# Has anyone ever been killed, directly, by a laser? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663 "2015-01-01T04:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/1 "2015-01-01T04:10:47Z")
I don’t mean if they were targeted, or blinded. I mean actual Death Ray stuff. Has anyone fallen, stumbled or spaced and walked into the beam? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/2 "2015-01-01T04:55:06Z")
Sniper rifles often use laser sights to aid in aiming at their target; that may be the closest you can get. Because while there are laser cutting torches, those work at very close range (old inverse square law of radiation), so there is usually not room for even a finger to get in between, much less a person walk in there. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/3 "2015-01-01T05:13:40Z")
Sniper rifles often use laser sights to aid in aiming at their target; that may be the closest you can get. Because while there are laser cutting torches, those work at very close range (old inverse square law of radiation), so there is usually not room for even a finger to get in between, much less a person walk in there. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/4 "2015-01-01T05:20:42Z")
Not killed and not a laser, but until an actual answer comes along [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoli_Bugorski) guy stumbled into a proton beam. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/5 "2015-01-01T05:48:25Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Not killed and not a laser, but until an actual answer comes along [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoli_Bugorski) guy stumbled into a proton beam. Not a laser and he wasn’t killed either, but that was the first thing I thought of, too. A Pakistan newspaper claimed that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a laser. However, in reality she died from blunt force trauma from explosives detonated around her car. A google search for people killed by lasers will bring up her name, though. Mosquitoes have been mercilessly slaughtered with 1920s style death rays (er, 2007 style lasers, actually). The laser in question has been dubbed the WMD (Weapon of Mosquito Destruction) and on a more serious note, it was designed to reduce the mosquito population to control the spread of malaria. After producing a hand-held device, the next generation laser mosquito killer was the Photonic Fence. Capable of killing 50 to 100 mosquitoes per second at a range of 100 feet, this weapon was nicknamed the Star Wars Mosquito Defense System. > **[Mosquito laser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser)** > > A mosquito laser is a proposed device that would use lasers to kill mosquitoes. The primary goal would be to reduce malaria infection rates. > In 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation asked Intellectual Ventures to find a way to fight and eventually end malaria. There, astrophysicist Lowell Wood had the idea to use lasers. Their project received considerable media attention around 2010, but the device was still under development as of 2017. > At a brainstorming session in 2007, to think of solu... Sadly, these sci-fi high tech weapon systems have not had much success outside of the laboratory, due mostly to the fact that electrical power isn’t very reliable in parts of the world where malaria and mosquitoes tend to be most prevalent. Does anyone know of anything larger than a mosquito that has been killed by a laser, or is that our current record holder? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Joker_and_the_Thief)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/6 "2015-01-01T05:56:47Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Sniper rifles often use laser sights to aid in aiming at their target; that may be the closest you can get. > > Because while there are laser cutting torches, those work at very close range (old inverse square law of radiation), so there is usually not room for even a finger to get in between, much less a person walk in there. The inverse-square law doesn’t hold true for lasers since the light isn’t emitted in a sphere, but rather in a concentrated beam. Even if there was some diffraction, it’d be inconsequential over any short distance. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/7 "2015-01-01T12:56:31Z")
> [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](#): > > The inverse-square law doesn’t hold true for lasers since the light isn’t emitted in a sphere, but rather in a concentrated beam. Even if there was some diffraction, it’d be inconsequential over any short distance. All lasers obey the inverse square law as do all other light sources. The only difference is the laser theoretical (optical) origin can be very far behind the emission source. It is never infinitely far away. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/8 "2015-01-01T13:22:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > … so there is usually not room for even a finger to get in between, much less a person walk in there. get in between _what_ and _what_? walk in _where_? I think most posters are presuming that the OP is looking for an example where an entire human body got vaporized. I think the question would be answered just as well if a laser killed by causing the sort of injury that a bullet or knife might. Such as a hole through the heart, or severing the head. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/9 "2015-01-01T13:24:10Z")
I’ve been burned plenty of times, and that hurts. Laser burns _deep_ before you know it. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/10 "2015-01-01T13:47:20Z")
Someone at my workplace was killed by a laser. But not by the beam. It happened about 20 years ago. One of the lasers in our photometry lab failed, and an engineer from the manufacturer showed up to fix it. According to one witness, he removed the cover from the laser’s power supply and stuck both hands inside power supply. Zap. Gone. He definitely should have known better, as he was not just a “repair guy”… he was the designer of the laser system. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/11 "2015-01-01T13:51:42Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Someone at my workplace was killed by a laser. But not by the beam. > > It happened about 20 years ago. One of the lasers in our photometry lab failed, and an engineer from the manufacturer showed up to fix it. According to one witness, he removed the cover from the laser’s power supply and stuck both hands inside power supply. Zap. Gone. > > He definitely should have known better, as he was not just a “repair guy”… he was the designer of the laser system. I’m quite clueless…and not to be morbid, but what happened? What happens if you remove the cover from the laser’s power supply? It blows up? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/12 "2015-01-01T13:52:42Z")
There’s a laser cutter at one of my jobs that certainly could do enough damage to kill, if you somehow got past all of the failsafes. It’s not that much harder to burn through flesh than it is to burn through wood. How about mishaps during laser surgery? That routinely puts high-powered laser beams into contact with the human body, so all we’d need is for it to be aimed a little bit off. EDIT: **Mahaloth** , I assume the guy was electrocuted. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/13 "2015-01-01T14:27:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > EDIT: **Mahaloth** , I assume the guy was electrocuted. Yep. Laser power supplies are very dangerous. If you’re going to work on one you need to de-energize it, discharge it, _verify_ it is discharged, and _keep_ it discharged while working on it. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/14 "2015-01-01T17:26:20Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > If you’re going to work on one you need to de-energize it, discharge it, _verify_ it is discharged, and _keep_ it discharged while working on it. Isn’t that true of any electrical device? ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/15 "2015-01-01T17:44:56Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Isn’t that true of any electrical device? You only need to be that careful, eg that “keep it discharged” instruction, when you have large banks of electrolytic capacitors. Due to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric\_absorption](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_absorption) you can discharge the capacitors completely but the charge will slowly reappear out of nowhere. This can build up enough to be hazardous. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/16 "2015-01-01T17:48:03Z")
A Laser turned me into a Newt. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/17 "2015-01-01T17:59:21Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > A Laser turned me into a Newt. Did you get better? ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/18 "2015-01-01T18:17:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How about mishaps during laser surgery? That routinely puts high-powered laser beams into contact with the human body, so all we’d need is for it to be aimed a little bit off. The most common risk from using a laser during surgery that I’ve heard of is _explosions_, usually when working on the intestines. Methane, you know. Never heard of a fatality, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/19 "2015-01-01T18:27:45Z")
I saw a clip of an experimental ship-mounted laser the other day. It was capable of vaporizing targets at quite a distance. I assume it would do some serious damage to a human body. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/20 "2015-01-01T18:50:26Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Did you get better? Let me put it to you this way–have you ever seen a Newt and me together, at the same time? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663.md?page=2)