John Huntington’s Blog has covered a lot of holiday light displays over the years. Brooklyn’s Holiday Light Spectacular is the newest one covered on the blog. It tells about Holiday Light Spectacular display with nice pictures, and also gives details on technology behind the display.
If you want to do your own holiday light display then here are some links to interesting project ideas from around Internet: Control your holiday lights with a magic wand circuit allows you to turn on your holiday bulbs with a wave of the magic wand. DIY Christmas Light Suit project uses LabVIEW to perform sound analysis of a playing music and uses LabVIEW Interface for Arduino (LIFA) to drive various Christmas light strings based on the power level at various frequency ranges. Smart Christmas Tree Lights with JenNet-IP video plays with the idea that “What if every Christmas tree light had an Internet address?”. Don’t forget my older Christmas Lights blog postings.
Light shows are nice to watch, but the technology used in them be can dangerous. Blink-182′s Mark Hoppus’ Retina Damaged by a Show Laser posting tells about the potential dangers of light displays that involve powerful lasers. In video Mark Hoppus Presents: The World’s Most Powerful Touring Laser Blink-182‘s bassist and singer Mark Hoppus talks about how he suffered retinal damage during a show in Milwaukee. In the video, he does a pretty good job of explaining how the laser show process works in terms of protecting the audience and what went wrong in performance. That show used a very powerful 26W Lightwave Lightwave Prism Series laser show equipment (you have read right, that’s watts, NOT milliwatts you normally see in most laser specifications).
Remember that this kind of laser damage to eye is usually permanent. Primary personal hazards of high-power laser exposure are skin burns, blind spots when the laser strikes the retina, and the worst case total blindness. Lasers have been coming back into vogue in recent years on touring concerts, so be careful if you happen to be near them or operate them. Remember Laser Safety. There is also a a growing concern over the increased potential risk of eye damage from high power LEDs as well because intense blue light can cause damage to the retina. Do not stare at lasers or very high brightness LEDs, because doing so may cause permanent damage to your eyes. Remember that lasers can also damage cameras and camcorders, and even video projector chips (DLP).
230 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/08/09/how-about-a-nice-cuppa-tea-laser/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/09/27/hackaday-links-september-27-2020/
Lasers are sort of forbidden fruit for geeks — you know you can put an eye out with them, and still, when you get your hands on even a low-power laser pointer, it’s hard to resist the urge to shine it where you shouldn’t. That includes into the night sky, which as cool as it looks could be bad news for pilots, and then for you. Luckily, friend of Hackaday Seb Lee-Delisle has figured out a way for you to blast lasers into the night sky to your heart’s content. The project is called Laser Light City and takes place in Seb’s home base of Brighton int he UK on October 1. The interactive installation will have three tall buildings with three powerful lasers mounted on each; a smartphone app will let participants control the direction, shape, and color of each beam. It sounds like a load of fun
https://laserlight.city/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/05/diy-lasers-hack-chat/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rajavartiolaitoksen helikopteri joutui laserhäirinnän kohteeksi – jo toinen kerta tänä vuonna, kun Rajavartiolaitoksen kopteria häiritään
Laserhäirinnän vuoksi miehistön piti keskeyttää lentotehtävä ja palata takaisin Helsinki-Vantaan tukikohdalle.
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11800865
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/03/08/laser-zap-that-mosquito/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/raspberry-pi-mosquito-laser
Tomi Engdahl says:
EEVblog 1381 – Argon Ion Laser 10kW PSU Teardown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hz3MGS01E
What’s inside a 10kW linear power supply for a Coherent Skylight 300C 10W Argon Ion Laser? Teardown time!
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://theamphour.com/521-outdoor-laser-projection-object-mapping-with-daryl-tewksbury/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Don’t use a green laser in the cold!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tOcUyakk0Q
Does a green laser pointer stop working when it is cold? Or does it turn into an invisible laser? That is nice to know for safety reasons if you are using a green laser pointer to point out stars on a frost-clear night.
