Very interesting article/video I saw linked on another site that I figured I'd share. Apparently a German guy built a laser pistol. It fires a one mega-watt pulse. Not really a useable weapon, but an interesting proof of concept. It fires 50 shots on a battery charge, and will pop ballons or shoot through thin plastic. Doesn't go very deep though. He shoots a piece of wood with it and it chars the wood but doesn't go through or anything. Still, a very neat concept. There's a video attached that shows it in action.
Though you guys might find it interesting:
http://hackaday.com/2011/03/10/youll-shoot-your-eye-out-with-a-1mw-laser-pulse-pistol/
