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So I wonder if it is any how possible to build laser at home. A powerful one to melt brick.

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Yes. 100W CO2 laser is doable at home, and some in fact did that. 100W one will BURN really well.

No other types of power lasers are doable at home. (well, probably there is also killing 200 DVD-RW drives and collimating them all - I am actually doing that, I have 45 RW drives ;-) )

The only problems is that you still need few rare things like IR mirrors & transparent window which are very hard to find in garage (there is not much materials transparent at 10um).

Probably the optimal solution would be just buy finished CO2 tube from China (100-200$) and build cooling & power supply system by yourself. This is way way more realistic.

BarsMonster
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    Take note that IR lasers are about the most dangerous one to work with as far as eye health goes. Get the right safety lenses and wear them. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Feb 26 '11 at 03:11
  • Well, spot of 100W laser is easily visible ;-) Everything burns in the spot, including bricks & concrete :-) – BarsMonster Feb 26 '11 at 23:21
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    @BarsMonster by the time you see something burning due to the 100W beam, the diffuse reflection could easily be sufficient to damage your eye before you realize what you're looking at. Always get the right safety lenses! – Joe Oct 07 '13 at 02:38
  • @Joe I totally agree that 100W near-IR or visible laser is deadly dangerous. Diffuse reflection of CO2 laser is barely sensible. I personally felt diffused light of 40W CO2 laser at 10cm distance - and it was just a bit of heat and that's it. It is as dangerous as 100W halogen lamp :-) – BarsMonster Oct 07 '13 at 06:16
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    @BarsMonster Yeah I assumed you did know this. I just didn't want some kid (or adult) to google how to build a laser at home and then take your previous comment seriously .... – Joe Oct 07 '13 at 14:26
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The DIY aluminum foil approach if you have a HV supply:

http://wiki.4hv.org/index.php/Nitrogen_TEA_laser

http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/tealaser/tealaser7.htm

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasercn2.htm

This is based on the TEA approach with nitrogen from the air (or from other sources) as the lasing material.

Janne808
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I believe that the answer to your question is no. Of course if you order all special components like resonator mirrors, high voltage power supply, etc., then it doesn't matter where you build the laser. But you cannot build a laser with items from a DIY-shop.

And just a remark - there is no way to melt a brick with a laser. Ceramic plates are very heat-resistant and they are used when you need to block a high-power laser beam (not a trivial task).

gigacyan
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  • I bought a "40W" CO₂ laser tube from Ebay, measured its full power to mere 20-25 W, and yet it can relatively easily melt a surface layer of ceramic brick. It creates a bright white shining spot of molten ceramics, which after cooling leaves a glassy surface. However, 25 W can not melt through. – dominecf Apr 11 '16 at 16:58
  • I stand corrected :) – gigacyan Apr 12 '16 at 06:41
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You don't need a laser to burn holes in a brick; instead, concentrate the power of the sun using a giant fresnel lens.

nibot
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