# Why do lasers go "pew pew", anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 6, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712 "2025-04-06T21:10:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **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:** [April 8, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/41 "2025-04-08T16:06:39Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > What kind of sound does it make when a laser beam hits something? a bang as the thing explodes? Some other kind of sound? Depends how powerful it is and what it’s hitting. That laser I mentioned that made the air “pop” also made sounds when you hit, say, a cinder block wall with it. There were visible pockmarks all over the wall where the beam had struck, with paint blown off. On the other hand, I once stood in front of an (expanded) argon ion pump beam that was driving a dye laser while wearing a polyester T-shirt. I felt something warm on my stomach and looked down to see that it had melted a hole in my shirt. Didn’t make a sound. > [@](#): > > Remember, we’re talking about sci-fi lasers here - lasers that can slice a man in half like an industrial bandsaw. Do lasers like that exist in real life? I think The Master discussed this sometime in the past. Human beings are sacs filled with water, and water requires a lot of energy to boil off. You can punch holes or cut a swath through a person’s skin with a carbon dioxide laser, or a pulsed excimer laser (both of which they use for surgery), and can do selective damage with lots of other lasers. I wouldn’t have stood in front of the MIRACL (Mid Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser), the one they built for Reagan’s “Star Wars” system, and which punched a hole in a rocket fuselage from a kilometer away. So, yeah, you could do damage to a human being with a laser, but only a really big one would be able to “slice you in two”. And such lasers tend to be hooked up to massive electrical or cooling systems (or, in the case of MIRACL, a gas supply). Not exactly hand-held battlefield tech. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/42 "2025-04-08T16:29:42Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > What kind of sound does it make when a laser beam hits something? a bang as the thing explodes? Some other kind of sound? I used to be recommended lots of Facebook Reels of cleaning lasers cleaning things. There is definitely sound from the object. Here’s a long video of an insanely reckless guy with a portable one. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SXeeRgEY2UE/maxresdefault.jpg "Laser Cleaner Lifehacks") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXeeRgEY2UE) ---
**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:** [April 8, 2025, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/43 "2025-04-08T22:06:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Lasers make noises because it’s dramatically impressive, and audiences expect it. > > Having worked with lasers for decades, i know that most are completely silent. I think we can at least all agree that neither a laser nor a goldfish can whistle, right? > [@CalMeacham](#): > > and more recently in a n RPG where “Wilk Lasers” (I love that name) Any relation, or just a coincidence? Perhaps inspired by your book? ---
**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 8, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/44 "2025-04-08T22:15:44Z")
I still object to calling Sci Fi guns that go “pew pew” lasers or ray guns. They are shooting several distinct energy bullets. They are not shooting beams or rays. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/45 "2025-04-09T02:13:14Z")
Pulsed lasers. They _are_ shooting distinct energy “bullets”, especially if the pulse is short. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/46 "2025-04-09T10:57:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Any relation, or just a coincidence? Perhaps inspired by your book? Coincidence, I’m sure. But I put a few ads for Wilk Lasers at the end of my Ray Gun lecture. Couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/47 "2025-04-09T11:08:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > > Nitpickers of the world unite! > > Shouldn’t there be a comma in there, somewhere? [Golf clap.] ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/48 "2025-04-09T21:16:43Z")
Nit,pickers of the world unite! Better? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/49 "2025-04-09T21:21:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Remember, we’re talking about sci-fi lasers here - lasers that can slice a man in half like an industrial bandsaw. Do lasers like that exist in real life? I believe there are some that would but nothing man-portable. The laser at the National Ignition Facility would certainly nuke a person although it is one very short but very powerful blast so less cut you in half and more like put a hole through you in an instant. Here is a photo of a new laser system (HELIOS) being tested by the US navy firing. I imagine it could do the trick. And it is portable inasmuch as it fits on a ship. The NIF one will never go anywhere. It’s massive. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/USS_Preble_Firing_Helios.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/USS_Preble_Firing_Helios.png) ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/50 "2025-04-09T21:50:12Z")
How horribly inefficient does that thing need to be, that we can not only see the beam, but that it appears to be saturating the photograph? ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/51 "2025-04-09T21:51:25Z")
Maybe it was foggy? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/52 "2025-04-09T21:52:44Z")
IIRC it is an infrared laser beam so you would not see it with only your eyes. You need an infrared camera. Maybe that has something to do with it (not sure)? I would guess it is heating the air though so maybe that is where the light is coming from that an infrared camera is good at seeing? (again, not sure) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/53 "2025-04-09T22:07:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And such lasers tend to be hooked up to massive electrical or cooling systems (or, in the case of MIRACL, a gas supply). Wouldn’t that be the stuff that makes noise with a laser? Powerful capacitors discharging? Some coil whine from…something? Not to mention cooling it all. Sci-fi lasers all have the advantage of a magical power source that can generate so much power but is easy to carry. But, I’d think discharging enough power to poke holes in the enemy might come with some noise moving that energy through the system. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/54 "2025-04-09T22:32:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The excuse of making a sound to show people (and animals) that something dangerous is around was made in Robert Sheckley’s 1958 short story “A Gun without a Bang”… This was also the premise of an episode of the original _ **Untouchables** _ with Robert Stack. I wonder if the one inspired the other? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/55 "2025-04-09T22:40:02Z")
Cool! That’s what Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane had on board the _Seaview_! (I know it’ll work underwater because I saw it on TV! 🤭 ) ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/56 "2025-04-09T22:56:22Z")
_The Untouchables_ series started in 1959, so if any influence happened we know the direction. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/57 "2025-04-09T23:09:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Any relation, or just a coincidence? Perhaps inspired by your book? The first Rifts RPG book (which included Wilks Lasers) first came out in 1990, so it would have to be a remarkably prescient reference. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/58 "2025-04-10T00:19:36Z")
This is the episode I was thinking of: THE MASTERPIECE (Original Airdate January 19, 1961): A hit man has the perfect plan for his next victim. He’s going to kill a gunsmith with his own invention—a silent gun!—right under the nose of Eliot Ness. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/59 "2025-04-10T05:55:38Z")
In 1978, Anatolii Bugorski stuck his head in a high-energy proton accelerator. The beam blasted straight through his head. More of a death ray than a laser, though. Also, in real life, while you may be able to move the equipment around, I am not sure you can fit a synchotron into a backpack like the Ghostbusters. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712/60 "2025-04-12T17:48:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Laser/Phaser/Ray gun That reminds me of a clip from [America’s Funniest People](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Funniest_People) which featured a guy parodying a used car salesman. The car advertised was equipped with a laser ray gun (“pew, pew, pew”), a phaser ray gun (different “pew, pew, pew”), and a Ronald ray gun (“well”). I’d love to see that again but it appears that nobody bothered to upload it anywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-lasers-go-pew-pew-anyway/1016712.md?page=2)