laser

Although popularized as deadly weapons in science fiction, real-world applications of lasers have been mostly benign. Almost coming full circle, however, lasers are about to make those fictional scenarios real. Lockheed Martin has just announced that it has successfully designed and tested a 60 kW-class laser weapon, breaking records as far as lasers are concerned. And, of course, this technology will be delivered to the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command for “defensive applications”.

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There's little that can't be improved with lasers, and Audi's 2017 R8 V10 plus exclusive is no different, the first car in the US to bear laser headlights. Set to be revealed at the LA Auto Show 2016 in just a couple of weeks time, the V10 coupe is the first of the automaker's production cars to incorporate laser light technology for the US market; it'll be exceedingly rare, too, coming in a short-run edition of just 25. Does it make a difference? We can tell you that it certainly does, having had the opportunity to test a 2017 R8 V10 plus under some interesting circumstances - on the track in the dead of night.

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Facebook is exploring ways of delivering internet connectivity via lasers, developing a new receiver technology that promises to be less complex and more affordable than current systems. Dubbed free-space laser communication, Facebook's break-through is in an all-new optical detector that - unlike existing examples - would neither require mechanical stabilization, nor expensive micro-motors, sensing, or processing.

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One of the most powerful x-ray lasers in all the world is getting a serious upgrade that will boost its power even further. Construction on the laser upgrade began a few days ago at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The construction project will see the addition of a second X-ray laser beam that is an average of 10,000 times brighter than the first laser and 8,000 times faster.

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Typically, a garage door opener does one thing; it opens the garage door for you. Ryobi has a new garage door opener that opens the door and ads functionality to your garage via plug and play modules that can be added and removed as needed. The garage door opener can be fitted with modules that add things like carbon monoxide sensors, wireless speakers, fans, or parking assistants.

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Most of us are satisfied with the simple things in life — an R2-D2 teapot, perhaps. Others want something bigger, though, something a little more incredible, and by incredible we mean incredible and dangerous. Enter Patrick Priebe and his homemade Death Star model. At first glance it doesn’t seem like much, but activate its lasers and you’ll find it truly is a miniature version of its destruction-bringing sibling.

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While most people may think of a laser as something that will heat other substances, for the very first time ever one has been used to refrigerate water. Scientists at the University of Washington were able to cool liquid water by roughly 36 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) using an infrared laser. The group has published a study saying that it's the "first example of a laser beam that will refrigerate liquids like water under everyday conditions."

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Late last week, Lockheed Martin announced that it has verified the performance of its laser weapon during almost 60 flight tests over the course of this year and last. The company used an unspecified business jet as its inexpensive testing platform, it said, using it to shoot laser beams from a turret while measuring its performance across all directions. In case you missed it, Lockheed's laser is no joke.

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It's not unheard of for popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to lay down the banhammer on campaigns that do make it past initial scrutiny. But so rarely does it happen that when it does, people take note. Especially when said campaign is one that gathered $4 million in a show of confidence. Sadly, Skarp's Laser Razor won't be shaving anyone's face or legs any time soon. Kickstarter has just suspended the project, citing violations of its policies requiring campaigns with physical products to have working prototypes already.

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No matter how often you have to do it, I think we can all agree that shaving is no fun. Anyone who has tried different razors knows that shavers and blades are expensive, they cut your skin, and they leave irritation behind that burns all day. Not shaving is the only good thing about being a hipster, if only I could stand flannel. A new razor is on Kickstarter that will eliminate the need for blades called the Skarp Laser Razor.

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Glowforge has announced three new products are ready for launch. The trio of products are designed to fabricate all sorts of art projects that you can use for yourself or sell to turn a profit. The first of the products is the basic Glowforge that looks like a big flatbed scanner, but actually houses a laser inside. That laser can fabricate items from dozens of materials.

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A simple laser light is a surefire way to entertain cats (and most dogs), but it gets tiresome for the human operator after a while. As with most thing in life, the old toy has received a modern "smart" update, this one in the form of Obi, a small cylindrical toy that sits on a mantle or shelf and zips a laser around on your behalf. If you want to get in on the action, there's an app to take control.

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