How to Turn a Flashlight into a Cool-Burning Laser

A laser is a coherent man-made beam of light. You can make your own laser pointer out of a flashlight. A few supplies are needed from a laser supply shop as well as from a hardware store. A red laser diode taken from a CD-ROM drive will be needed as well as some tools commonly found around the home. At extreme close range the beam of the red laser diode will function as a "burning" laser.

Things You'll Need

• CD-ROM drive
• Phillips screwdriver
• Phillips jeweler's screwdriver
• Laser module
• Tweezers
• Soldering iron
• Solder
• 2 conductive pins
• Disposable plastic flashlight
• Newspaper
• Utility knife
• Styrofoam block, 2-inch square

Instructions

1. Remove the screws from the sides and bottom of the CD-ROM drive with the Phillips screwdriver. Pull the cover off the drive. Extend the disc tray fully out. Slide the sides of the laser assembly at the center of the drive off the railings it is riding on. Unscrew the red laser diode module from the center of the laser assembly with the Phillips jeweler's screwdriver. Dispose of the CD-ROM drive properly.

2. Unscrew the laser module. Remove the laser module assembly. Dispose of the front and back sections of the laser module in the trash.

3. Grip the base of the dummy laser diode that is in the front of the laser module assembly with the tweezers. Pull the dummy laser diode out of the laser assembly and dispose of it in the trash.

4. Pull the red laser diode out of the CD-ROM's laser assembly with the tweezers.

5. Hold the laser module assembly so that the holes in the front are facing vertically, with the hole to the side on the right. Insert the shorter of the two pins at the bottom of the red laser diode into the top hole in the laser module assembly. Insert the longer of the two pins attached to the bottom of the red laser diode into the hole to the right of the other two.

6. Heat up the soldering iron for four minutes. Solder an end of a conductive pin to the corresponding contact to the two holes the red laser diode is now in, which are at the bottom of the laser module assembly. Let the solder cool for two minutes before unplugging the soldering iron.

7. Unscrew the reflector from the disposable plastic flashlight. Punch out the plastic lens from within the reflector with your fingers and dispose of it in the trash. Unscrew the bulb from the front of the flashlight and dispose of it in the trash.

8. Place a sheet of newspaper on a table. Place the reflector face down on the newspaper. Cut out the inside of the reflector with the blade of a utility knife. Dispose of the cut-out pieces of plastic in the trash.

9. Insert the laser module assembly, conductive pins first, into the front of the flashlight. Screw the reflector back on.

10. Place a 2-inch-square Styrofoam block on the newspaper. Hold the "burning" laser flashlight you have made an inch away from the block. Depress the flashlight's "On" button. Hold the beam of red laser light on the block until it begins to smolder. Release the "On" button. Run the block under tap water in the sink and dispose of it in the trash.

Tips & Warnings

• A broken CD-ROM drive, which still has a functioning red laser diode, can be bought for very little money at computer stores or even yard sales.

• Never aim the beam of a laser at a person's or pet's eyes.

References

• YouTube: Laser Flashlight Hack!

Resources

• Nobel Prize: Nobel Prizes in Physics