A comprehensive resource for safe and responsible laser use

US: 2 Watt "laser bongs" for sale

A San Francisco startup called "Silicon Cali" is selling a bong that uses a 2 Watt blue laser beam to vaporize the smoking material. The company currently has 45 "limited editions" for sale, at a list price of $2,400 each. The entire production run will be 420 units.

The laser beam is so intense it is a diffuse reflection hazard. The bong comes with 2 pairs of protective eyewear.



The founder of the company said in a November 2018 email to Mashable that the laser is not dangerous but can sting if you get your hand in it "kind of like a magnifying glass."

In addition to the 445 nm blue laser and protective glasses, the app-controlled bong also has a rotating bowl and color-changing LEDs.

The product has been in the works for some time. According to Gizmodo, a January 11 2018 Instagram video from Silicon Cali's founder demonstrated a prototype laser bong available for pre-order. On January 23 2018, he wrote on Instagram about shipping time: "It’s just dealing with the FDA regulation and all the other requirements for manufacturing and selling a high powered class4 laser product in the USA that take the time."

It is not known when the late fall 2018 version officially went on sale.

At the company's website, as of November 5 2018 there is no mention of FDA certification nor any picture of FDA-required warning labels, though there is a description of "turn key ignition." In the photo above, a small key can be seen inserted into the bottom of the bong. Federal law requires a key or similar lock-out device to prevent laser devices from being turned on by unauthorized users.

Laser bongs are a relatively old idea among persons interested in high tech and recreational drugs. A web search turns up a July 30 2009 post to Grasscity Forums, linking to a YouTube video of a prototype LaserBong (different product) made by the chief engineer of Wicked Lasers. The video is now unavailable at YouTube. Other YouTube videos still online show, for example, a June 4 2013 video of a person using a handheld blue laser to ignite bong material.

From Silicon Cali with additional reporting by Mashable and Gizmodo.

New Zealand: Researcher considers drone-mounted lasers to burn weeds

New Zealand researcher Dr. Kioumars Ghamkhar is studying lasers to determine their ability to target and kill plants that are identified, through their chemical spectrum, as weeds. The next step would be to mount the weed detector and laser equipment on drones. They would then kill the weeds from the air.

He said a drone-mounted laser could take 2-3 hours to do a weed-killing job that would take a farmer 2-3 days.

Ghamkhar hopes to start testing the lasers in the lab, in early 2018, with drone-mounted laser tests in the late summer or early fall of 2018. The project has been funded with NZD $1,000,000 for three years.

The researcher noted possible laser-related hazards: "There are issues we would have to consider such as heat generated by the lasers, and the risk of starting fire, and we'll be very conscious of this particularly where there are dry days or drought conditions. We'll also be looking at using a group of small lasers to direct at the weed, as opposed to one large and powerful laser that might generate more heat."

From an October 4 2017 story at Stuff.co.nz