200-watt laser bazooka - GIF and video

[NeiljohnUK]

200-watt laser bazooka. I'm not familiar with laser construction, but I guess this would blind someone...instantly?

Pretty much guaranteed, I work in labs installing and working with high power lasers and people do suffer blinding accidents through their own idiocy. The unexpected specular reflections off of non-mirrored surfaces do catch out the unwary. One recent incident I'm aware of involved a PhD student removing her safety goggles as she couldn't 'see' the beam when trying to realign an experiment someone had 'borrowed' a mirror from, 25% vision loss due to a partial reflection off of a knurled adjuster was the price she'll be paying for the rest of her life.