A video of a 40-watt “laser shotgun” has amassed almost 3 million views in less than 48 hours.
“I just built something so crazy that I’m almost afraid to use it. […] Dangerous is an understatement for this thing. There’s no reason for someone to own something this powerful, but because it wasn’t illegal I decided to build it anyway,” laser enthusiast Drake Anthony says in his June 7 video.
Mr. Anthony has other popular videos, including one which features a “Star Wars”-inspired laser that looks like a light sabre. His 40-watt laser shotgun easily pops balloons, burns paper, wood and other products.
Mr. Anthony’s hobby replicates, albeit on a much smaller scale, what the defense industry has been working on for years.
Lockheed Martin released test images of its Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) laser weapon in March. The device destroyed the front of a truck in “a matter of seconds.”
The ATHENA laser weapon uses a 30-kilowatt laser — the highest power ever recorded for a weapon of its type.
SEE ALSO: Lockheed Martin’s high-powered laser weapon destroys truck from 1 mile away in ‘seconds’
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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