This idea would have some installation costs and limitations, but.. have a lawn ringed on all sides by a black ceramic lip. In one or two corners, high powered lasers (with a beam hot enough to cut grass) scan across the surface of the lawn at a preset height, keeping the lawn smooth and consistant. The main limitations would be that the lawn has to be flat and a convex polygon. And then theres the inherent danger of having hot, powerful lasers scan across it (possibly injuring people).-- amadeus, Dec 01 2000 Laser Lawnmower http://www.halfbake...a/Laser_20LawnmowerAnother, differently conceived application of lasers in this field. [Monkfish, Dec 01 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004] 1. I need the exercise and so does my husband and kids. 2. My dogs and cats wouldn't like it! 3. What about the flowers and lawn decorations?-- pss_10, Dec 02 2000 (1) be a good consumer and get an exercise lawnmower? (2) and (3), I guess they would have to be bred to be mirrored around .. oh 3 inches from the bottom or so...-- jutta, Dec 02 2000 I don't think that hot, powerful lasers are much of a danger, anyways. This idea would be great for getting rid of unwanted guests, solicitors, neighbor's pets that crap in your flower beds, and especially Jehovah's Witnesses.
"Good morning, sir! We bring the good news...AAAARRRGH!!!!!" (sizzle).-- BigThor, Dec 08 2000 You got me sold!-- salmon, Dec 16 2000 Sounds like re-tooled battlefield lasers.-- bristolz, Jan 20 2001 Beating swords into plowshares...-- StarChaser, Jan 20 2001 //Beating swords into plowshares//
Wow!
"and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" Isaiah-- Zimmy, May 31 2003 Instead of black ceramic around the edges of the lawn, use mirrors. With appropriate planning, the sweep of the laser need only be a couple centimeters; the mirrors bounce it all over the lawn, intercepting it to protect garden zones, and so on. Appropriate angles of the mirrors (or even special shapes) would accommodate moderately uneven terrain.-- Vernon, Jun 02 2003 The problem with using mirrors to guide the beam around the lawn is that if anyone ever accidentally kicks a mirror or knocks it even slightly out of whack, the laser will bounce off into who knows where, probably burning various things around and in the yard.-- ywong, Jun 02 2003 ywong, there could be a low-power test mode, to let you know if the mirrors need adjusting.-- Vernon, Jun 12 2003 The laser lawnmower needs some work, but this gives me an idea. What of lasers for cutting trees--no more sharpening the teeth, or hedge-trimmers?
One possible merit to laser-cut grass is that the burn would seal the grass wounds, making it less susceptable to disease, pests, and drying--though there would be less of a "fresh-cut" smell and more of a "laser-burn" smell.-- Great Satan, Jun 12 2003 How about a laser to keep the path for your sattalite dish clear ?? I know i hated haveing to climb up and top out a tree just so i could watch the Simpsons. