Make a handheld, self-contained laser capable of lighting a match.
Scythe
Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 46NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation, Reinforced - Silver
Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 46NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation, Reinforced - Silver
<div class="IPBDescription">WARNING ULTRA DANGEROUS! WILL BLIND YOU!</div><!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Srsly don't do this without being really super careful. A quarter of a watt being focussed onto the two square millimeter patch of light detector cells in the back of your eyeball will instantly and permanently blind you.<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
That said, <a href="http://lifehacker.com/software/diy/turn-a-flashlight-into-a-handheld-burning-laser-287252.php" target="_blank">this </a> is damn cool. It details how to build a 250 milliwatt laser out of a 16 speed dvd burner and a few odds and ends. The video shows the construction of the device and it being used to light a match and pop a balloon. Pretty nifty. I'm half-considering picking up the parts and trying this out. A dvd burner only costs $60 or so nowdays.
--Scythe--
P.S. If this turns out to be an elaborate prank, I wouldn't be surprised.
That said, <a href="http://lifehacker.com/software/diy/turn-a-flashlight-into-a-handheld-burning-laser-287252.php" target="_blank">this </a> is damn cool. It details how to build a 250 milliwatt laser out of a 16 speed dvd burner and a few odds and ends. The video shows the construction of the device and it being used to light a match and pop a balloon. Pretty nifty. I'm half-considering picking up the parts and trying this out. A dvd burner only costs $60 or so nowdays.
--Scythe--
P.S. If this turns out to be an elaborate prank, I wouldn't be surprised.
Comments
Cool find, i'll make one later out of my old cd drive. Might not burn or anything, but it would make a awesome laser
next generation format war, now officially over !
I bet a laser made out of a BLU-RAY drive PWNSTF out of a laser made out of a HD-DVD drive.
next generation format war, now officially over !
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Blu-ray is named as such because it uses blue light, with thinner wavelength than that of the normal red lasers, allowing more indentations to be written or read on the same amount of space. I don't think it'd be more suitable for generating heat.
awesome how easy it sounds to do, but I wouldn't trust myself with it. I'd point it at a shiny surface by mistake and shoot the beam back at me and wreck myself.
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I thought the same thing, but concluded that the coolness of being able to carry around a small laser device capable of lighting a match more than makes up for permanent blindness.
*update*
After careful consideration I have concluded that this is too awesome for me not to pursue further. I've got a spare DVD burner (somewhere), a minimag (somewhere), access to the appropriate tools, and I've ordered the laser housing (a whopping £2.28). If I suddenly stop posting in the next few weeks I've probably suffered a horrible laser-related death. Otherwise, I'll try to post some pics, assuming it works.
If I suddenly stop posting in the next few weeks I've probably suffered a horrible laser-related death. Otherwise, I'll try to post some pics, assuming it works.
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Way to take one for the team ^_^
Drfuzzy: Im pretty sure they aren't illegal, I have a class IV nd:YAG laser I purchased off ebay (Old SSY-1 Rangefinding laser). Sadly it doesn't really pop balloons or light matches, the beam just atomizes the inks in the objects, turning any dark colored object white in 1 msec.
Drfuzzy: Im pretty sure they aren't illegal, I have a class IV nd:YAG laser I purchased off ebay (Old SSY-1 Rangefinding laser). Sadly it doesn't really pop balloons or light matches, the beam just atomizes the inks in the objects, turning any dark colored object white in 1 msec.
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So it's high-tech whiteout? what do you use it for? Changing the names on checks and other important documents?
So it's high-tech whiteout? what do you use it for? Changing the names on checks and other important documents?
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That crossed my mind when I first got it ;P
The potential for anonymously making children cry by popping balloons from a distance, though... if it really does work...
The potential for anonymously making children cry by popping balloons from a distance, though... if it really does work...
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I was thinkg about setting my neighbors dog on fire <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
The laser, by definition, fires out a coherent beam of photons traveling parallel to eachother, they'll never focus of their own accord. They'll scatter a bit due to atmospheric effects, but that's to be expected. The focusing for writing to the dvd is done by a little lens that sits over the diode.
I wonder if it would be possible to bugger up the data on a DVD-R by shining this at it. I suspect that if it doesn't cook the dye in the writable layer it might melt the surface of the disc.
--Scythe--
Alright, I'm going to try and build this. I didn't want to wait for the housing thing to get here, so I disassembled a laser pen. We'll see if that works.
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If you die, can I have your stuff? Or, if you go blind, can I have the stuff that you can't use as a blind person? Books, etc.
The laser, by definition, fires out a coherent beam of photons traveling parallel to eachother, they'll never focus of their own accord. They'll scatter a bit due to atmospheric effects, but that's to be expected. The focusing for writing to the dvd is done by a little lens that sits over the diode.
I wonder if it would be possible to bugger up the data on a DVD-R by shining this at it. I suspect that if it doesn't cook the dye in the writable layer it might melt the surface of the disc.
--Scythe--
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Exactly? I was saying that since they are probably focused so that their hottest point (when the dot is the smallest) is like 2 cm away from the diode itself, if it were to reflect off of an object it would travel far enough that the beam would become spread out more.
It's unlikely it would burn a dvd, since the bottom IS reflective. Also, if you have ever wondered how the light-scribe function in a DvD burner works, it just uses the laser diode to burn the top of the disc.
Exactly? I was saying that since they are probably focused so that their hottest point (when the dot is the smallest) is like 2 cm away from the diode itself, if it were to reflect off of an object it would travel far enough that the beam would become spread out more.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My point is that you remove the focusing lens when building the thing so there is no focal point. The only losses you're going to get are from atmospheric effects.
--Scythe--
fix'd
The laser, by definition, fires out a coherent beam of photons traveling parallel to eachother, they'll never focus of their own accord. They'll scatter a bit due to atmospheric effects, but that's to be expected. The focusing for writing to the dvd is done by a little lens that sits over the diode.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The smallest cavity through which the beam passes sets a lower limit on beam divergence(due to the uncertainty principle). Laser diodes have a very small opening in one direction and therefor a HUGE spread(typically multiple degrees) in that direction if not focused. They usually come with a plastic lens integrated in the casing to make the beam roughly parallel.