You’re riding along, living your life thinking that Star Wars is all a big joke, a work of fiction. Then, suddenly, the U.S. Navy brings out a device called the HEL laser and it can blow up boats from afar using only laser light. Lasers have been used to disable vehicles before, but this is the first time it’s worked in the moist ocean air. → Read More
Mitsubishi Electric yesterday showed a “Laser Backlight LCD TV” [JP] the company plans to release within this year. At the press conference in Tokyo, Mitsubishi showcased a 46-inch prototype TV with a red laser and a cyan LED integrated into the backlight unit. → Read More
A recent announcement from Sony researchers revealed the development on a new type of blue-violet ultrafast pulsed laser for optical disks. Sounds like it might be time to change formats again! → Read More
Amazingly, the laser is 50 years old today. When it was originally discovered, many scientists felt that the shiny red light didn’t have any practical use. Of course now days, lasers are almost everywhere. → Read More
So here’s another little DIY project. This one involves making your own little laser light show. Now obviously it’s not going to make shapes in time with Dark Side of the Moon, but it still looks really cool. I might even have to do this one myself, if I knew how to solder. It’s definitely worth your time to take a look at this thing if you have any interest at all in DIY projects involving lasers… → Read More
This is a wacky little project. Basically you train a webcam to follow a spot on a piece of paper. Then you set “hotspots” on the image and assign commands to each hotspot. When you aim at the spot you basically “press” a button.
Why would this be useful? You could potentially create a presentation system with this or help a handicapped person type with it. It’s also really cool. The whole… → Read More
This simple laser sundial uses a micro-controller, an Arduino board, and a laser level to tell the time using bright and magic laser light. A small motor slowly turns the laser on an axis, marking off the hours of our days as surely as old death takes our lives piece by piece. → Read More
Remember Reagan and his infamous Star Wars Defense Initiative? 25 years ago, scientists suggested that the U.S. build a network of laser equipped satellites to knock down Soviet missiles out of the sky. While that idea never really took off, the technology is currently being re-purposed to shoot down mosquitoes. → Read More
The last time I saw something like this, I believe I was playing Goldeneye. This hacked-together pocket superlaser is guaranteed to start either conversations or fires — or conversations about fires. We tested out an expensive laser the other day and found it sufficient for lighting a candle, but this one appears to be rather more powerful — and you can gank it out of a Blu-ray player. → Read More
http://www.videojug.com/film/player?id=a26005a0-bc6e-26e5-7773-ff0008cb16d5 Go grab that Xbox 360 HD DVD drive and give it new life with this mod. What you’re going to do is rip it apart and make a sweet-ass laser pointer/gun sight/cat teaser. It’s not like you’re ever going to use it again. Look at it. It’s just sitting there, mocking your early-adapting ass. Oh, and… → Read More
Miter saw laser guides tend to be more sizzle than steak but the Laserkerf II might actually work. The beam illuminates where the blade is actually going to cut and even indicates the kerf’s width correctly. So instead of showing the user a line that’s approximately where the blade is going to cut, this $79 add-on shows exactly where the cut will be made. It’s powered by two… → Read More
Mitsubishi’s LaserVue HDTVs have been in the making for a while but the critically acclaimed high-def set is now available at select specialty retailers. You still might need a second mortgage – good luck getting approved – to foot the $6,999 MSRP, but the TV apparently produces a Pioneer Elite comparable picture at 1/3 the power consumption. Plus, you can tell your trendy… → Read More
I first saw the Laser TV, LaserVue, at CES and was pretty impressed by it, but as with anything new, I was a bit skeptical. I saw the LaserVue from Mitsubishi the other day and I have to admit that it looks amazing. It was pitted against a plasma (presumably the Pioneer Kuro) and LCD and it was hands down the best of the bunch. The colors are absolutely stunning and so vibrant. A 65- and 73-inch… → Read More
Lasers are already being used in the field to shoot down missiles and such, but they are limited in their applications because they require volatile chemical agents or fragile crystal arrays — neither one something you want in a battlefield situation. But the Free Electron Laser uses a “turbocharged stream of electrons” to start the reaction that fires the laser. For whatever reason… → Read More
Physics professor K.T. Tsen announced last week that he successfully destroyed common viruses using pluses from an infared laser without harming the surrounding cells. Tsen’s primary focus is to use the technique against HIV, though he states the future of the laser may very well be in treating disease, not viruses. So, how does it work? The laser produces a vibration that shatters the… → Read More
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berlin, Germany
