The Closest Thing To a Lightsaber Now For Sale

[Space Jawa]

Here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-UxUetEaJ8
This is what a class 4 laser does if it's shone on your skin for a couple of seconds.
Nothing.

If that's all it's really like, that makes me feel a lot better about this.

Otherwise, I think it needs to be classified as a gun or firearm and treated as such for the purposes of selling it.

 

[DrunkDonut]

Hey at least they didn't use a class IV


Man I should not give them ideas.

 

[razer17]

A strong perfume can't permanently blind someone with a split second contact. And no, a bright torch is no where near as powerful as a class 4 laser. There's a reason that these things are used by the military and industry. They can cause immediate and permanent eye damage.

Sure it can, just pour the perfume into your eye.

Lasers don't cause cancer.

Hmm. Maybe they can't. Not sure where I got that from. Also, you can't pour perfume in someones eye from a few hundred yards away. Nor could you pour it into the eye of say, a pilot, from the the ground. Also, if said perfume was washed put pretty quickly, it could be avoided. Plus, diffuse radiation of perfume doesn't exist.

 

[Nincompoop]

Lightsabers aren't iconic because of the power, they are iconic because the beam actually cuts itself off after a certain length, which is absolutely impossible. At least when you are solely dealing with light, as in photons.

Yes, but you could theoretically build a light saber with a thin tube coming out of the hilt ending on a large circular mirror, which would bounce the beam back to the hilt. The thin tube could even be retractable with a telescopic straw, so you'd get basically the same effect as light sabers. Also if the beam was strong enough it would cut through anything so nothing would ever reach the middle, where the structure was.
Not that it makes any sense to restrict a weapon like that.

Ye, but I said "cut itself off". I meant that the beam itself would cut itself out, without any mirror or the like.

But yeah, it's probably able to recreate how a lightsaber functions, but never completely. Also, as you said, it'd have to be strong enough to burn anything before reaching the obviously fragile middle.

 

[razer17]

Hey at least they didn't use a class IV


Man I should not give them ideas.

It IS a class 4 laser though...

 

[Shadow0Wolf]

Hey at least they didn't use a class IV


Man I should not give them ideas.

...You might want to brush up on your roman numerals sir.

I've worked with a 1W laser before, and while they can cause retinal damage, they can't cause instant fires or burn through your skin. Granted, I was working on a 790 nm (red) laser, but I'm pretty sure the worst you can do with this is pop ballons, maybe.

Still, it's powerful enough (if barely) to give the idiots plenty of room for stupidity.

I always wondered at the classification system for lasers. They're all nice and fine grain up until class 4, then it includes everything from this little thing all the way up to airplane-mounted kW chemical lasers...

 

[ark123]

A strong perfume can't permanently blind someone with a split second contact. And no, a bright torch is no where near as powerful as a class 4 laser. There's a reason that these things are used by the military and industry. They can cause immediate and permanent eye damage.

Sure it can, just pour the perfume into your eye.

Lasers don't cause cancer.

Hmm. Maybe they can't. Not sure where I got that from. Also, you can't pour perfume in someones eye from a few hundred yards away. Nor could you pour it into the eye of say, a pilot, from the the ground. Also, if said perfume was washed put pretty quickly, it could be avoided. Plus, diffuse radiation of perfume doesn't exist.

You can't blind a pilot from a "few hundred yards" away with this. As far as I can tell you get your laser facts from Master of Orion 2, so maybe you should take a trip to wikipedia or something.
Laser quickly loses intensity because suspended water molecules and other particles get in the way of the light (that's all lasers are, concentrated light. Not radiation), which is why you can see it's path - it's bouncing off particles. To do any kind of damage to a pilot with this you'd have to be hovering about twenty feet away from the window, and the pilot would have to not move his head. Just doing what you instinctively do against light (putting your hand up) would block this deadly attack.
This is not a deadly weapon. You could kill someone with this, yes, but it would have to be such an elaborate scenario that you'd be better off using a slingshot.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

Not really. Average price of a handgun, even crap ones, is five hundred and up, shotguns are roughly eight hundred, and rifles range from cheaper than dirt to more expensive than an upper middle class apartment apartment. And at least then the guns are registered and have a ballistics report, which is almost as reliable as a finger print when it comes to figuring out who's it is.

Your scale needs to be shifted. $500 would buy you a nice fairly high quality handgun. There are near or sub hundred dollar handguns on the market and that's not even taking into account pre-owned firearms. Hell, you can buy AK-47s in some countries for less than $100.

True, and under one hundred is way to little for an AK. Try twenty five bucks. But most of the guns you get for cheap are either old and malfunction or work fine, but come at a high price. And I'll use the AK-47 as an example. Sure, you can buy the knock off AKs that use plastic parts and jam regularly for a few bucks, but to get a good one that's all metal and only needs basic cleaning every year or so you'll need quite a bit, at least when counting for import tax from Europe, a fire arms license, having to register it, having to buy ammo, which is also pretty expensive, and the fact that you have to be of a legal age, not just steal you moms master card and buy one, also helps with keeping them safe and in the right peoples hands.

