The personnel halting and stimulation response rifle (PHASR) is a prototype non-lethal laser dazzler developed by the US Department of Defense.
Its purpose is to temporarily disorient and blind a target.
Blinding laser weapons have been tested in the past, but were banned under the 1995 UN Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which the United States acceded to on 21 January 2009. The PHASR rifle, a low-intensity laser, is not prohibited under this regulation, as the blinding effect is intended to be temporary. It also uses a two-wavelength laser
I can do the same thing with a laser pointer toy bought for $0.99 at a 99 Cent Store. And it even fits in a pocket without looking like a plasma cannon from Halo.
I would imagine this one has a laser that spreads out into a cone so that the operator can point it at a larger area.
Seems to defeat the very definition of a laser?
at that point its more of a light beam than a laser
The newest “big thing” in the flashlight world is LEP, literally lasers used as flashlights. For IR, VCSEL is the current best, but only because that technology gets around FDA rules somehow.
No you can’t. Those dollar laser pointers will permanently blind someone.
It’d depend on the class of the laser pointer. Class 1 laser pointers would be safe to point at someone’s eyes but higher classes range from situationally harmful with prolonged exposure to instant damage.
I mean, yeah. But we’re talking about a dollar store here. They literally give no shits about any of that…
The plasma cannon look good be considered a feature, though