Inventor Builds the World’s Strongest Handheld Laser, Penny Melting Ensues

Drake Anthony, better known as StyroPyro, has spent years turning his obsession with lasers into a YouTube spectacle, amassing millions of views with creations that blend scientific ingenuity with a touch of mad-scientist flair. His latest project pushes the boundaries of what a hobbyist can achieve: a 250-watt handheld laser, touted as the most powerful of its kind ever built.

Handheld lasers, like the ones you might find in a classroom or office presentation, typically operate at a meager 0.005 watts—enough to point at a screen but not much else. Legal limits in the U.S. cap these devices at 5 milliwatts to prevent eye damage from accidental exposure. Styropyro’s creation laughs in the face of such constraints. At 250 watts, it’s 50,000 times more powerful than a standard laser pointer, harnessing the kind of energy typically reserved for industrial cutting tools or military-grade equipment.

Building such a device requires more than a trip to the hardware store. Anthony, a 32-year-old laser enthusiast from Illinois, has a knack for scavenging high-end components from places like eBay, where he finds discarded or surplus tech—think broken electronics or industrial laser diodes meant for cinema projectors. His 2025 laser combines multiple high-power blue laser diodes, each contributing to the beam’s staggering intensity. These diodes, aligned with precision optics like knife-edge combiners, merge their outputs into a single, cohesive beam.


Safety is where this project gets serious. Even a brief glance at a standard laser pointer can cause temporary vision issues; a 250-watt beam can blind instantly or ignite skin on contact. Anthony emphasizes protective gear, wearing specialized goggles and working in controlled environments to mitigate risks.


What elevates this laser beyond raw power is its versatility. Anthony demonstrated it crafting synthetic rubies, a process that involves focusing the beam to superheat materials like aluminum oxide until they crystallize into gem-like structures. Scientists use similar high-powered lasers to study material properties or even probe the mysteries of the cosmos, as seen in facilities with lasers far larger than Anthony’s creation.

The FDA limits handheld lasers to 0.005 watts for a reason—safety. Anthony’s device, at 400 times the power of the most dangerous lab lasers, exists in a legal gray area. A single misfire could cause catastrophic injury or property damage.