And what about those decorations lasers for your garden? Are they safe at a freezing winter night? Time to find out in this video!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Don’t use strong lasers without this – easy to make!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRIlhskMYAM&list=RDCMUCFHMw64uu66VKPXq5gh29IQ&index=6
If you use high-powered lasers it is not necessarily enough to use safety goggles. Especially Class IV lasers need some extra attention: a beam dump to stop the beam and the reflections from the laser dot.
In this video I show you how to make one and I test it using lasers up to 1500 mW. An easy and inexpensive build that will be a major safety upgrade for your laser collection.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Tunnel: Programmed Lightshow Featuring ADJ Fixtures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykr2Q7xBORE
As a way of flexing their creative muscles during the COVID-19 restrictions on live events, German production companies LaserFrame and Creative Sounds Veranstaltungstechnik have joined forces to create a unique lighting project called ‘The Tunnel’. Featuring 40 of ADJ’s Vizi Beam RXONE moving heads as well as 16 Pixie Strip 120 linear LED fixtures, the space has been used to film this impressive programmed lightshow and also as a performance area that DJs and promotors have hired to film their own video content.
Find out more about The Tunnel here:
https://www.americandj.eu/en/t3/news/show/pid/7/id/696/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qlimax 2014: Opening Show with HQ audio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLwLJ1FaLMg
Tomi Engdahl says:
ADJ Starship Lightshow Demo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikXmZFtX7lg
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser + mirror + sound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-V1uXeyGmg
Here’s the code for making sounds in your browser with keyboard shortcuts:
https://gist.github.com/steventhebrave/7c16a72fb940b05b5e5218390418b5bf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Visual Representation of Sound – Laser Patterns from Standing Waves
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RxzMzSZF_b4
Tomi Engdahl says:
the Laser FX!
https://youtu.be/UrHxdQ0XvOc
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/05/10/the-laser-power-record-has-been-broken/
Lasers do all sorts of interesting things and — as with so many things — more is better. Korean scientists announced recently they’ve created the most powerful laser beam. 1023 watts per square centimeter, to be exact. It turns out that 1022 Watts/cm2 may not be commonplace, but has been done many times already at several facilities, including the CoReLS petawatt (PW) laser used by the researchers.
https://www.osapublishing.org/optica/fulltext.cfm?uri=optica-8-5-630&id=450828
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/04/28/clever-gas-mixer-gets-just-the-right-blend-for-homebrew-laser-tubes/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/scientists-create-the-most-highintensity-laser-ever-seen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oho! Diskopallo onkin jo yli 100-vuotias!
https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2017/03/09/miljoonien-unelmien-peili-diskopallon-yli-100-vuotinen-historia
Kukapa ei rakastaisi diskopalloa. Se on aurinko, jonka ympärillä tanssilattian elämänilon ja parinmuodostuksen rituaalit pyörivät. Diskopallon historiasta tulee ensimmäisenä mieleen 1970-luvun tanssielokuvat. Todellisuudessa se on pyörinyt juhlien keskipisteenä jo ainakin yli sata vuotta.
Yksinkertainen peileillä peitetty pallo on tanssin ja riemun symboli, joka ei vain heijasta siihen kohdistettuja valoja, vaan sen alla juhlivien ihmisten unelmia, toiveita, iloja ja suruja. Edes hetken rajattomilta tuntuvat mahdollisuudet yhdistyvät erottamattomasti villisti pyörivään ja säihkyvään diskopalloon.
1922 julkaistussa Electrical Merchandising -lehden numerossa myriad reflectoria mainostettiin lyyrisin ja runsain sanankääntein. Se “muuttaa hallin loistavaksi välkkyvien, muuttuvien ja elävien värien taikamaailmaksi, miljoonien värikkäiden syöksähtelevien ja tanssivien ja toisiaan jokaisessa nurkassa takaa ajavien kipinöiden paikaksi. Se täyttää hallin tuhansissa sävyissä tanssivilla tulikärpäsillä.”
