# What would be the effect of a laser blast on a human target? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2007, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197 "2007-07-26T06:15:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/21 "2007-07-26T16:53:18Z")
[QUOTE=bordelond] Slight hijack: is this the typical surgery to cure sleep apnea? I have been meaning to research the surgery … wasn’t sure how it was typically done. [/quote] Not any more. Later studies have shown it to be ineffective. As indeed it was for me. > [@](#): > > No anesthesia + burning flesh = pain, correct? How was it possible with you fully conscious? Local novocaine-style numbing shot directly into the uvula. Didn’t feel a thing, except for the needle. The latest treatment is cutting your throat. I mean, Genioglossus Advancement or a variant, maxillomandibular advancement, which is described in the Wiki article on [Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty). This is considerably more serious surgery. And more uncomfortable. (Especially if you have complications after.) And much more a shock to the people who come in and see you bleeding through the bandage wrapped around your neck. It will stop your snoring, though. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/22 "2007-07-26T18:59:07Z")
[QUOTE=Muad’Dib] Let’s suppose that you have a high-power laser rifle, I have no idea what a proper power level would be, but strong enough to instantly go clear through you. What would the wound be like? Would it be a clean and cauterized hole having vaporized the flesh, something like a lightsaber? Or would it be much more violent? All of that energy absorbed by the tissue doesn’t just disappear, so I wonder if you would explode in a shower of meaty chunks from the force of the expanding steam of the wound. [/QUOTE] I would suspect that such a weapon would be _EXTREMELY_ messy. If you focused several TeraWatts of power on the torso of a person, you are going to explosively boil any body fluids in the immediate area. I would think the result would be like a bomb going off internally. Note that large industrial lasers don’t do most of their cutting with light - the laser beam simply heats up the target, and then compressed gases blow the material out of the hole. If cutting speed is important, and edge quality is not, Oxygen can be used to increase the cutting rate by burning the hot material in the kerf. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/23 "2007-07-26T20:20:04Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] The latest treatment is cutting your throat. I mean, Genioglossus Advancement or a variant, maxillomandibular advancement, which is described in the Wiki article on [Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty). This is considerably more serious surgery. And more uncomfortable. (Especially if you have complications after.) And much more a shock to the people who come in and see you bleeding through the bandage wrapped around your neck. It will stop your snoring, though. [/QUOTE] Hmmmm … I’ll stick with the CPAP, I guess. I thought the surgery was a lot more reliable than it appears to be. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/24 "2007-07-26T20:42:28Z")
[QUOTE=bordelond] Hmmmm … I’ll stick with the CPAP, I guess. I thought the surgery was a lot more reliable than it appears to be. [/QUOTE] It depends on what’s causing your sleep apnea. There’s a lot of different surgeries. I need my palate trimmed :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/25 "2007-07-26T21:35:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Over one thousand people have undergone The Stanford Protocol Operation and received follow-up PSG testing. The results have been that 60 to 70 percent of patients have been entirely cured. In approximately ninety percent of patients, a significant improvement can be expected. Please don’t use a quick anecdote on the internet to evaluate a surgical procedure. Talk to a doctor about the chances it would help you in your particular situation. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/26 "2007-07-27T02:27:14Z")
If the laser energy is high enough, it’ll be like a bomb going off. Your body will vaporize with enough energy to really go boom. Lasers have been used to propel rockets by firing into an ablative chamber and vaporizing the material so rapidly it shoots out of the rocket as high-speed reaction mass. So you might say getting hit by a laser of that power would be exhausting. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/27 "2007-07-27T02:31:15Z")
Submitted for your amusement: [http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Rash/misc/images/fiddlesticks.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Rash/misc/addams.htm&h=481&w=505&sz=47&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=3r0OcLbtcBYVNM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daddams%2Bdeath%2Bray%2Bfiddlesticks%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Rash/misc/images/fiddlesticks.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Rash/misc/addams.htm&h=481&w=505&sz=47&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=3r0OcLbtcBYVNM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daddams%2Bdeath%2Bray%2Bfiddlesticks%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/28 "2007-07-27T02:36:01Z")
I just hope, for both our sakes, that you don’t have your personal shield generator turned on, **Muad’Dib**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/29 "2007-08-06T22:03:12Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] I would suspect that such a weapon would be _EXTREMELY_ messy. If you focused several TeraWatts of power on the torso of a person, you are going to explosively boil any body fluids in the immediate area. I would think the result would be like a bomb going off internally. [/QUOTE] On the other hand, if you use a _phaser_, the human target will simply glow and disappear. Even in a closed room, there’s no messy explosion or undue heat. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/30 "2007-08-06T22:08:03Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] On the other hand, if you use a _phaser_, the human target will simply glow and disappear. Even in a closed room, there’s no messy explosion or undue heat. [/QUOTE] One reason I want to live in the Star Trek universe… And, just think of all the funeral expenses you’d save! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/31 "2007-08-07T03:01:04Z")
What about some of the [experimental military lasers out there](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_High_Energy_Laser)? If it’s powerful enough to take out a missle, I have to think it would damage a person. And is it too much to ask for sharks with freakin laser beams on their heads? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197/32 "2007-08-07T12:24:35Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] What about some of the [experimental military lasers out there](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_High_Energy_Laser)? If it’s powerful enough to take out a missle, I have to think it would damage a person. [/QUOTE] But like **CalMeacham** said, humans are wet. Missiles are dry. Have you ever tried sweating pipe where the valve still permits a small trickle? It’s kind of like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-effect-of-a-laser-blast-on-a-human-target/413197.md?page=1)