And why is it that people are claiming this thing is harmless? Laser pointers aren't harmless, and we use them to play with our cats.

 

[ark123]

And why is it that people are claiming this thing is harmless? Laser pointers aren't harmless, and we use them to play with our cats.

Because it depends on your definition of harmless. Are kitchen knifes harmless? What about a pen? You can sharpen a toothbrush into a shank (we've all seen the movies)

 

[Slycne]

True, and under one hundred is way to little for an AK. Try twenty five bucks. But most of the guns you get for cheap are either old and malfunction or work fine, but come at a high price. And I'll use the AK-47 as an example. Sure, you can buy the knock off AKs that use plastic parts and jam regularly for a few bucks, but to get a good one that's all metal and only needs basic cleaning every year or so you'll need quite a bit, at least when counting for import tax from Europe, a fire arms license, having to register it, having to buy ammo, which is also pretty expensive, and the fact that you have to be of a legal age, not just steal you moms master card and buy one, also helps with keeping them safe and in the right peoples hands.

And why is it that people are claiming this thing is harmless? Laser pointers aren't harmless, and we use them to play with our cats.

While that's true, but my point is simply that if we are discussing keeping dangerous items out of willing hands. There are far cheaper, easier and if pressed less legal ways of acquiring far more deadly instruments than this laser. It would be far easier to hurt someone with your average household kitchen knife than this.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

Yeah, yeah, whatever health and safety, can I swing it round and go "vwoom"?

 

[Brandon237]

It's not more dangerous than a tazer.

A tazer is less likely to leave permanent damage.

I bet this thing was created as a way of spreading chaos. The designers looked out the window and saw a world of order and peace, and then they thought: Damn, lets find a good way to make shit happen! And so they did...

You know those lasers they use to get rid of hair?
Way stronger than this.

I'm quite sure those are less commercially available and a lot more unwieldy when pointed at helicopter pilots. I know they aren't that dangerous, but I still see at least one report coming up in the papers about an accident or not so much accident that was caused by one of these. It will be hilarious to read though.

"Driver crashes into building after staring directly at laser for 12 minutes straight!"

Would I sound evil if I admitted to laughing at that?

What were the men with the lazer pointers doing? Driving behind the man and shining the lazers into the rear-view mirror? I can see them carrying a massive pack of batteries for it as I type. It would be "advertised" as the worlds most elaborate crime.

*3 Men armed with a lazer pointer incapacitate innocent driver*

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

It's not more dangerous than a tazer.

how so?

the range and accuracy on this thing has to be ridiculous, and it literally burns/can start shit on fire just from pointing it at it/you.

a taser will hurt like a fucking ***** yes but science proves, light is the fastest thing known to ma, and to have that in the hand of hand of a douchebag...

 

[razer17]

Hmm. Maybe they can't. Not sure where I got that from. Also, you can't pour perfume in someones eye from a few hundred yards away. Nor could you pour it into the eye of say, a pilot, from the the ground. Also, if said perfume was washed put pretty quickly, it could be avoided. Plus, diffuse radiation of perfume doesn't exist.

You can't blind a pilot from a "few hundred yards" away with this. As far as I can tell you get your laser facts from Master of Orion 2, so maybe you should take a trip to wikipedia or something.
Laser quickly loses intensity because suspended water molecules and other particles get in the way of the light (that's all lasers are, concentrated light. Not radiation), which is why you can see it's path - it's bouncing off particles. To do any kind of damage to a pilot with this you'd have to be hovering about twenty feet away from the window, and the pilot would have to not move his head. Just doing what you instinctively do against light (putting your hand up) would block this deadly attack.
This is not a deadly weapon. You could kill someone with this, yes, but it would have to be such an elaborate scenario that you'd be better off using a slingshot.[/quote] I have no idea what Master of Orion is. I assume it's a game or a film. I got my facts off wikipedia. . A class 4 laser "By definition, a class-4 laser can burn the skin, in addition to potentially devastating and permanent eye damage as a result of direct or diffuse beam viewing"

As for pilots, maybe you should fact check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasers_and_aviation_safety Even temporary blindness for a pilot is extremely dangerous. That goes for any other vehicle. And as that says a legal 5Mw can cause a distracting glare at 400 yards.

As for the hand thing, no, no they could not block it. Again, to quote "If the laser is sufficiently powerful, permanent damage can occur within a fraction of a second, faster than the blink of an eye". A class 4 laser is such a device. "Sufficiently powerful visible to near infrared laser radiation (400-1400 nm) will penetrate the eyeball and may cause heating of the retina" You will note that the laser in question is 445nm, ergo in the category of penetrating the eyeball.

