YouTube has long been a playground for creators who love to experiment, but one inventor is playing with fire, or rather, with intensely focused beams of light. Known online as Styropyro, chemist and laser enthusiast Drake Anthony has taken his passion for DIY science to a new level by creating a 250-watt handheld laser. This device is roughly 50,000 times more powerful than a typical laser pointer.
The contraption, showcased in a recent video, is as fascinating as it is legally questionable. Anthony admits it’s “dubiously legal” and far surpasses the 5-milliwatt limit for handheld lasers imposed by U.S. regulations, a limit intended to prevent serious eye injuries and accidents. But in the name of science and spectacle, he’s gone ahead and tested it anyway.
To understand the scale of what Styropyro has built, consider this: most classroom laser pointers output a meager 0.005 watts. At 250 watts, his creation doesn’t just shine, it burns through objects, scorches diamonds, and even crystallizes synthetic rubies in makeshift experiments.
The build itself is a masterclass in resourceful engineering. Anthony sourced high-end components from eBay and other resale platforms, often repurposing technology from industrial-grade projectors and other discarded machinery. The core of his device consists of high-power blue laser diodes, whose combined output is merged into a single concentrated beam via knife-edge combiners.
Despite its raw power, the YouTuber took precautions during testing. He donned specialized protective goggles and operated the laser in a controlled environment to reduce the risk of injury. Still, the device’s sheer energy output places it well beyond safe consumer use. As he put it himself:
“This laser is so far off the laser danger rating scale that its eye hazards are incomprehensible.”
Anthony, who has moved beyond the usual “don’t try this at home” disclaimers, insists that his projects require too much dedication and technical know-how for casual replication. And he’s not just about setting things ablaze his experiments sometimes veer into the educational. In one segment, he focuses the laser on certain materials until they crystallize into gem-like structures, echoing techniques used in high-energy lab experiments.
