Laser Survival Uses?

[oic0]

Ok off the wall here but just pondering. Say you are stuck in the woods for who knows what reason (come on! its hypothetical) and you have a fairly powerful portable laser plus a solar charger. Think 200mw+ in a fairly visible wavelength. An easy use is as a signal flare, scaring away predators, lighting a camp fire (With your eyes blocked by an opaque object).
If you have a clear glass container can you use a laser for water purification? (Again, eyes blocked / closed) I don't mean boiling or distilling, just nuking the living organisms so you don't lose more water than you take in due to diarrhea. If so, how low of a power can sanitize water if any?
What other survival uses are there?

 

[Cyparagon]

You can all of that with a lighter and its derivative: the campfire.

 

[rangedunits]

Ok off the wall here but just pondering. Say you are stuck in the woods for who knows what reason (come on! its hypothetical) and you have a fairly powerful portable laser plus a solar charger. Think 200mw+ in a fairly visible wavelength. An easy use is as a signal flare, scaring away predators, lighting a camp fire (With your eyes blocked by an opaque object).
If you have a clear glass container can you use a laser for water purification? (Again, eyes blocked / closed) I don't mean boiling or distilling, just nuking the living organisms so you don't lose more water than you take in due to diarrhea. If so, how low of a power can sanitize water if any?
What other survival uses are there?

It would also be wise to cut electric line if you have an axe.

 

[Arayan]

If you have a clear glass container can you use a laser for water purification?

I don't think this application is feasible. To this purpose I suggest to use a filter (0.2 micron-pore), few drops of an appropriate disinfectant or a portable UV light.
For the other things (signal flare, ward off predators, ecc) I suggest to use a green LP for its high visibility

 

[oic0]

You can all of that with a lighter and its derivative: the campfire.

Very true, it will do all of it better except possibly the signaling part. Perhaps a flexible fresnel lens would be better.

It would also be wise to cut electric line if you have an axe.

I'm pretty sure hand over the eyes is plenty OD

 

[3zuli]

I don't think this application is feasible. To this purpose I suggest to use a filter (0.2 micron-pore), few drops of an appropriate disinfectant or a portable UV light.
For the other things (signal flare, ward off predators, ecc) I suggest to use a green LP for its high visibility

what about an 12x bluray?

 

[Arayan]

what about an 12x bluray?

In my experience a 12x bluray is very good to burn things but it's absolutely ineffective to sterilize objects. A normal UV light bulb is much better

 

[HaloBlu]

In my experience a 12x bluray is very good to burn things but it's absolutely ineffective to sterilize objects. A normal UV light bulb is much better

Now I must test my Blu-ray on two agar plates!

 

[Barnacules]

You could use it to blind birds and squirrels in the hopes they will fall of the tree then you could start a fire with the laser and cook and eat them? I mean... Thats what I would do

 

[rangedunits]

If your lost in forest and there is electric line, shut them down... and wait a few day .. they will send helicopter to see wtf is going on and rescue you.

 

[Bionic-Badger]

I thought it'd be great for signaling a helicopter by shining it on the ground (never at the helicopter). You have the added advantage of being able to shine it at distant objects, like hills and mountains, to attract attention from viewers who are not in line of sight.

 

[haiyo]

I thought it'd be great for signaling a helicopter by shining it on the ground (never at the helicopter). You have the added advantage of being able to shine it at distant objects, like hills and mountains, to attract attention from viewers who are not in line of sight.

Totally agreed!

 

[Cheech]

I would like to see the comparison of a 6x to this

TRAVELERS who don’t trust the water from a mountain stream or a hotel-room faucet have often used chemicals or filters to purify it. Now they have a high-tech option as well: swirl the water with a portable, lightweight wand that beams rays of ultraviolet light.

A thorough swirling of the water being disinfected is important, so that photons released by the ultraviolet bulb can penetrate organisms in the water.
at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/business/02novel.html



We got some serious photons in our lasers, this should be possible.

 

[HumanSymphony]

If your lost in forest and there is electric line, shut them down... and wait a few day .. they will send helicopter to see wtf is going on and rescue you.

That's actually a really good idea LOL

 

[Barnacules]

If your lost in forest and there is electric line, shut them down... and wait a few day .. they will send helicopter to see wtf is going on and rescue you.

That is a great idea if your very careful. Otherwise the helicoptor is going to find your smoking corpse as the problem

 

[Aizen]

If your lost in forest and there is electric line, shut them down... and wait a few day .. they will send helicopter to see wtf is going on and rescue you.

Rather bad idea - how many lost people can afford to pay the energy company compensation for the losses they'd take thanks to some idiot sabotaging their infrastructure?

On-topic, the guys on Lost could've used a laser to blind the pilot and bring down a DHARMA food-dropping helicopter and use its communications equipment.