Lasers are all around us – in every CD and DVD player on Earth – but most are weedy little beams very far removed from science fiction’s visions of terrible space weaponry. Wicked Laser’s Spider 3 Krypton is another matter. It has a range of 85 miles, can set fire to paper from across a room, and is capable of pinpointing objects outside Earth’s atmosphere.

Looking directly into a Spider 3 Krypton – currently under review by the Guinness Book of Records as the brightest handheld laser on Earth – would be 8,000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun.

‘Safety goggles are advised,’ say the Krypton’s American manufacturers. A pair of protective glasses are included in the laser’s $299 (£185) price.

Green laser light is 20 times brighter than blue light to the human eye, hence the Krypton’s enormous range. The lasers are also powerful enough to set fire to paper and matches – and have a built-in microprocessor that stops the laser itself overheating.

Source: here