Lights, flashing lights/ Make me dream of other nights/ Laser beams, mirror ball/ Help me to forget it all
― Marc Almond: Lights
Love has given me a new slant on it all/ The Galaxy’s a nightclub, Earth’s a mirror ball
― Prefab Sprout: Weightless
http://www.jokelinnamaa.fi/main/Joke_Linnamaa/Diskokulttuurin_historia.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.beatportal.com/features/beatports-definitive-guide-to-techno/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=888334352024805
Laser light cooperated with the led screen:
Web:www.cn-totem.com/product-catagory/professional-lighting/laser-light/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pukkelpop Boiler Laser opening (320 Lasers World Record)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=97Bhwmfdkxk
Pukkelpop Lasershow WWR Better Quality
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nHLr3B1Kk1Q&t=0s
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lasers in Boilertent Pukkelpop 2019
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-4UiUaH-gJc
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/06/21/a-laser-display-board-of-your-very-own/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/07/08/laser-augmented-reality-glasses-show-you-the-way/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Crazy Keychain Laser Pointer Upgrades. 5mW to 3000mW+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9lbrr04XBQ
I’ve always wanted an extremely powerful keychain laser “pointer” so I made it happen, even if it took supercapacitors and some of the craziest laser diode tech out there.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EEVblog 1412 – Argon Ion Laser TEARDOWN!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFFGqXGvgx0
Dave tears down the 10W Coherent 300C Argon Ion laser. All 42kg, 1.2m and 24kW worth!
EEVblog 1381 – Argon Ion Laser 10kW PSU Teardown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hz3MGS01E&t=0s
What’s inside a 10kW linear power supply for a Coherent Skylight 300C 10W Argon Ion Laser?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Christmas Vacation Lights Scene HD SFW
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iXaw70X7wb4&feature=youtu.be
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Lights Scene, edited in a 3 minutes safe-for-work clip
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://raverrafting.com/10-photos-of-abandoned-nightclubs-from-around-the-world/2013/09/24/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/09/14/harp-uses-frikin-lasers/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Engineers figured out how to cook 3D-printed chicken with lasers
Setup can’t synthesize complete meals like the Star Trek replicator, but it’s a start
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/09/engineers-figured-out-how-to-cook-3d-printed-chicken-with-lasers/
3D-printed, laser-cooked meat may be the future of cooking
A future kitchen appliance could make it possible to 3D-print entirely new recipes and cook them with lasers.
https://bigthink.com/the-future/laser-cooking-meat/
Tomi Engdahl says:
I converted my microwave into a LASER oven!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM9hYzJnao0
What started as a simple desire for a better microwave got carried away and I ended up converting it into a 700W laser oven!
In this video I attempted to modify my microwave to cook better by upgrading the magnetron power supply. Switching from a half wave voltage doubler to the full wave circuit allowed me to double the power and then some, but I eventually ended up frying the magnetron.
I ended up gutting the original parts and added my own bank of high power blue laser diode arrays. The new oven draws about 2kW of power, and about 700W of that makes it out as laser light. I cooked a bunch of different foods with it like smores, steak, toast, and several others.
Cooking food with lasers is one of the most requested experiments I try on this channel, so this laser oven should satisfy those desires quite nicely. The effects on food are interesting to say the least. Lots of things burn under the blue light, adding a “smoky” flavor. Yummy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Columbia Decides 3D Printed Food Tastes Like Chicken
https://hackaday.com/2021/09/26/columbia-decides-3d-printed-food-tastes-like-chicken/
Researchers at Columbia have used multi-wavelength lasers to cook 3D-printed chicken. Apparently, it tastes like chicken. We were not overly surprised that 3D printed chicken protein cooked up to taste like chicken, but, then again, you have to do the science.
https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/news/now-were-cooking-lasers
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/09/28/microwave-ovens-need-more-power-use-lasers-instead/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cool light shows
https://m.youtube.com/c/TomBetGeorge
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pukkelpop Boiler Laser opening (320 Lasers World Record)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=97Bhwmfdkxk&feature=youtu.be
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audience scanners in the US have a extra pcb called pass that is a watch dog for the projector monitoring beam dwell times amongst other things, as well as have special lenses called diopters that spread the laser radiation so your pupil can’t physically receive the full strength of the beam.
