YouTuber Drake Anthony, who goes by “styropyro,” has created what he claims is the world’s strongest handheld laser. According to Anthony, the legal limit of a laser pointer is 5 milliwatts, so he decided he wanted to build one 50,000 times stronger.
The result is, to be honest, something slightly terrifying, but also awesome. Anthony has showcased a lot of portable lasers on his channel. However, this is by far the strongest.
The handheld laser has an output of 250 watts, which Anthony says “eclipses the threshold for the highest laser danger rating by a factor of 500.” He continues to lay out why it’s the world’s strongest handheld laser by outlining that just 0.2% of the laser’s power is a fire and blindness hazard.
What’s especially intriguing about the laser is that throughout the video, Anthony manages to do quite a few epic things. Not only does he cut through a copper wire with the laser, but he also turned alumina powder mixed with chromium oxide into rubies, and even punched a hole through titanium to showcase its strength.
But he didn’t stop there. He also used the laser to melt through tungsten, an ultra-strong metal with a melting point of 3,422 degrees Celsius, which is the highest melting point of any metal. He even set a diamond on fire. Suffice it to say, this laser is extremely powerful and not really a toy you want your kids playing with.
Thankfully, you don’t need to build one yourself to see it in action, as you can check out Anthony’s video and all his demonstrations of the handheld laser in the video above. It’s a bit of a longer watch at roughly 36 minutes, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a science buff.
