www.engadget.com/entry/1234000253066406
Laser ray gun Oh boy, a Laser Ray Gun is now available for purchase f rom a company called Information Unlimited. This $1750 handheld shooter comes fully assembled, runs on standard AA batteries, and packs enough f ocused energy to blast a hole in the hardest of metals. A set of Alkal ines loads about a hundred-fifty 6,000 Watt shots with a 20 to 30 second recharge lag between blasts. Oh sure, theyll tell you that the product is intended as an advanced science project after digging into the det ails, and youll have to sign the hazardous equipment affidavit before purchasing since this is a Class IV (read: highly dangerous) laser.
Add your comments) Reader Comments 1 Posted Nov 3, 2005, 11:43 AM ET by UHF Can I be the first to state the obvious - irresponsible. S omeone is really going to do something stupid and sell it to the wrong p erson. Information Unlimited has been selling this stuf f for years. And I don't have t o wait 20 to 30 seconds between shots.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 12:14 PM ET by skeptic Information Unlimited is a REALLY sketchy company. Google for horror stor ies from people that have tried to buy stuff from them. Then again, 99% of the stuff posted on this pseudo-blog is vapor.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 12:28 PM ET by Hawk If information unlimited is so sketchy, then how come I managed to buy a bunch of stuff (fun grab bag that came with a working 30kv DC generator, plans for a 'sonic disrupter' that could give my mom headaches from 50f t, etc) back in the mid-90's?
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 12:57 PM ET by Frangible You can mail order a black powder rifle that fires more quickly, is more devestating, and has no paperwork involved. Hell, even flamethrowers are classified as agricultural tools. I'd bet a bow or crossbow would be mo re destructive and fire faster, and they don't require a paperwork or li cense either. Destruction is trivial, it's construction that's difficult . And it may be a frickin laser gun, but I don't see it strapped to a shark 's head.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 1:31 PM ET by Phoenixfury Oh man, Frangible beat me to the Austin Poweres references! However no on e hit up the obviouse Star Trek references.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 1:41 PM ET by Scott Stevenson It's a pity that the the light it emits is infrared and not visible. With out special infrared viewing equipment the only way to know that this la ser is operational is when something vaporizes... I've just bought a 150 mW green laser that can burn stuff but what makes it so cool is being able to see and readily direct the beam visually.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 2:12 PM ET by Benny Imagine if the gang bangers got a hold of these for their crews? Gunfight s wouldn't make any noise and there'd be tons more fires from the beams setting fire to crap!
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 2:23 PM ET by Teknopagan Imagine calling up your state's DNR - "Hi, I know when rifle, shotgun, an d bow season are, but when is frickin' laser beam season?
Lincoln People are saying that they could get a gun that would do more. If this t hing is so powerful, I bet you could shine it across someone's mid secti on and CUT THEM IN HALF.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 2:59 PM ET by chuck I bought this a while ago, it's really really cheap. Do your homework, lo ok on ebay and drop 200$ on raw parts and put your own one together, or email me and I will for you. This " gun" really can't burn anything or set things on fire like you'd want it to, fyi. There are some high voltage electronics inside of it though, w hich are dangerous, as is the invisible IR light. As mentioned somewhere above, the company IS kinda sketchy, good luck on getting a refund or f ix if anything is DOA or less than advertised.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 3:22 PM ET by lupinstel I am going to buy one of these so I can pop childrens' balloons from long distances and make them cry. You may think that is mean, but at least I do it with style.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 3:39 PM ET by Google Nazi As much as it would be sweet to see a real Laser gun in action, this is n ot the real deal. Information Unlimited aren't selling you a Laser gun o f which you might of invisioned. Like Chuck said, go on ebay and make yo ur own for alot less and it does about the same depending how skilled yo u are. If you truely want to create a laser gun that will knock holes th rough stuff research plasma and research reactor. lol I'm sure you will find sufficient amount of energy to harness big booms :P 121 gigawatts?
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 4:07 PM ET by t0dd Scott Stevenson: stuff like what a Styrofoam cup? I am sure this is possible if the layer of metal is ab out 10 micron wide. Since its running on AA batteries its impossible to get 6kW considering that "US Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson N ational Accelerator Facility, achieved 10 kilowatts (kW) of infrared las er light in late June, making it the most powerful tunable laser in the world."
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 4:32 PM ET by austin this is six kW of peak power not average power. It sounds like a whole lo t, but the pulses are really short, most likely in the microsecond range .
I know there is more powerful things out there than this, I know there ar e faster things out there than this, I know there are cooler looking thi ngs out there than this. I realize that you can't even see the laser bei ng shot out of the gun, and I realize that you have to wait 20-30 second s between shots, and I realize that it runs on AA batteries that will ha ve to be changed very often.
Posted Nov 3, 2005, 11:14 PM ET by OddManOut Yeah, I remember seeing these things advertised in that catalog back when I was in high school. I'm glad I didn't have the money then, because as the angry young may that I was I probably would have purchased it and b een quite disapointed. As time went by though and I learned more about the way the world works I realised how preposterous the claims made are. And so now I have my motorcycle license, leather jacket (though it's not red), and am learning japanese, and I have an x-best friend with unresol ved issues between us, but my Kaneda style exploits will still have to w ait for the day when a practical laser rifle/carbine can be purchased in any corner drugstore...
Justin Bell I wonder if they're powerfull enough to kill a fly. I've always wanted so mething that can get rid of a fly without all the annoying running about after them, since they always see the swatter comming.
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