# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/41 "2015-01-07T01:27:46Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That was a plot point in a Tom Cruise novel awhile back, when an AWACS plane was catastrophically brought down while landing by blinding the flight crew with a laser from the ground. > > The FAA is worried about the rise in laser pointer/aircrew incidents: [https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/hazards/](https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/lasers/hazards/) It also occurred in John Hackett’s **The Third World War** , back in 1980. Laser blinded a Space Shuttle pilot. ---
**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 7, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/42 "2015-01-07T01:56:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It also occurred in John Hackett’s **The Third World War** , back in 1980. Laser blinded a Space Shuttle pilot. And it occurred (in actuality, not a plot point) 2,228 years ago, in the Roman siege of Syracuse in 214BC when Archimedes used a set of bronze mirrors to focus sunlight on Roman ships. (Though he set the wooden ships on fire, rather than blinding the pilots – most of the ships were not in motion, but nchored offshore, out of bow & arror range.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/43 "2015-01-07T12:44:43Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > And it occurred (in actuality, not a plot point) 2,228 years ago, in the Roman siege of Syracuse in 214BC when Archimedes used a set of bronze mirrors to focus sunlight on Roman ships. > (Though he set the wooden ships on fire, rather than blinding the pilots – most of the ships were not in motion, but nchored offshore, out of bow & arror range.) Well, probably not. The first accounts of Archimedes’ Death Ray appeared centuries after the supposed event, which doesn’t give us confidence that it ever actually happened. Not that it couldn’t have. Mythbuster’s 3 attempts to the contrary notwithstanding, two modern replications succeeded in setting a ship on fire. And I crunched the numbers for my book – it’s certainly a possibility, if you can aim the mirrors properly. More relevant to your suggestion and the thread, there’s an Arthur C. Clarke story about soccer fans using their glossy programs to direct sunlight onto an unloved referee. And another story about laser blinding. But Archimedes’ feat, real or imagined, still doesn’t involve a laser, in any form. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/44 "2015-01-28T17:12:56Z")
Charles Townes died yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/45 "2015-01-28T17:16:39Z")
Thanks. Sounds like a helluva guy; may he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/46 "2015-01-28T18:18:34Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Charles Townes died yesterday. Damn. He was my first advisor’s advisor. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/47 "2015-01-29T00:25:01Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Charles Townes died yesterday. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Damn. He was my first advisor’s advisor. a truly bright man. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/48 "2015-01-29T00:36:41Z")
> [@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. he should have designed a safety interlock. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/49 "2015-01-29T16:18:09Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Charles Townes died yesterday. Charles Townes did not die…he just became incoherent. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663/50 "2015-01-29T16:23:26Z")
You mean he lost focus? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-killed-directly-by-a-laser/708663.md?page=2)