Concise explainer on how lasers clean surfaces

[AndreaJames]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/09/03/concise-explainer-on-how-laser.html

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[Ratel]

I recommend we use this to shine a light up inside Donald Trump. For his health.

[stephen_schenck]

This is also a much faster way to clean your hands than laboriously washing for 40 seconds.

[theophrastus]

This is impressive. Here’s hoping that the workers using this impressive technology have equally impressive respirator protection as infrared ‘bullets’ (“bullets”?) will generate some hairy ionized iron oxide nano-particles which will subsequently make all sorts of oxygen radicals which will play hob with lung tissue. (one possible tedious reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4364532/ )

[Brainspore]

Reminds me of how Spider Jerusalum got his signature depilated look in Transmetropolitan.

[NukeML]

Time to clean your hair, Grandma!

[Otherbrother]

Looks similar to the decontamination procedure in the Andromena Strain movie.

[fuzzyfungus]

It turns out that “photonic flensing” didn’t focus-group very well; so we don’t call it that now.

[29ggf]

So, is it time to give the Statue of Liberty a laser shower to restore her old bronze?

[anon55609254]

Great for tanning booths – faster turnover.

[spetrovits]

So it cleans the surface by removing contaminants. Yes, I get that, because my eyes work. What I want to know is how it doesn’t also mar the surface of what it’s cleaning. Is it down to the darker color of the contaminants? The less tenuous hold of the contaminants to the surface than that of the metallic bonds of the underlying metal? Is it just the heat-sink characteristics of metal? If so, would it still work on thinner metal? And if so, why does it work on what appears to be plaster? Surely plaster isn’t very conductive?

All in all, this “explainer” didn’t really explain much.

[cntrfldr]

Ah yes, the quick light zap to burn off only the fine, top layer of epidermis. Laser flyweight cousins to the rat-slaying welterweights protecting the only path to stopping the self-destruct sequence.

[anon55609254]

Great alternative to a Brazilian.

[jerwin]

@theophrastus

infrared ‘bullets’ (“bullets”?)

photons.

[jerwin]

@Ratel

For his health.

I’m Dr Steve Brule.

[nonofyrpenguins]

I could really use a handheld version for scaling rust aboard ship. So much quieter and less nerve damage than a pneumatic “needle” gun.

Sigh…

[ludd]

As efficient as they are I think even lasers would struggle cleaning the inside of that out.

[bolamig]

Sadly this is the same thing the police keep trying and failing to do: use bullets to vaporize the black and uncover the unseen hidden metal gun or knife.