CO2 laser made entirely from scratch!

It doesn't get much more scratchy than this. Homemade laser tube and CO2 from baking soda and vinegar made at home. An ordinary toy balloon is filled with the Walmart-brand party Helium, Nitrogen, and 'homemade' CO2 gas. A needle valve is placed between the balloon and the laser tube. The entire thing is held together with JB weld - so I don't know if I should call this a "JB weld laser" or a "Baking Soda Laser". Anyway, it produces an invisible infra red laser beam. Right now, I have not even added the water coolant yet, so I have a long way to go before it is optimized. However, it will actully burn things a little bit when focused with a lens. The optics are the only part I cheated on: the wavelength is in the 10,600nm range - more like radio waves than light in the sense that most materials that are transparent to visible light are completely 'black' to the wavelength. Therefore, special optics are reqired to transmit the beam.

I put this together immediately after the laser worked for the very first time. I did not take the time to make a good video, or to show detailed photographs of the setup. I will prepare a flickr set and add the URL to this description later (including the construction details in a step-by-step, photo illustration).

Okay - here is the Flickr URL. It is under construction, meaning that I will continue to tweak, add to, and edit the content and photo descriptions within this set. So if you look at it once, be sure and check back from time to time for changes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12049698@N02/sets/72157624001202153/



That's all for now.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Homemade
• CO2
• laser

[SciFacts4YOU]

Thats sweet, about how much does it cost to make one?

[magx1]

@SciFacts4YOU Thanks! Didn't really keep a talley. Not too expansive. Output coupler was donated. Many different variations possible. You can build one using supplies from a hardware store; the obvious exception being the neon sign transformer. You need a iron core, center tapped version. I've never tried a modern electronic sign transformer. The modern ones die easily. My understanding is that solid state neon power supplies only work if connnected across a load, for which they are designed.

[MyHowtoman]

Teach how to make

[magx1]

@MyHowtoman

Send me a message.

[R2Processor]

Where do you get goggles for this? Or do you not need them?

[magx1]

@R2Processor You definately need them! Send me a message.

[nehockc]

I am SO Psyched right now!!! I would love to build one of these babies. I remember reading the sciam article and have always wanted to build one but I remember the sciam article referring to glass blowing or something like that.

THIS is very doable!!

THANKS for sharing!! My mind is reeling now!!!

[SciFacts4YOU]

@magx1 Ahh fun

[209hii]

@magx1 can you give me instructions too? lol

[kanna5261]

@magx1 ... Hi,,, can you teach me how to build one. Always fascinated by co2 laser but never knew how to build one.

[iliya467]

can you make a tut?

[DjinnJuggler]

@Wbfuhn Lol, did you notice it's like 5 feet long and requires a vacuum pump because it leaks? Also if you want a 20 watt laser, you need 20 watts of electricity to run it, unless you want a back-pack sized battery it won't last more then a few minutes... Maybe someday, but by that time lasers will probably be illegal..