Buzz
The laser was first created in 1960. Since then, this iconic technology has made leaps in scientific progress. However, when lasers take a darker turn, things can become truly bizarre and even frightening. They can send secretive messages directly into people's ears, there are contact lenses that emit laser beams, and plasma orbs that can ignite an enemy. Astronomers also suspect that lasers may play a role in defending Earth from future extraterrestrial threats. While plans to use lasers for planetary cloaking are in the works, the real mystery lies in the unexplained laser beams that terrorize hundreds of pilots annually.
8. Laser Pointers Can Cause Eye Damage
Laser pointers are handy tools that highlight key points during presentations and add flair to a speaker’s delivery. But sadly, these devices often end up in the hands of children. Once a child gets hold of something that shines a bright beam, it’s only a matter of time before they point it into someone’s eyes as a prank or gaze directly at the light themselves. The consequences are alarming.
In 2018, a 9-year-old Greek boy played with his father's pen, which contained a green laser. Intrigued, the child stared at the beam repeatedly. A while later, he confided in his parents about having trouble seeing out of his left eye. A visit to the doctor revealed that the laser had burned a hole in his retina, causing two other damaged areas nearby. Together, the scorched tissue led to a blind spot in the center of his vision. Sadly, after 18 months, there was no improvement, and all hopes for a full recovery vanished.
Even though retinal damage from laser pointers is a common issue, and many countries impose strength limits ranging from 1mW to 5mW, sales of these devices remain largely unregulated. Anyone can easily purchase these laser pens online or from street vendors. In 2015, a man ordered a pointer that exceeded the 5mW limit with a staggering 50mW power. For some unknown reason, he pointed it at his brother's eyes for just one second, which was enough to cause permanent harm.
7. Contact Lenses That Emit Lasers
In 2018, scientists bought a cow's eyeball to test a contact lens, as the bovine eye closely resembled the human eye. There was a specific reason they couldn’t test the lens on a living person first—it emitted lasers. Indeed, the experiment successfully saw the cow's eye generate laser beams.
The contact lens was not intended as a high-tech weapon. The laser produced by the lens was very weak and couldn't harm living tissue, but the researchers still refrained from testing it on a human eye. Instead, they designed the flexible film for identification purposes. The process began by creating a special material, embedding nanoscale gratings into polymer membranes. The resulting film was incredibly thin—1,000 stacked layers would measure just 1 millimeter in height.
These ultra-thin membranes can be incorporated into contact lenses, security tags, barcodes, and even banknotes. When scanned with a laser, the internal film responds by emitting its own laser beam. The wavelength of this light can be adjusted to create a unique signature or resemble a barcode by modifying the material and structure of the gratings. This signature is easily recognized by a scanner and nearly impossible to replicate.
6. Lasers Could Rip Apart Nothingness
There are two main ways to enhance a laser's power: by shortening its pulses or increasing the energy of the laser. Scientists are constantly developing their projects, and laser beams are becoming increasingly powerful. In 2016, a laboratory in Shanghai created the most powerful beam ever recorded. The team produced light pulses so brief that each lasted just a trillionth of a second. Despite their short duration, these pulses reached a staggering 5.3 petawatts (PW), or 5.3 million billion watts.
In 2018, the lab was upgraded to pursue the ambitious goal of creating a 100-PW laser. If successful, by 2023, this laser will target materials in an underground chamber, exposing them to extreme pressures and temperatures unlike anything on Earth. While this discovery is exciting for scientists aiming to study space, where such conditions are common, the main objective is to explore a strange phenomenon called 'breaking the vacuum.' This event involves light tearing electrons and positrons (the antimatter counterparts of electrons) from empty space. If the 100-PW laser succeeds, it would literally tear apart nothingness. Meanwhile, Russian physicists are working on their own 180-PW laser.
5. Laser-Powered AK-47
In 2018, a news outlet revealed a deadly new weapon. According to the South China Morning Post, a Chinese company, ZKZM Laser, developed an assault rifle that put all other assault rifles to shame. Known as the ZKZM-500, this weapon fires lasers instead of traditional bullets. The rifle can shoot around 1,000 invisible laser beams, each lasting approximately two seconds.
Things take a dark turn here. The so-called 'laser AK-47' was reported to have the capability of striking a human target from a distance of 800 meters (about half a mile) and igniting clothing. One anonymous researcher involved in the project claimed that a direct hit could lead to the 'instant carbonization' of human flesh, causing excruciating pain. How exactly this gruesome discovery was made is best left to the imagination. What's even more chilling is that the ZKZM-500 allegedly has the ability to shoot through closed windows.
If this is true, the weapon's capabilities are as impressive as they are horrifying. However, several scientists examined the details of the rifle, and their findings raised doubts. The report suggested that the weapon weighed only 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) and ran on a lithium-ion battery. But the rifle's actual properties would require it to weigh around 90 kilograms (200 pounds), and no lithium-ion battery could power 1,000 powerful shots over 800 meters.
