Handheld Laser Gun available for purchase
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 3rd 2005 11:40AM
posted Nov 3rd 2005 11:40AM
Oh boy, a Laser Ray Gun is now available for purchase from a
company called Information Unlimited. This $1750 handheld shooter comes fully assembled, runs on standard AA batteries,
and packs enough focused energy to blast a hole in the "hardest of metals." A set of Alkalines loads about a
hundred-fifty 6,000 Watt shots with a 20 to 30 second recharge lag between blasts. Oh sure, they'll tell you that the
product is intended as an "advanced science project" after digging into the details, and you'll have to sign the
"hazardous equipment affidavit" before purchasing since this is a Class IV (read: highly dangerous) laser. Oh, well, we
feel better now.
[via TRFJ]
Can I be the first to state the obvious - irresponsible.
I'll be the second to state the obvious - COOL!
Does it have a three day back groud check like when you buy a hand gun? Someone is really going to do something stupid and sell it to the wrong person.
First to say "old news". Information Unlimited has been selling this stuff for years. Hardly new.
How is this irresponsible?
For the $1750 this thing costs, I could also go out and buy a .50 cal Desert Eagle that'll blow a hole through most materials. And I don't have to wait 20 to 30 seconds between shots.
Ashraam, you're missing the point. This is a fucking laser gun. Star Wars here we come.
How long before someone makes a Star Wars blaster out of it?
But a Desert Eagle doesn't make a cool *pew-pew* sound when you shoot it.
At leat you don't have to register it.
I'm going to put one on each side of my car.
Okay, you got me there.
At leat you don't have to register it.
I'm going to put one on each side of my car.
No, a Desert Eagle will not shoot through most materials and they can be had for much less than $1750. What you're looking for is a .50 BMG, which does go for around $1750, though usually a bit higher, and will shoot through almost all materials normally found in a major metropolitan area.
I wonder what the max distance of effectiveness is
I want one; should be useful to fry my toasts...
Information Unlimited is a REALLY sketchy company. Google for horror stories from people that have tried to buy stuff from them.
I suspect this is 100% vaporware. Then again, 99% of the stuff posted on this pseudo-blog is vapor.
#3: 3 Days! Are you crazy, try 3 minutes.
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 50ft, etc) back in the mid-90's?
Maybe they're sketchy NOW, but they weren't always.
For a cheaper version, go to www.laserglow.com
Video showing cutting power on duct tape and balloons :-P
more here:
http://www.godmode.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6067
Ooh, can't wait to see the CSI episode on this one...
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 more destructive and fire faster, and they don't require a paperwork or license 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. Nor even ill-tempered sea bass.
Oh man, Frangible beat me to the Austin Poweres references! However no one hit up the obviouse Star Trek references. Can you set this thing to stun? :)
arn't these the same people that made the time machine in napoleon dynamite? maybe it runs on the same crystals?
It's a pity that the the light it emits is infrared and not visible. Without special infrared viewing equipment the only way to know that this laser is operational is when something vaporizes... still that would be rather cool to see spark up.
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.
-Scott
Imagine if the gang bangers got a hold of these for their crews? Gunfights wouldn't make any noise and there'd be tons more fires from the beams setting fire to crap!
Imagine calling up your state's DNR - "Hi, I know when rifle, shotgun, and bow season are, but when is frickin' laser beam season? I likes my venison pre-cooked!"
People are saying that they could get a gun that would do more. If this thing is so powerful, I bet you could shine it across someone's mid section and CUT THEM IN HALF. Let's see a gun do that, other than a freakin bazooka.
1.21 gigawatts!
I bought this a while ago, it's really really cheap. Do your homework, look on ebay and drop 200$ on raw parts and put your own one together, or email me and I will for you. It's really cheapo electronics and glued together pvc. Props to them for selling fun toys, I suppose though. 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, which are dangerous, as is the invisible IR light. As mentioned somewhere above, the company IS kinda sketchy, good luck on getting a refund or fix if anything is DOA or less than advertised.
