Research using a laser to fire weapons

The laser can support firearms or detonate warheads for the Army in the near future, after experts show how to use lasers to place tiny metal structures, like origami Japanese.

Experts say similar systems can produce small clamps and switches, which act as mechanical components in small appliances.

These parts could be used to detonate explosives, attach identification cards to clothing, or even be able to produce a new generation of tiny robots and electronic devices.

"We are now able to create micro-systems in practice that allow all energy and functionality to be concentrated into a unit of about 1mm or less ," says Christopher Morris, American troops.

A team of experts has found a way to fold 3mm-sized structures
under low-intensity laser - (Photo: US Army Research Laboratory)

Military experts are beginning to pay close attention to the notion of using a physical laser after seeing Johns Hopkins's team work to make the microscope perform surgery.

However, the US military has gone further by creating several millimeter structures that can be triggered by low-energy lasers or even under light.

In labs, hand-held lasers at a safe level with the human eye can trigger origami process at a distance of nearly one meter, according to a report in Applied Physics Letters and Nature Photonics.

The folding time lasts from 67 milliseconds to 21 seconds, depending on the wavelength and intensity of the laser, but larger structures take several minutes.