Chinese Scientists Have Developed the World's First Destructive Laser Rifle (popsci.com)

PopularScience: Chinese scientists have developed the world's first destructive, man-portable laser weapon. However, there is more to the story of this cool looking, but "less than lethal" directed energy device. The laser rifle is the ZKZM-500, developed by Xian Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics in Xian, Shaanxi. It's manufactured by the Institute's subsidiary, ZKZM Laser. Weighing at 6 pounds (about the weight of a typical assault rifle), the ZKZM-500 has a range of 2,600 feet. The ZKZM-500 uses a lithium battery with enough power for 1000 two second shots (keep in mind, those 1000 shots may not be at full power). According to Institute designers, its laser is powerful enough to instantly scar human skin and tissue. It can also ignite clothing, knock a small drone out of the sky, or even ignite a fuel tank. That would place its power output around 100-500 watts (most surgical lasers top out at 100 watts).

Comments

Video

[Anonymous Coward]

The original video since the Popsci article doesn't care to provide a link:

https://www.scmp.com/video/offbeat/2153779/chinese-star-wars-laser-weapon-appears-set-fire-objects-distance

Re: Lasers are dumb.

[UnConeD]

Just imagine how fabulous the soldiers will be, covered in sequins.

Re:Not even remotely close to 'first'

[Oswald McWeany]

1955??? In a backpack? The first operational laser was in 1960 in a lab.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/...

Yes, but time travel was invented in 2045.

You don't know the first things about laser rifles

[Cajun Hell]

All it takes to thwart any laser based weaponry is to come covered in something that reflects and scatters light well.

That's why these people made a laser rifle. The rifling causes the photons to have a twisting polarity, which allows them to drill through reflective surfaces.

Re:Lasers are dumb.

[morethanapapercert]

Military units around the world are already equipped with a decent laser defence mechanism. It's called a smoke grenade. It even comes in bigger sizes, from mortars all the way up to the bigger cannons. The US army at least now has smoke screen rounds engineered to also block out IR so as to defeat thermal and IR sighting systems. (and therefore would also be a good defence against IR up through the visual range laser wavelengths.)