# Weeding...with lasers! (But no sharks) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 26, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810 "2021-04-26T21:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/1 "2021-04-26T21:03:49Z")
A third-generation prototype of a farming machine that weeds by burning out the weeds with lasers. Dunno how close it is to general release but still pretty cool. Would lasers be considered organic?! > **[Farming robot kills 200,000 weeds per hour with lasers](https://www.freethink.com/robots-ai/farming-robot)** > > Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder is a smart farming robot that identifies weeds and then kills them using high-power lasers. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/2 "2021-04-26T21:09:02Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Would lasers be considered organic? Can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be. They’re not going to introduce any chemicals into the ground or nearby plants. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/3 "2021-04-26T21:11:51Z")
Kills weed?!? What!? Why on earth would you want to … Oh, that kind of weed. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/4 "2021-04-26T21:31:13Z")
Wait a minute—it’s a farming _ **robot** _ that kills “100,000 weeds an hour” with frickin’ laser beams? Uh-oh. "FarmNet is now active…It’s programmed to automatically destroy all weeds! It’s the perfect agricultural defense system! “Whoa!–FarmNet is learning at a geometric rate! It’s becoming self-aware! It’s concluded…it’s concluded that _humans_ are the _TRUE_ weeds! (We **are** messing up the climate pretty bad.) Quick, pull the plug–_AIEEE!_ _ **TOO LATE!** _” ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/5 "2021-04-26T21:33:25Z")
Dammit, I totally misread the title as _Wedding…with lasers!_ and I was all psyched to see what kind of stunt the badass newlywed couple pulled off, until I opened the thread and … oh, _weeding_. Nevermind. Anyhow, back on topic, if these lasers leave the weeds’ roots intact, wouldn’t the weeds grow back pretty much right away? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/6 "2021-04-26T22:39:04Z")
Weeding is like painting the Golden Gate bridge. Once you finish one pass, you start another one. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/7 "2021-04-26T22:47:21Z")
I need one of those for our yard. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/8 "2021-04-26T22:49:43Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Weeding is like painting the Golden Gate bridge. > Once you finish one pass, you start another one. But imagine if you could do it with lasers. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/9 "2021-04-27T00:25:15Z")
I heard an old wives tale that if you cut the top off of a plant (weed) and then burn it, it won’t ever grow back. This probably has no basis in reality though. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/10 "2021-04-27T00:29:08Z")
> [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](#): > > if these lasers leave the weeds’ roots intact, wouldn’t the weeds grow back pretty much right away? That’s why it runs 24/7, problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/11 "2021-04-27T00:53:38Z")
So somebody went and put lasers on a Roomba? I’m surprised it took this long, tbh. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/12 "2021-04-27T01:16:45Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Would lasers be considered organic?! More so than weed killer, but the lasers _are_ burning organic matter and releasing carbon into the air. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/13 "2021-04-27T01:27:39Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Would lasers be considered organic? The pedantic definition of “organic” is “contains carbon”. Thus, if you have any, say, electronic components composed of silicon carbide in the laser power system, one could, yes, call it “organic”. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/14 "2021-04-27T02:03:39Z")
That part it 100% carbon neutral. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/15 "2021-04-27T02:20:49Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I need one of those for our yard. [Done!](https://www.sharperimage.com/view/product/Chemical-Free+Weed+Killer/207416) I just saw this in the catalog yesterday. We’ve never gotten it previously, and I don’t know why I even looked through it (I read it for the articles, I swear!), and thought that was a weird one. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/16 "2021-04-27T03:09:34Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > > [@panache45](#): > > > > I need one of those for our yard. > > [Done!](https://www.sharperimage.com/view/product/Chemical-Free+Weed+Killer/207416) Wait, a hundred fifty bucks and no laser? Fuck that. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/17 "2021-04-27T03:10:21Z")
The weeder uses CO2 lasers; does that count? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/18 "2021-04-27T05:20:34Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Wait, a hundred fifty bucks and no laser? Fuck that. And it’s not even cordless. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/19 "2021-04-28T11:04:13Z")
I want one of those Israeli space lasers that start forest fires. But built for smaller projects. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810/20 "2021-04-28T11:44:18Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Wait a minute—it’s a farming _ **robot** _ that kills “100,000 weeds an hour” with frickin’ laser beams? > > Uh-oh. We could put this in the “seemingly good ideas that are actually really bad” thread? LOL [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weeding-with-lasers-but-no-sharks/940810.md?page=2)