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LOS ANGELES (CBS13) ― It looks like a normal flashlight, but Homeland Security has paid close to a million dollars for it. It can stop you right in your tracks.
Law enforcement is already calling it "controversial."
The point of this device is to disorient you, so we modified the video when we showed it on air. If you wish to see the unmodified footage of the device in action, you can click here -- but be warned, you may find the experience uncomfortable.
For riots and chaotic situations, police often use tasers, rubber bullets and pepper spray to try and control the crowd. But there could soon be a new weapon in their arsenal: a hi-tech flashlight with a big punch.
"Flashblindness, the 'Oh my gosh this light is really bright, I can't see anything behind it.' That effect is immediate for everybody," said Bob Lieberman, president of Intelligent Optical Systems.
Originally posted by MrWendal
Sadly this weapon will not be used simply on Rioters, looters, etc. I would bet my left arm that it will be used on Peace Protesters, Animal Activist and Political Protesters.
The Maxablaster is a 38-million-candlepower flashlight that was made at home by (mad?) optics engineer Ralf Ottow. Replacing a commercial flashlight's bulb with a plasma-powered mercury arc bulb, the Maxablaster creates a highly focused beam of light with a high UV content not so different from a star.
the Maxblaster - a flashlight powered by 54 batteries, capable of producing a beam of light four miles long.