

There's an increased concern about "dirty bombs" - people contaminating explosives with radioactive isotopes for terrorist purposes. Now, this would seem to have nothing to do with lasers, and in a scientific sense, it doesn't. But remember we're dealing with bureaucrats. The TX folks responsible for laser radiation hazards took a look at all the new regs being written for radioactive materials, and decided "We need to hang some paper, too!! We need to be sure we get OUR slice of the regulatory expenditure pie!!"

The main emphasis seems to be collecting a fee from companies who own/use lasers. I haven't heard of anyone going after an individual unless he did something stupid with his laser like lighting up an aircraft . . . or a cop.

[Mastodon]

"An elegant weapon, for a more...civilized...age."