There’s a lot more to it but that’s a quick explanation of audience scanning in the us.
Tomi Engdahl says:
You can do it safely and legally. It’s called audience scanning. Just need laser projector with all the proper safety gear in place (PASS system, a divergence increasing lens, and lower power limits)
Tomi Engdahl says:
How bad is this cheap laser power meter? | HWLPM Mini 10W vs. Sanwu Tracer 20W
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFC9b1a32r4
Does a cheap laser power meter even work? Is it precise enough to be usable?
In this video, I test the cheapest power meter I have found for sale and compare it to a much more expensive one. I will use lasers of different colors and optical power outputs. Will the cheap one give the same reading as the expensive one? Let’s find out!
https://www.laserpointerstore.com/products/pocket-laser-power-meter/
Viewer comments:
Yeah… we did a review of this LPM on LaserPointerForums a while back. The circuit is a simple pot voltage divider across the Peltier Sensor feeding into the off the shelf Volt Meter Display. No other Electronics to compensate for non linearity or wave length compensation. Still kind of expensive for a $4.00 Peltier Cell, $0.50 Potentiometer and a $5.00 Volt Meter. As you pointed out… There is not enough Thermal Mass for that LPM to be able to measure any Laser higher than ~1-2 Watts even with the Beam opened to 13mm Diameter (To reduce the Laser beam power density) without it Burning/Damaging the Sensor Coating as we showed in our LPF review.
I suppose it’s good enough for a Go/No Go or relative power checker but I wouldn’t trust it for any accurate measurements. There are better hobbyist options out there.
The labeling of these cheap Chinese pointers is nothing short of an absolute outrage. I am NOT AT ALL for banning sale of lasers of any power to the public, like some countries do, but the deliberate mislabeling of HIGH POWER dangerous devices as being less than 1 milliwatt is totally criminal and undoubtedly resulting in eye injury of kids the world over. And the most galling thing is that it’s been going on for YEARS and nobody cares! If you want to legislate against something then pass laws banning the mislabeling or sale of mislabeled devices! I have the exact same cheap $2 green pointer that you do and I love it, but I’m an optics engineer at a high power laser facility and I know how to safely use it! By the way, I also tested the output on a very high end power meter and came up with the same 50mW as you do here. If you want a little higher power output from it at ~70mW, use lithium AA cells in it. It’s the same story with the 2$ blue and red pointers – labeled as 1mW, actually 50-70mW. Infuriating. This is how hobbies often just get banned outright, because legislators are either too clueless or too unwilling to bother to understand exactly what’s going on and they just end up banning the sale of everything.
Yeah, claiming it’s sub 1mW, and being labelled class 3B is a blatant lie. Only one of those stats can be correct. Yet it’s marked 1mW to abide by various laws as that’s the only thing the sellers check.
Totally agree. Mislabelling a laser is a deliberate attempt to bypass safety regulations. Not cool. Hope my videos will save some eyes… Interesting that lithium AA cells will give even higher output. May have to try that.
Indeed think they do purposefully label it 1mW are just causing more harm than good tbh. Lots of people want more powerful lasers, so they sell high power lasers for those people who know they wont get a <1mW one. But then all the people who dont know about the mislabeling may actually get hurt, which the laws were supposed to prevent.
Have been shopping for a laser power meter and your video is all I need now. Much thanks for your careful work.
