Welcome to the 21st Century, Baby

[nachtjaeger]

Interesting. Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works" is also claiming a breakthrough in fusion technology that will allow them build a practical fusion reactor (one that actually produces more power than it consumes) within five years. I wonder if there's a connection between the two? One of the challenges of a practical fusion reactor is delivering energy to the fuel efficiently. A more efficient high-power laser could help with that.

[schlamm]

I happen to own one of those,this is a beam shot at 300mm on a ridge line a measured 1.5 miles away.
It is a class 4 laser and has a detectable .5 lux reading at 34.5 miles away, definitely not a toy or flashlight...and it will burn things at medium power, turned all the way up it gets scary.
As for the seriousness of this laser....it can permanently blind someone with a .5 second exposure to the beam at 500 yards, Mynock is absolutely correct in that one must treat it just like a firearm with regard to down range considerations. The stated power output is actually understated...they send a test data sheet for the laser you get with the laser and it is much closer to THREE watts than 2 at 2.783 at max power.
Not surprisingly, Wicked lasers website states: We are not accepting orders for this product by residents of the US, AU, CH or NZ as of January 1, 2015.
In an arranged test and with the permission of the powers that be, one of these lasers was aimed at the ISS and was visible to the astronauts on the station. While the beam is not visible in daylight at any power setting, at night even the lowest setting (approximately 1 watt) is easily visible in clear air, at max power it resembles a ridiculously huge light sabre

[Mynock]

So I'm not allowed to have it, and you can see it from SPACE?!?! Now I want one.

[schlamm]

yeah....that photo is 1.5 miles away on a non-reflective surface, I have lit up a stop sign out in the boonies from closer to 5 miles and there is absolutely no doubt when you hit it