A goofy, funny question...ignition ..blast off

[willpine]

Well like the title implies..you know how people like firing things up with a laser, but... how about this.
1. can you light a fart with a powerful laser? if not why not?
2. can you light one of those aerosol cans when it sprays with a laser?
3. light gasoline?

i figure you can with a lighter, but something tells me you couldnt with a laser. I just havent tried any of these before but think they should be possible in some way

 

[anselm]

Laser don't make sparks or open flames, so no.
You MIGHT be able to heat the surface under the gasoline enough so that it ignites before
it evaporates, but I think it would be very hard to do.

 

[DrSid]

You simply can't warm the gas or liquid enough, it won't absorb the radiation. You need something to light it first .. like match, or candle, if you have 1W or more.
You are not making a bomb, are you ?

 

[willpine]

only if you count a fart bomb

just was curious mainly about the first two, and then i figured the gasoline would have the best chance so i thought i would throw that one in there to. I thought well if a 1w could burn paper, why would it not work if you held it up to a spray paint or other can and used a lighter.

on a regular bomb..ive seen lasers deactivate bomb, and lasers used for a sort of trip wire or switch (say when the beam is broken) but otherwise i dont see much use for a laser in a bomb.