laser

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Australia Accuses China of 'Bullying' at Sea

Chinese warship shone a laser at Australian military pilot

(Newser) - Australia and China are sniping at each other over an incident at sea. Australian authorities say a Chinese warship shone a military-grade laser at an Australian military jet, reports Reuters . But China says it was the Australian pilot who was in the wrong during the incident, which took place last...

US Tests Weapon That 'Redefines' War
US Tests Weapon
That 'Redefines' War
May 24, 2020 11:45 AM CDT

US Tests Weapon That 'Redefines' War

The US Navy releases a video of the Laser Weapon System Demonstrator at work

(Newser) - The US Navy says it has successfully tested a new laser weapon and has video to prove it, CNN reports. The Navy released a statement Friday with videos and images of the USS Portland, an amphibious transport dock ship, using "the first system-level implementation of a high-energy class solid-state...

In a First, Toy Laser Causes Eye Damage

And now a bus driver has permanently blurry vision

(Newser) - Bus drivers already have to put up with so much; maybe we shouldn't let children shine laser pointers in their eyes on top of everything else. Live Science reports a German bus driver suffered permanent eye damage when a child bounced a toy laser off his rearview mirror and...

Kickstarter Suspends Popular 'Laser Razor'

It's apparently lacking a working prototype

(Newser) - "After 5,000 years of using the same technology, it's time to make shaving easier, safer, and greener." Apparently, more than 20,000 supporters agree with this statement by a Skarp Laser Razor rep, because they donated more than $4 million to a Kickstarter campaign for a...

To Treat OCD, Surgeons Remove Half-a-Teaspoon of Brain

Psychosurgery can help when medication and therapy don't

(Newser) - Mental illness can be debilitating, leaving sufferers in desperate need of relief. Many don't get it: Medication and therapy have no effect on 30% to 60% of those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Popular Science reports. "For these patients who are the sickest of the sick they should be allowed...

How Lasers Can Spot the Perfect Apple

The result could be tastier produce in stores

(Newser) - It can be tough to tell, without biting into an apple, whether it's unripe, just ripe enough, or its tastiest days are behind it. Fortunately, scientists in Lebanon and France are working on a new way to determine ripeness, and instead of using their teeth, they've opted for...

Navy Ship Uses Laser Weapon for First Time

And LaWS performed 'seamlessly'

(Newser) - The US Navy has completed some pretty historic target practice, yesterday announcing that it has for the first time successfully deployed its laser weapon system from aboard a naval vessel. In a release, it calls the use of the "cutting-edge weapon" historic in more ways than one: the demonstrations,...

Navy Ready to Deploy 'Star Wars' Weapons

Railguns, drone-killing lasers coming to US ships

(Newser) - Some of the Navy's futuristic weapons sound like something out of Star Wars, with lasers designed to shoot down drones and electric guns that fire projectiles at hypersonic speeds. That future is now. The Navy plans to deploy its first laser on a ship later this year—a prototype...

Big Step Toward Fusion: Lab's Laser Creates Mini-Star

In first, scientists get more energy out than put in

(Newser) - After years of frustration, scientists have finally made a breakthrough in the quest to harness the same fusion energy that powers the sun. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory say that by pointing the world's most powerful laser at a peppercorn-sized target, they unleashed a huge amount of...

US Navy Touts New Laser Weapon

And plans to test it next year in the Middle East

(Newser) - Navy officials announced a new laser weapon today, saying it's designed to destroy small boats and send aerial vehicles crashing into the sea, Fox News reports. A prototype will be mounted on the USS Ponce and tried out in the 5th fleet region of the Middle East next year....

Mona Lisa Sent to Outer Space via Laser

Feat represents a major advancement in laser communication

(Newser) - Outer space just got a little more cultured. NASA scientists have successfully beamed an image of the Mona Lisa to its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter using a special laser signal, a feat that represents a major leap in laser communication technology, Space.com reports. "This is the first time anyone...

Curiosity's First Laser Blast Rocks
 Curiosity's Laser Blasts Rock 
Aug 20, 2012 4:21 AM CDT

Curiosity's Laser Blasts Rock

'It's payoff time,' crows ChemCam leader

(Newser) - Mars rover Curiosity's first test-fire of its powerful laser was pronounced a big success, turning a small amount of nondescript rock into glowing, ionized plasma, reports Wired . The laser fired 30 pulses of energy over a 10-second period, each with more than 1 million watts of power but lasting...

Laser Injures JetBlue Pilot's Eye

It was minor, and the plane landed safely

(Newser) - A JetBlue pilot suffered an eye injury Sunday when someone shot a laser into the cockpit of his plane at 5,000 feet. The incident occurred as the flight was landing at JFK Airport in New York, ABC News reports. The flight landed safely, and the injury is described as...

Police Test Laser to 'Blind Rioters'

British police try new technology after summer riots

(Newser) - In the wake of this year's rioting , British police are testing a laser that would temporarily blind looters with a wall of light, the Telegraph reports. The $40,000 laser can reportedly reach people up to 500 yards away and spot them in poor visibility with an infrared scope....

Team Builds 'Anti-Laser'
 Team Builds 
 'Anti-Laser' 
Feb 18, 2011 4:05 AM CST

Team Builds 'Anti-Laser'

Device can absorb any laser beam

(Newser) - Yale University scientists have created the world's first anti-laser, a device capable of completely absorbing any laser beam. The device functions in the opposite way that a laser does: It traps light beams and forces them to bounce around until their energy is dissipated, the BBC r eports. Its creators...

New Way to Fight Pirates: With a Laser

Weapon emits harmless but effective green light

(Newser) - Somali pirates, beware: British scientists are developing a laser that works by confusing would-be attackers from more than a mile away, the Daily Mail reports. The laser hides the ship in a veil of green light, preventing pirates from easily steering toward or aiming at their victims. “We are...

Guy Gets 15 Months for Laser Pointer Prank

Unfortunately, it was a police helicopter he was pointing it at

(Newser) - Annoying: Pointing a laser pointer at anyone. Stupid: Pointing it at a highway patrol helicopter. But that’s what a 19-year-old California man did last year—while the helicopter was assisting in a burglary investigation, no less—and Nathan Ramon Wells was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in prison for...

UFOs Are Attacking Our Sheep: Brits

'Laser lights' responsible for wounds, says group

(Newser) - A group of British extraterrestrial hunters are claiming that the bizarre wounds suffered by English sheep over the last 10 years are the result of UFO laser probes. Sheep have lost eyes, organs and flesh to the light blasts , they report. The UFOs roam a 50-mile corridor in the west...

Top American Inventions
 Top American Inventions 
Aug 4, 2009 5:06 PM CDT

Top American Inventions

(Newser) - President Obama has called on Americans to innovate their way to a speedy economic recovery. In that spirit, Live Science rounds up the top 10 US innovations:
  1. Flight. The Wright Brothers’ 12-second flight in 1903 ushered the world into the age of aviation.
  2. Atomic bomb. The Manhattan project left a
...

'Star Wars' Scientists Take Aim at Mosquitoes

Anti-malaria Weapons of Mosquito Destruction can zap bugs 100ft away with lasers

(Newser) - Rocket scientists who worked on ways to beat Soviet missiles a generation ago are now using their lasers to zap mosquitoes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Researchers looking for ways to combat malaria have rejigged "Star Wars" technology to create a contraption that can pick off individual mosquitoes from...

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