The Sanwu states in print that it takes a very long time to arrive, and my experience with their lasers took even longer than promised. Also, can we assume that the Sanwu is better calibrated just because it costs much more? These could have the same or equivalent components as the no-name brand. After all, the largest "outlier" value was in the first reading off the Sanwu.
Glad you like the video and find it useful, David. I have no idea of how Sanwu calibrate their LPM's. They do mention a calibration on their website, and so far I have not found anything that indicates my sample not being properly calibrated. The first 'outlier' has nothing to do with the laser power meter. It is the laser pointer that is very poorly designed (literally a $1 laser with no heat sink and crap driver circuit). The laser pointer starts out bright and then plummets in output as it heats up/overheats. Thanks for watching!
Nice video. The wavelength compensation on the better meter is kind of pointless for a thermal sensor. There can be compensation for the difference between visible wavelengths and LWIR, for instance., but the difference is almost negligible with a good absorber. Photodiode detectors, on the other hand do need wavelength compensation.
Thanks. For max precision it does make sense with wavelength compensation. Especially for the higher powered lasers. I agree the 2% difference I saw from 405 to 660 nm on a ~150 mW laser is negligible in practice, but it shows me the manufacturer is aware of the non-linearity and try to get the measurement as precise as possible. Good signs
Thanks for watching!
Legitimate question: if the reading is within 10% (either too high or too low), would that difference ever result in a practical difference in how you would handle the laser? I.e. Would you handle a 470 mW and 510 mW differently? Both are sitting on that rating threshold and would both prompt the more cautious approach, no?
Those thresholds for safety classes are just nice round numbers around the true value which heavily depends on many factors – beam size, wavelength the person who is looking in the laser (not everyone has equally fast blinking reflex). Also eye damage is a spectrum. With 10mW laser you'll probably only get a purple spot for a few minutes in your vision while for 400mW laser you'll get a permanent hole in the retina even though both are class 3b.
Personally, I wouldn't treat two lasers with 10% difference in output differently. Even if they were in two different laser classes. Thanks for watching!
I'm relatively certain that the sensor is a thermopile which has a relatively flat response curve from 0.1 to 50mu as they are just measuring the temperature difference between the hot and cold side, hence they dont need a wavelength calibration. They simply do not work like your standard standard semiconductor sensor.
The biggest concern with these sensors is temperature stability and consistency during measurement. I assume that your mini sensor do not have an internal heater or temperature controller so it will give varying results depending on ambient temperature but this is expected for $80. Otherwise, they are excellent sensors when combined with a decent thermoelectric module.
Fun fact, both the thermopile sensor and thermoelectric module work on the same Peltier principle.
Well considering this mini tester is nor far off your expensive one and your mini read higher than the laser is. Therefor it is a safe cheap product.
I definitely rather get a wrong higher result and protect myself more than get a lower wrong result and assume it's safer.
Hmm. Not too bad but not great either. I'd like to get a new LPM sometime and that Sanwu looks nice and is priced decently for what you get.
The reason that it probably reads high is probably because it does not have any active cooling. The sensor is probably passively cooled into the casing like most cheap meters. Most good meters instead have precise actively cooled sensors fir accuracy as well as stability and faster response times. It takes a lot longer for the mini to dissipate the heat and show losses and instead reads high because of the accumulation of heat. Where the sanwu actively maintains sensor temperature.
To be fair, it might not be super accurate. But it is sure better than not having a laser power meter at all if one works with lasers.
Even if it were 20% accurate it would still be usable. But the better meter here has the advantage of going to sub mW readouts.
- The fact that you have to specify the wavelength of the light isn't an extra feature that makes it a better product, quite the opposite. The "sensor" is essentially nothing more than a thermistor that measures temperature, so you have to specify the wavelength of the light so that the formulas can account for that when calculating the power output of the laser by measuring how much it heated up the sensor. A better device would make you insert the laser into an enclosed, black slot with a rubber grommet to minimize the ambient lighting and temperature from affecting the temperature reading.