 

[ark123]

It's not more dangerous than a tazer.

how so?

the range and accuracy on this thing has to be ridiculous, and it literally burns/can start shit on fire just from pointing it at it/you.

a taser will hurt like a fucking ***** yes but science proves, light is the fastest thing known to ma, and to have that in the hand of hand of a douchebag...

A tazer can stop your heart, killing you on the spot.
This can only kill you if you're hanging by a string of wax from a 18 story building's window.
You know what can burn things on contact? A match. That will ignite anything combustible, while there's a chance this laser might do the same. And again, people here seem to think this thing doesn't lose any power over millions of light years. It loses potency REALLY fast the further away it is from the target.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I'm being laid off and can afford one! Screw food and rent, I can make more money with that thing! In a few weeks DC area residents will read about a 'comic book style crime' when a 'costumed assailant robs a bank using a dangerous laser' xD

It would be easy as hell to trace it back to me [especially since I just divulged my master plan] but it would still be pretty sweet to go down into the '...zuh?' page of history as the first bank robber to use lasers xD

 

[ark123]

As for the hand thing, no, no they could not block it. Again, to quote "If the laser is sufficiently powerful, permanent damage can occur within a fraction of a second, faster than the blink of an eye". A class 4 laser is such a device. "Sufficiently powerful visible to near infrared laser radiation (400-1400 nm) will penetrate the eyeball and may cause heating of the retina" You will note that the laser in question is 445nm, ergo in the category of penetrating the eyeball.

I'll repeat this one last time. This thing drastically loses power over large distances. This is why every youtube video you can find will show something being burnt a few feet away at most. You will *not* be blinded by this if it hits your eye from across the street for a moment. If you do linger on it, because you're retarded or something, then yeah, this could burn you.

 

[Phishfood]

And as that says a legal 5Mw can cause a distracting glare at 400 yards.

a 5MW laser would need a small nuclear generator to run. Lets assume you meant 5mW.

The thing is definately enough to blind, a class III can blind at short range. Eyes are sensetive! 11W of light from an energy saving bulb can light a room. 1/10th of enough light to fill a room concentrated in a laser dot is clearly going to be bad.



Still, the biggest danger probably is to the user rather than anyone else. I'm sure the thing will be abused (shone directly in people's eyes at 3 centimetres for example) but I have heard of deoderant being abused in the same way. So meh.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

It's not more dangerous than a tazer.

how so?

the range and accuracy on this thing has to be ridiculous, and it literally burns/can start shit on fire just from pointing it at it/you.

a taser will hurt like a fucking ***** yes but science proves, light is the fastest thing known to ma, and to have that in the hand of hand of a douchebag...

A tazer can stop your heart, killing you on the spot.
This can only kill you if you're hanging by a string of wax from a 18 story building's window.
You know what can burn things on contact? A match. That will ignite anything combustible, while there's a chance this laser might do the same. And again, people here seem to think this thing doesn't lose any power over millions of light years. It loses potency REALLY fast the further away it is from the target.

yes it CAN, but doesn't mean it will, you'd have to be sitting there upping the voltage on that thing pretty damn good before it really did some damage permanently

well if someone even just waves it by your eye thats going to cause some fucking massive burning/possibly damage to your eye, and thats just waving it by it, they have stated if you obviously get someone good in the eye it'll permanently fuck it up, and like i said with how accurate and fast it is that thing is extremely dangerous, and yes i know it does, thats clearly obvious, but who is going to be doing that over a mile stretch? it'll get people good at a good 50 yard distance for sure, you can't say that about a taser (at least your average hand one, maybe a launcher)

 

[CloggedDonkey]

True, and under one hundred is way to little for an AK. Try twenty five bucks. But most of the guns you get for cheap are either old and malfunction or work fine, but come at a high price. And I'll use the AK-47 as an example. Sure, you can buy the knock off AKs that use plastic parts and jam regularly for a few bucks, but to get a good one that's all metal and only needs basic cleaning every year or so you'll need quite a bit, at least when counting for import tax from Europe, a fire arms license, having to register it, having to buy ammo, which is also pretty expensive, and the fact that you have to be of a legal age, not just steal you moms master card and buy one, also helps with keeping them safe and in the right peoples hands.

And why is it that people are claiming this thing is harmless? Laser pointers aren't harmless, and we use them to play with our cats.

While that's true, but my point is simply that if we are discussing keeping dangerous items out of willing hands. There are far cheaper and less legal ways of acquiring far more deadly instruments than this laser. It would be far easier to hurt someone with your average household kitchen knife than this.

Once again that is true, but no matter what, someone who wants to do harm can, no matter what it entails. What I'm more worried about is that someone gets hurt with them accidentally, where it's a little harder for that to happen with a gun, as there is a larger cost and several precautions taken to make sure that they do not fall into the hands of someone who is to young to really understand that you can be killed by one, where the only thing keeping you from buying one of these and accidentally blinding yourself with it is the price.