This claim about the rifle's range and its ability to shoot through glass further diminished the belief in the existence of the ZKZM-500. As a laser travels, its intensity naturally diminishes, and this is even more pronounced when it passes through a medium like glass or air. Calculations suggested that by the time the beam reached 800 meters, it wouldn't be powerful enough to even harm an ant, window or no window.
4. A Device That Can Cloak a Planet
The hunt for alien life is no longer a mere fantasy. Scientists are now seriously entertaining the possibility that extraterrestrials could exist. However, there are those who believe humanity should stop broadcasting its presence to the cosmos. This group of cautious thinkers includes none other than Stephen Hawking.
Should we attract the attention of a species capable of both detecting our signals and traveling the vast distance, it's likely that they would be far ahead of us in terms of technology, weaponry, and attitude. Researchers have drawn comparisons between this scenario and the disastrous arrival of Europeans in the Americas. Similarly, aliens could exploit Earth's resources, commit atrocities, and even spread diseases against which humanity has no immunity.
In 2016, two astronomers from Columbia University proposed that lasers could be used to shield Earth from potential space invaders. If other civilizations search for habitable planets the way our scientists do, they would likely look for transits—moments when a planet passes in front of its star, causing the star's light to dim. This would signal the presence of planets in a 'habitable zone' with temperatures conducive to water and life. The Columbia researchers suggested that Earth's transit could be hidden by activating a powerful laser, which would mimic the dimming effect as the planet passed in front of the Sun. The catch is, this would only work if the laser was aimed at the aliens' own home star, and we have no idea where that might be.
3. Rising Incidents of Laser Attacks on Pilots
In 2016, a Virgin Atlantic flight took off from London, heading for New York, but had to turn back and land at Heathrow after reaching the coast of Ireland. The reason for the return was concerning: the first officer fell ill following what was referred to as a 'laser beam incident' by a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson.
Though the details were limited, it's likely that the officer was targeted by a laser beam directed into the cockpit from an unknown location. This assumption is based on thousands of similar incidents where more details were available. Strangely, aircraft in the United Kingdom seem to be frequent targets of individuals aiming lasers at pilots.
What started as only 20 reported cases in 2005 soon escalated. By the time 2010 to 2014 rolled around, the number of incidents had surged to over 1,300 each year. One particularly alarming event took place in 2015, when a British Airways pilot was attempting to land at Heathrow. As he approached, a laser struck the cockpit, and he described it as a 'military-strength' laser, which damaged his vision. The mystery behind the source of these attacks remains unsolved, as does the location from which the lasers are being fired.
2. A Plasma Ball That Screams
Killing an enemy soldier may seem simple, given the vast array of weapons and strategies available to eliminate a target. However, the true challenge lies in neutralizing a large attacking force without resulting in widespread death and destruction.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has a division solely focused on minimizing enemy casualties. This division, known as the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Development Program (JNLWD), is responsible for creating innovative, non-lethal methods. One of their groundbreaking developments in 2018 was the creation of the Non-Lethal Laser-Induced Plasma Effect (NL-LIPE) system.
As the name implies, the NL-LIPE system involves the use of lasers and plasma. Plasma is generated when electrons are stripped from air molecules. When activated, NL-LIPE directs a beam to form a plasma ball at a specified location, such as in front of or between advancing enemies, without endangering one's own troops. A second laser can then be used to manipulate the plasma, causing it to exhibit eerie effects, including flashing or even burning through clothing. The most unsettling feature of this plasma is its ability to emit a scream, a sound that bears a disturbing resemblance to a human voice.
1. Lasers That Whisper Personal Messages
In 2019, MIT took the concept of laser technology to a strange new frontier by creating a system that allows whispers to be delivered directly to a person. What makes this even more unsettling is that the message is inaudible to everyone else in the vicinity. According to the developers, the system poses no danger, making it the first laser technology that is completely safe for human skin and eyes. However, the notion of hearing a voice inside your head remains a bizarre and discomforting idea.
The technology can also function in noisy environments, such as crowded public spaces, to send a message to a specific individual. This could eventually become useful for personalized advertising, adding another layer of intrusion to the already frustrating reality of targeted ads and personal data mining. Military applications for such technology are also clearly apparent.
The technology behind whispering lasers may sound complex, but the concept itself is simple. To ensure that only the intended target hears the message, a thin laser beam is aimed at the person's ear, more specifically at the water vapor in the air near their ear. The laser's emissions cause the vapor to vibrate at an audible frequency, effectively delivering the message. However, the system has limitations: it only works effectively from a few meters away. If the system is moved too close, the pitch of the sound becomes uncomfortably high. If moved too far, the message fades away completely.
