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Table Top USP Lasers Slice, Dice, and So Much More
Posted by
Zonk
on Sat Jun 23, 2007 06:23 PM
from the not-sold-in-any-stores dept.
from the not-sold-in-any-stores dept.
UltravioletLED writes "A company in Petaluma, California has developed highly programmable desktop lasers. The same devices used in hospitals could also be used to turn any metal surface black by simply changing the software. From the article: 'The technology once filled a large room at DARPA until Raydiance scientists made it into a compact, tabletop unit. Schuler (The CEO) said he hopes it will replace just about any cutting device you can think of, from a big metal saw to a precise surgical blade ... Now that it's a little bigger than a breadbox, researchers want to use them to kill tumors, identify friend or foe during combat, and even remove tattoos.' Femtosecond lasers for eye surgery have been around for years now, but these new lasers are far smaller and promise to have much greater versatility."
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Laser Turns All Metals Black 333 comments
Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the University of Rochester have found a way to change the properties of almost any metal by using a femtosecond laser pulse. This ultra-intense laser blast creates true 'black metal' from copper, gold or zinc by forming nanostructures at the surface of the metal. As these nanostructures capture radiation, the metals turn black. And as the process needs surprisingly low power, it could soon be used for a variety of applications, such as stealth planes, black jewels or car paintings. But read more for additional references and a picture of this femtosecond laser system."
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Finally! (Score:2)
Black Metal ... Like Nargaroth? Burzum? (Score:5, Funny)
Dude, that's not the correct order to do things in, or you're being highly presumptuous.
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Tabletop sharks? (Score:5, Funny)
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Could you remind me what I pay you people for? Honestly, throw me a bone, here.
Yes (Score:5, Informative)
The dosing device goes together with laser therapy apparatus comprising only low-energy semiconductor and gas lasers. Its control mode is set with regard to the functional condition of the patient's body, the disease dynamics and stage.
Medical lasers (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
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You stay the hell away from my shit with that dick.
How do I build one? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:How do I build one? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Table Top USB Lasers Slice, Dice, and ... (Score:2, Funny)
Oh, to be twelve again with a desktop laser.... (Score:4, Funny)
who cares about black metal (Score:3, Funny)
- cutting velveeta cheese
- deterring the neighbors cat from pissing in my garden
- deterring my neighbor from pissing in my garden
- frying wood tics
- boiling water
- removing warts
- engraving my initials on the water tower, from across town
- lighting a joint
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Obligatory off-topic Real Genius quotes (Score:3, Funny)
"It is possible to synthesize excited bromide in an argon matrix! Yes, it's an excimer, frozen in its excited state ... As soon as we apply a field, we couple to a state that is radiatively coupled to the ground state. I figure we can extract at least 10 to the 21st photons per cubic centimeter which will give one kilojoule per cubic centimeter at 600 nanometers, or, one megajoule per liter."
"Looks at the facts: Very high power. Portable. Limited firing time. Unlimited range. All you'd need is a big spinning mirror and you could vaporize a human target from space.
- RonPacific Tech [pacifict.com]
Desktop Fabrication Applications Aplenty (Score:2)
I proposed that it may be possible to have two canisters of particle-ized metals which could perhaps be alloyed together on a very small scale. This could be done using a standard 3D fabrication gantry system and some kind of micro-sized welding nozzle head thingy.
Seeing a desktop cutting laser made me consider that this might work very well as the welding method - rather than electric
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http://www.bathsheba.com/sculpt/process/index.htm
New ? (Score:4, Informative)
I used to do waterjet cutting, and we had looked into laser cutters as well, but many materials are toxic when burned.. so we stuck with water. There are applications, where a laser is better. Wood is not practical with a waterjet because it absorbs water and the wood warps. Metals are problematic, but can be cut with laser, although much easier to add sand to a waterjet stream and cut it with water. I know that there were also cutters being developed using high pressure air. The waterjet machine I ran was made by Flow International, really an awesome machine. I kinda miss that job.
Table top laser? (Score:2)
Nothing can go wrong. It's controlled by software! (Score:3, Interesting)
"All you need is one of his ultrashort pulse, or USP, lasers, he said. To change the function, just change the software".
Hmmmm. So this laser can do different things. One moment, it's a deadly weapon. The next, it's a harmless cosmetic aid.
And which of these things it does will be determined by... software? Written and maintained by whom? With what sort of utterly foolproof user interface?
Can you say "Therac-25"?
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