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Set your phasers on "miniature medical sensor." We're so used to lasers that it's easy to forget that the word is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." As its name explains, lasing is all about powerful light beams made of photons with tightly controlled energies. It's easy to forget too that the laser's invention changed the modern world, particularly in the case of tiny semiconductor laser diodes like those in your DVD drives. Now Japanese scientists have invented the equivalent semiconductor device but for sounds. These are devices for making very controlled vibrations, making vibrations with...

Here’s another fantastic tutorial from Jay, our DIY lasers expert. See all of our DIY laser projects! In this project, I’ll show you how to create your own super powerful Blu-Ray Star Trek Phaser using a 1994 Classic Star Trek Phaser. Important: This is a class 3B laser and should be used with care. Proper eye protection for 405nm wavelength recommended. It can instantly damage the eye if it is pointed directly into the eye. Even reflections can cause eye damage. Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S71mPJ0F0Q

Its inventors are comparing it to the Star Trek phaser: a way of exploiting an on-off 'switch' in nematodes that paralyzes them when they're exposed to a beam of ultraviolet light. The animals stay paralyzed even when the light is turned off. But when exposed to ordinary light, they become unparalyzed and wake up. It's the first time that photoswitching has been demonstrated in a living animal. The report describes the development and successful testing of a photoswitch composed of the light-sensitive material, dithienylethene. The scientists grew the transparent, pinhead-sized worms - C. elegans - and fed them dithienylethene. When...

The US government has unveiled a "non-lethal" laser rifle designed to dazzle enemy personnel without causing them permanent harm. But the device will require close scrutiny to ensure compliance with a United Nations protocol on blinding laser weapons. The Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHASR) rifle was developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory in New Mexico, US, and two prototypes have been delivered to military bases in Texas and Virginia for further testing. The US Department of Defense (DoD) believes the weapon could be used, for example, to temporarily blind suspects who drive through a roadblock. However, the DoD...

US Air Force unveils hand-held laser gun By Michael Sirak JDW Staff Reporter Washington, DC The US Air Force has unveiled its first hand-held laser weapon that gives security forces a non-lethal option for controlling crowds and protecting areas like checkpoints, according to service officials. While only in prototype form and years away from fielding, the weapon, known as the Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHaSR) system, holds great promise, they said. The PHaSR is about the same size and weight of a fully loaded M60 machine gun - around 9 kg - but shoots a low-power beam of laser...

The US government has unveiled a "non-lethal" laser rifle designed to dazzle enemy personnel without causing them permanent harm. But the device will require close scrutiny to ensure compliance with a United Nations protocol on blinding laser weapons. The Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHASR) rifle was developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory in New Mexico, US, and two prototypes have been delivered to military bases in Texas and Virginia for further testing. The US Department of Defense (DoD) believes the weapon could be used, for example, to temporarily blind suspects who drive through a roadblock. However, the DoD...