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The Cheese Slicing Laser

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the sign-me-up dept.

purduephotog writes "Xiaochun Li of The University of Wisconsin-Madison has come up with the ultimate gift for those high-tech wine and cheese connoisseurs: A cheese slicing laser. More detailed information is available at Optics.Org."

6 of 337 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting Idea by ReTay · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But for home use?
    Not going to happen in the us at least.
    The legal ramifications and potential misuse will make it unlikely (as cool as it would be)
    to ever to be offered to consumers.

    1. Re:Interesting Idea by SurgeonGeneral · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "But for home use?
      Not going to happen in the us at least.
      The legal ramifications and potential misuse will make it unlikely (as cool as it would be)"

      I can easily acquire a tec-9 semi automatic machine gun and bullets for it can be bought from Wal-mart, but somehow you think a laser that cuts through cheese will be banned from consumers?

      And isnt that "someone-might-do-something-bad-with-it" argument the same one we frown upon which the RIAA/MPAA uses to outlaw threatening hardware?

      Get real.

      --
      -- "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." Jean Jacques Rousseau
  2. Much better than Stainless wires by The_Systech · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Man, this would have been great back a few years ago when I was working at a plant that packaged natural cheese. The most automated process we had was using pnuematic cylindars to push a 40# block of Cheddar through a frame with criss-crossed stainless steel wires. I can just imagine how much closer we could have hit the weight tolerances using lasers... Plus you don't have to stop and clean a laser beam every once in a while..

    --
    To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer
  3. Safety? by marshac · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Li tried again using a new class of laser that emits light in ultraviolet, and therefore shorter, wavelengths. That laser, known as a cold laser, cuts by blasting apart the molecular bonds that hold materials together.

    By breaking molecular bonds in the cheese, wouldn't that alter the chemistry of the cheese where it had been cut? Could this inadvertently produce carcinogenic compounds (like when you burn meat)?

  4. cheese laser == wrong tool by AFirmGraspOfReality · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Cool as this might be, it's the wrong tool for the job. Waterjets are waaaaay better for things like this. Faster and no smell. Have a look at: http://www.flowcorp.com/

  5. Re:cheese laser == wrong tool by AFirmGraspOfReality · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No mush. I've seen waterjets cut a fresh doughnut into 5 concentric rings. Perfect, clean cut. The water jet itself is very,very fine. Extremely high-pressure waterjets can cut through steel as well as cheese.