- 9:45 It's not because the sensor has a heat-sink, it's because the "sensor" measures heat, and if you use a strong laser, it will heat it up and you would have to wait for a while for it to cool back down or else it would give inaccurate(-er) results.
- 10:03 Your hand must have been cold(er) than the sensor was at that time. Like I said, all it's doing is measuring the change in temperature and using a formula to convert to power, so it makes sense that a drop in temperature ends up with a negative power.
Cheap? So, like $20-30… wait, what?! $79?! For that price I’d have expected at least decent calibration, as in within 1-2%, not 7-10%…
trust me $80 is cheat for a laser power meter lmao
Tomi Engdahl says:
Acousto-Optic Modulation for Sound Transmission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7c9SoeyNMU
A fun experiment transmitting sound waves via modulated laser light.
Control Light with Sound! How to build a DIY AOTF AOM PCAOM controller! #Laser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOB8jyYetvw
In this episode I take a look at an Acousto-optic Tunable Filter!
This device allows us to modulate or pick a wavelength from a multiline Laser using very high frequency sound waves, that are coupled into a crystal using a Piezoelecric transducer.
Since this did not come with a controller, I show you how to build a controller for these devices for under 100 bucks, using an inexpensive Voltage controlled Oscillator (VCO) and an RF Amplifier!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pulsed Laser Power measurement with Energy Sensors!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQJoJEr3US8
Time for some Science! In this video, I measure the power output of my home made Nitrogen Lasers using Gentec Pyroelectric Energy Sensors!
Spoiler alert, I debut my largest home made TEA Nitrogen in this episode as well. What is its peak power? Watch the video to find out!
Basic Principles of Laser Power/Energy Measurements webinar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX5vd7AZyJA
Now you can learn how power and energy measurement works, and find out which technology is best for measuring each aspect of your laser
In this webinar you will learn:
• Technology behind how laser power and energy measurement works
• What type of equipment you should use to measure each laser parameter
Tomi Engdahl says:
Car Laser Beam Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQM3n8a5XJg
giving new looks for drive
the device is self-made
- design electronic circuit, filed aluminum cube to make heat sink
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser Pointer at Drone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zncw7QCgIrc
I was curious as to how significant the effect was when pointing a 5 milliwatt green laser at the camera on my drone. I essentially wanted to see the effect of pointing it at an aircraft and how dangerous it was, but certainly didn’t want to actually point it at an aircraft with people in it. I’ve always understood that you should not point a laser at an aircraft, or anyone for that matter, and wouldn’t do it. However I did want to see the effect. I flew my drone into the night sky a fair distance from my home and then pointed the camera back at me. I was watching the effect on my phone as I pointed the laser at it. It was difficult to hold the laser still enough to accurately point it by hand, but it answered my question. It’s really bad. I captured some still images from frames in the video and the effect is huge. Clearly an exceptionally dangerous thing to do.
Tomi Engdahl says:
200 Watt car mounted laser!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAI7Lu4UFi4
Tomi Engdahl says:
Another 1000mw green laser pointer vlog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8u2Czyj8k0
7000mw blue laser pointer burning fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xxa4R5okwg
Tomi Engdahl says:
Powerful LASER from car headlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-zPgkk8PLM
Harvesting, exploring and powering a laser module with a powerful blue laser diode from an LED matrix + laser based car headlight (probably for a Range Rover). WARNING: this laser module is extremely dangerous, it can cut or burn things and it could cause a severe eyesight damage.
The teardown of the headlight:
https://youtu.be/JZ6REQ4Wma4
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2022/02/17/high-power-laser-salvaged-from-headlights/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Good explainer vid of this here – https://youtu.be/tozuzV5YZ7U
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser unit from Tornado jet fighter aircraft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgJFJTSohdo