Working Iron Man Style Palm Laser Weapon

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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@seanragan

July 19th, 2011November 23rd, 2015 30

Yes, OK, I know that the weapons in Iron Man’s palms are technically repulsor beams, which, at least as I understand them, are a kind of wholly sci-fictional counterpart to the equally sci-fictional “tractor” beam.

But this somewhat alarming device from German laserhacker Patrick Priebe, who previously has produced a handheld Nd-YAG pulse laser that will punch holes in sheet steel, counts as “working” in the sense that it is a dangerous, if not deadly, directed energy weapon that you can wear on your palm. It’s built using a 1000mW laser diode plus a thick slab of brass to act as a heatsink.

There’s no indication that Patrick has any designs on vigilantism, fortunately, but I’m wondering how long he will be able to resist the temptation. Remember, kids: With great power comes great responsibility. [via Hack a Day]