50W CO2 Laser Gun NO GOGGLES!

I stumbled across a video on Youtube of a gentleman with a portable 50 Watt Co2 laser breaking glass, igniting cardboard and plastic, and all without using any type of laser safety glasses or goggles! Surely the glass would throw some type of back reflection right?

Here is the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHqWvgi3IKE

I saw this vid and thought the same thing... OMG what the hell has happend to the laser world I thought... before I knew anything about lasers!!!!
sigh... I wish evolution worked faster!!

10.6 cm?

He also claims to be making a 7kW version using VECSEls. If he doesn't use goggles then, his eyes are toast. He get away with this as 10.6 um is very well absorbed by glass. Still, even some normal safety glasses would've worked enough

I use regular heavy duty safety (goggle type) glasses for this type laser. Generally any reflection will spread out since the optical quality of co2 lasers are terrible. I don't see any corrective optics for his gun. When I set up a co2 with no optics to shoot further I was able to flame wood 15 feet away. Thick safety goggles were worn. Now my laser is inside a closed box when it operates...deactivated when lid opens

This video is kind of old. Here are a few of my problems with it.


"incredibly powerful lithium ion batteries"

Except 50 chinese watts is <40 real watts. If they're ~20% efficient, that's ~200 watt input. That's < 20A from a 3S lithium pack. Even the shittiest quadcopter batteries can handle that without breaking a sweat.


"The electronics behind the system and how I miniaturized them... just because I'm trying to apply for a patent for this thing"

It's a DCDC converter. Possibly a ZVS/flyback type. Everyone builds these and you can't patent it.


"With the optics, these types of effects will work at up to about 100 miles"

Fucking laughable.