Wicked Lasers Introduces Handheld One-Watt Green Laser

First time accepted submitter (and Slashdot coder) cogent writes "Wicked Lasers, famous for last year's 1000mW handheld blue laser, and infamous for its handling of six-month-long backorders, is now selling a green version. There are three power levels, each priced at $1/mW (300mW, 500mW, 1000mW). Since the eye is far more sensitive to green than to blue, this is pretty much the state of the art in putting-dots-on-stuff technology. Wicked Lasers sent out an email promising to handle backorders much better this time." Adds reader whitedsepdivine: "There is currently no disclaimer that this is not a lightsaber on their site, so we can only assume that this version is."

Comments

you don't want this

[vijayiyer]

As cool as this is, you really don't want one. Specular reflections off other surfaces can blind you instantly. There's no way to actually hand hold it with it powered in any remotely safe manner. If it doesn't terrify you, you don't know what you're dealing with, and if it does, you probably don't want one.

Re:you don't want this

[TheLink]

Yeah it's like an easily concealed fully-automatic machine gun that can fire continuously for one to two hours till the battery runs out, with an "effective range" of up to 149 metres (see NOHD).

AND any idiot/scum with 1000 bucks can buy it and use it, no need for a license or training.

It doesn't actually do direct lethal damage but anyone who thinks this is fine is either stupid or ignorant (or is already blind and has no nonblind entities he/she cares about).

There are already idiots/scum with high powered lasers. In one case, some spectators were shining high powered lasers at the opposing team's players in football match. I'm not sure how high powered they were, but those players certainly noticed and complained. They eventually lost the match, but I don't blame them, I would refuse to play in such conditions. I would actually recommend that the match be called off or boycotted. Not worth permanent eye damage.

Re:you don't want this

[kevinNCSU]

Yeah it's like an easily concealed fully-automatic machine gun that can fire continuously for one to two hours till the battery runs out, with an "effective range" of up to 149 metres....

...It doesn't actually do direct lethal damage

Sooo...not like a machine gun at all then?

Re:you don't want this

[Amouth]

Those who do can go fill in paperwork and registration forms - no different from guns (not that that is working out particularly well in a market that's flooded with the things).

i think the part that is different here is that the average Joe views a gun as a dangerous weapon - one that if i pull the trigger i have the chance to alter someones life and i'm responsible for it.

the average Joe views a laser pointer as a toy.

this product is anything but a toy - and anyone who teats it as such will pay the consequences (along with the people around them).

While i'm against laws preventing me from owning something like this (or a gun, which i don't currently), I'm all for mandatory safety training & certification. If there was a machine that had something like this on it in Industry - there would be safety training, and that is for people who deal with them on a daily basis (same as cops and guns). The fact that we let the average Joe with no training go wild with it is just irresponsible, and sadly it is more likely the people around this person who will pay for it.

Re:you don't want this

[drolli]

I fully agree. I (being a physicist) can not imagine any purpose for this laser outside a firmly mounted case inside a lab or workshop.

If you write on the lase: don't point it to aircrafts, then this is exactly what some asshats are going to do.

Re:you don't want this

[SleazyRidr]

I think the issue is that everyone knows that guns are dangerous, so they get treated with respect. People think of laser pointers as especially cool flashlights, while they are as dangerous as a gun to someone's eyesight. Sure, they do have the small warning box near the bottom of the product page, but the title reads "Green Laser Pointer...", so you know these'll get bought by people who don't realise what they can do.

Re:you don't want this

[Kjella]

I guess a dead solider only costs $5K to bury but a blinded soldier will rack up millions of dollars of costs over his lifetime. I can't think of another reason to prefer killing.

Dead people don't suffer. In short, you can incapacitate someone or kill them, but the conventions ban weapons designed to permanently maim or cripple the enemy forces. The primary reason is humanitarian, not economic. The irony of claiming some ways to injure people are ethical and some aren't is not lost on me, neither was in on the people making the conventions. But it's the idea that even if we are at war, there are acceptable and less acceptable ways to wage war. Like for example slaughtering civilians, prisoners of wars, rape, torture, land mines, weapons to kill rescue workers and so on. That even if there's no war without suffering, that there is an obligation for everyone to minimize it - even among the enemy.

Also in any but the two cases where you're either exterminating or being exterminated, you will have to live with these people afterwards. That kind of memories can burn bright and long, should ever the opportunity for revenge come.

Re:Might add a warning...

[SomePgmr]

I'm normally the first guy to say, "oh leave people be", but this kind of thing is one where I think I'd be happier with a person having to have some kind of minor license to buy one... if only to just create some token hurdle to ownership.

The problem with lasers is that, whereas everyone knows how dangerous a firearm can be... people tend to treat lasers like toys with no consequences. "Yeah, yeah, don't shine it in anyones eyes... got it." But I have never seen someone wear eye protection when using one, much less making sure everyone for miles around had eye protection when they're shining it through windows, at passing cars, etc. And they're coming down in price so any goofball can screw around with pretty powerful ones.

Maybe it's time to make sure people buying these things really understand how bad they can screw up with these devices in just a moment of bad decision making? And I don't mean clicking "I Agree" to a paragraph on a website that they didn't read. Maybe something more like a amateur radio test?

For me, it's awkward talking favorably about regulation. Maybe I'm overly concerned about something that isn't really an issue.

Re:what the heck are these for?

[gweihir]

There is no legitimate use. I have a 4mW green laser pointer, and that is clearly visible in daylight and quite enough. The only use I see is as an anti-personnel and anti-aircraft weapon. In quite a few countries possession only will land you in jail. And there are quite a few stupid scumbags that point these at airplanes or helicopters for fun. One went down for several years here recently for pointing it at an ambulance helicopter in flight. That is 4 times attempted murder. (pilot, EMT, doctor, patient). Quite even making the pilot unable to fly safely for 15 minutes can kill the patient. You can do that with a much smaller laser already.

Re:Might add a warning...

[ErikZ]

As opposed to simply using matches?

I sympathize, I live in Colorado and we have acres and acres of beetle killed trees. But banning lasers to the general public will not stop a single asshole from setting half the state on fire.

http://www.rogergeorge.com/rentals/items/0rfflt/

Re:Might add a warning...

[RichardJenkins]

NO, it's a damn weapon. If you're out walking the streets with this, the police should be about as suspicious as if you're walking around with a kitchen knife in your pocket.

Re:Might add a warning...

[NoSleepDemon]

I'm almost certain that someone in my town has something similar to one of these. My apartment's fairly high up overlooking a couple of main roads and residential neighbourhoods, and one afternoon I was watching TV when I was hit by an extremely bright green light that seemed to come from somewhere down the road, and which then briefly filled my whole vision. It wasn't a particularly pleasant affair, luckily whatever dickhead was shining it around didn't keep it in one spot for long. They really ought to be classed as weapons - it only takes one careless turd to wave one of these at a set of flats / office / condo and you've got a good chance of flashing someone in the eyes.

Re:Might add a warning...

[thelamecamel]

Here in Australia, laser pointers above 1mW are considered prohibited weapons - in the same category as crossbows and knuckledusters. You need to get a prohibited weapons permit to own one (and keep it in a safe), and you need to get two more permits to buy one from overseas. I had to go through all this paperwork and police checks - and I was a scientist getting them delivered to my university office! Let's not tell the politicians about the CO2 lasers sitting in the labs downstairs eh.