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.
I think they left a micro off between 6000 and watts.
I'M GONNA BE A JEDI... I'M GONNA BE A JEDI...
As much as it would be sweet to see a real Laser gun in action, this is not the real deal. Information Unlimited aren't selling you a Laser gun of which you might of invisioned. Like Chuck said, go on ebay and make your own for alot less and it does about the same depending how skilled you are. If you truely want to create a laser gun that will knock holes through stuff research plasma and research reactor. lol I'm sure you will find sufficient amount of energy to harness big booms :P
1.21 gigawatts? hmmm back to the future! *goes through time and gets stuck with a bunch of clocks*
Scott Stevenson: stuff like what a Styrofoam cup?
hardest of metals. I am sure this is possible if the layer of metal is about 10 micron wide. Since its running on AA batteries its impossible to get 6kW considering that "U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, achieved 10 kilowatts (kW) of infrared laser light in late June, making it the most powerful tunable laser in the world." http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=14520
this is six kW of peak power not average power. It sounds like a whole lot, but the pulses are really short, most likely in the microsecond range.
Yeah the reason it takes 30 seconds between firings is because that's the calculated time to replace the AA batteries ;)
all the expensive tech companies and us.mil have the websites that seem they were designed in 1995 :-/
#3, #14 - 3 days, Hah!; 3 minutes, Hah, hah! In NJ it is 3 months!
Been out for a while. Why must you publicize this? I /want/ to buy one!
So...friggin...sweet.
I know there is more powerful things out there than this, I know there are faster things out there than this, I know there are cooler looking things out there than this. I realize that you can't even see the laser being shot out of the gun, and I realize that you have to wait 20-30 seconds between shots, and I realize that it runs on AA batteries that will have to be changed very often.
But it still freakin rocks, and I want one =)
-Rudy
t0dd,
Yeah paper cups, styrofoam, balloons, electrical tape, etc.
Check out this cool video of what your typical 150mW job can do... just for kicks mind you.
http://www.jackoneill.com/balloons.wmv
-Scott
I'd buy two.
One to shit on and one to cover it with.
I'll wait for the iBeam Class IV for the ipod by griffin.
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 been 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. If this little hand held unit was in anyway of seriously LEATHAL power (which is what we're all hoping for...admit it...) you'd see BIG@$$ versions mounted on A1 tanks. Or at least multibeam versions for removing the reactive armor off of enemy tanks or in any number of other military applications (anti-aircraft, anti-missile, assasination, etc...).
sigh...
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 unresolved issues between us, but my Kaneda style exploits will still have to wait for the day when a practical laser rifle/carbine can be purchased in any corner drugstore...
But thanks for the link to the vid of the 150mW unit. Looks like a fun toy I might invest in (as in all truth, I'm not as angry as I once was...but I'm still a little mischevious...)
Subtotal 9,999 Items : $ 17,497,750.05
Domestic Shipping $500.01 or More : $ 25.00
Total Order Amount : $ 17,497,775.05
Wow, great price for shipping.....
t0dd,
there's a big difference between a tunable laser and a non-tunable laser.
check this out...
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/CUOS/index.html?http://www.eecs.umich.edu/CUOS/HERCULES/index/index.html
thats right, a 40 TERAWATT laser
6 Kilowatts doesn't seem too hard to achieve anymore.
I wonder if they're powerfull enough to kill a fly. I've always wanted something that can get rid of a fly without all the annoying running about after them, since they always see the swatter comming. A normal gun just leaves too many holes in the wall.
the napoleon dynamite comment spurred a search for time travel.
sigh.
http://www.timetravelfund.com/
Lasers get their destructive power by focusing energy on a really small area. This thing is running off of AA alkalines. You might see vaporization, but only over a very tiny area.
I wanna know when they gonna make a BFG :)