YouTuber Creates Real-Life Laser Blaster

YouTuber Drake Anthony (styropyro) has gone where no geek has gone before and built himself a handheld laser gun with some real firepower.

Featuring a 250 watt blue-diode array laser, he claims it is the most powerful handheld laser ever filmed.

My guess is there are more powerful within the shadowy world of Ratheon and Darpa etc, but I digress.

The laser uses 20 high-power diodes. These diodes are known for their high output in the blue wavelength range. A buck converter, an electronic circuit that reduces voltage while increasing current, powers these diodes.

His driver bank provides 30 volts at 10 amps and a PC water-cooling system manages the substantial heat that is generated. The laser gun casing is a modified police radar gun enclosure.

The gun is fitted with a focus lens that allows the beam output to be adjusted between a 3mm spot for cutting and a 30mm flood beam for broader applications.

OK, so this is hardly in Star Wars pew-pew-pew territory (yet), but still Anthony demonstrated the laser's power:

• Instantly igniting paper and plastic
• Scorching wood in under two seconds
• Melting aluminum cans, copper, and titanium
• Briefly igniting a penny
• Creating synthetic rubies by melting and recrystallizing aluminum oxide and chromium pellets
• Blackening and fracturing lab-grown diamonds

Although building such a laser is probably not itself illegal, my guess is selling these lasers, or extremely dumb stuff like aiming them at aircraft is likely to get you a visit from a letter-agency.