Finally, sharks with frickin' laser beams attached!

[jimmy olsen]

 

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/wicked-lasers-shark/

Relax, Dr Evil. Your inspired request for "sharks with frickin' laser beams attached" has finally been fulfilled in the real world.

Marine biologist-cum-TV personality Luke Tipple attached a 50-milliwatt green laser to a lemon shark off the coast of the Bahamas in late April. The escapade was sponsored by Wicked Lasers, a consumer-focused laser manufacturer based in Hong Kong that produces some of the most brilliant — and potentially dangerous — handheld lasers in the world.

"This was definitely a world first," Tipple told Wired. "Initially, I told them no. I thought it was a frivolous stunt. But then I considered that it would give us an opportunity to test our clips and attachments, and whatever is attached to that clip, I really don't care. It was a low-powered laser that couldn't be dangerous to anyone, and there's actually useful applications in having a laser attached to the animal."

Relax, Dr Evil. Your inspired request for "sharks with frickin' laser beams attached" has finally been fulfilled in the real world.

Marine biologist-cum-TV personality Luke Tipple attached a 50-milliwatt green laser to a lemon shark off the coast of the Bahamas in late April. The escapade was sponsored by Wicked Lasers, a consumer-focused laser manufacturer based in Hong Kong that produces some of the most brilliant — and potentially dangerous — handheld lasers in the world.

"This was definitely a world first," Tipple told Wired. "Initially, I told them no. I thought it was a frivolous stunt. But then I considered that it would give us an opportunity to test our clips and attachments, and whatever is attached to that clip, I really don't care. It was a low-powered laser that couldn't be dangerous to anyone, and there's actually useful applications in having a laser attached to the animal."

Granted, these bona fides are tempered by Tipple's status as a celebrity shark handler — he's appeared on Mythbusters and various Discovery Channel "Shark Week" shows, among other TV appearances. It all begs the question: What's the real value of attaching a laser to a shark, other than to generate publicity for Tipple himself, and the Wicked Lasers brand, which organized a Facebook promotion around the stunt?

"Is there a point of it? It has to have an objective," Neil Hammerschlag, an assistant professor with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, told Wired.

"I would say the attachment process sounds non-invasive," Hammerschlag said. "I don't think it's going to cause any damage to the shark. It's temporary. In terms of the goal, without knowing the specific scientific or educational application, it's hard to say. But if this is just to respond to a scene in the Austin Powers movie, I don't see value. You're just causing unnecessary stress on the animal. It's not respectful."

Sean Van Sommeran, executive director and founder of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, said he was interested in Tipple's efforts to build a better fin clamp. "I like the idea of the spring-loaded hinge that's going to break down over time in the salt water," Van Sommeran told Wired. "It's a good alternative to drilling holes through the fins. Sharks are slow growing so something attached temporarily, for even a month, isn't necessarily going to harm the shark, or impede its growth."

Still, Van Sommeran said, were the shark to be armed with a laser for an extended period of time, the animal would find its new life in the sea quite challenging.

"The animal would essentially be carrying a roof rack of lights, atracting attention as it swims around," he said. "Any time the animal goes deep into the water column, it will be more apparent. Predators can notice and take interest. Hammerhands might eat that lemon with a laser on it. And animals that the lemon may want to stalk can see it coming."

But even serious hardcore shark experts like Van Sommeran can relish in the bold absurdity of a laser-equipped shark: "Everything tilts toward this being a disadvantage for the shark. Its laser might blind a pilot and piss off the FAA. Or North Korea might counter-attack it," he said.

And, of course, Wicked Lasers, the instigator of Tipple's stunt, can't help but have fun with the evil implications of laser-weaponized sharks.

"Depending on the power of the laser that they are armed with, the sharks could be significantly more dangerous," Steve Liu, Wicked Lasers CEO, told Wired. "If there was a way the shark could operate the laser on its own accord and use it against humans, we wouldn't even attempt this."