Scientists using lasers to cool and control molecules

Ever since audiences heard Goldfinger utter the famous line, “No, Mr. Bond; I expect you to die,” as a laser beam inched its way toward James Bond and threatened to cut him in half, lasers have been thought of as white-hot beams of intensely focused energy capable of burning through anything in their path. Now a team of Yale physicists has used lasers for a completely different purpose, employing them to cool molecules down to temperatures near what’s known as absolute zero, about -460 degrees Fahrenheit. Their new method for laser cooling, described in the online edition of the journal Nature, is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of using individual molecules as information bits in quantum computing. read the rest here

Scientists using lasers to cool and control molecules

Star Wars' creator says laser too much like lightsaber

Update

(CNN) -- "Star Wars" creator George Lucas wants to force a laser company to stop making a new, high-powered product he says looks too much like the famous lightsaber from his classic sci-fi series.

Lucasfilm Ltd. has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Hong Kong-based Wicked Lasers, threatening legal action if it doesn't change its Pro Arctic Laser series or stop selling it altogether.

"It is apparent from the design of the Pro Arctic Laser that it was intended to resemble the hilts of our lightsaber swords, which are protected by copyright ... ," said the letter, dated last month and provided to CNN by Wicked Lasers.

The letter calls the company's newest laser "a highly dangerous product with the potential to cause blindness, burns and other damage to people and/or property."

Steve Liu, CEO of Wicked Lasers, said his 7-year-old company has been selling similar lasers for years and has never compared the product to the Jedi weapon wielded by Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and others in the "Star Wars" franchise.

"Most people feel it's kind of ridiculous ...," he said. "We would never use any comparison like that to 'Star Wars' or a lightsaber or anything like that."

He called the $199 gadget's design fairly typical for a handheld laser and said it isn't a copy of the lightsaber. read the rest here

Star Wars' creator says laser too much like lightsaber

Not a laser pointer

Built with the blue-laser diode of a dismantled Casio Green Slim projector, the $200 Spyder III is the world's most powerful portable laser. It can permanently blind you and set your skin—or anything else, really—on fire almost instantly. more here

Not a laser pointer