this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2026
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This idea was tried previously. If done right, it doesn't take much energy to damage a mosquito's wings.
Secondly, a laser is only a real issue for vision if the eye focuses on it. With a continuous beam, it would be instinctive, making it dangerous. If the pulse is short enough however, the eye won't have time to focus and so the power will be safely spread out, even inside the eyeball.
Per a quick search, 500mW is the threshold where a laser can start doing damage faster than your blink reflex and reflections are also dangerous (IIRC this is the bottom end of class 4 lasers). Most of the projects I'm finding online that are similar to this one are around 1W, so double the threshold.
That's not necessarily the "instantly blinding" territory I suggested, but even a short exposure will cause damage.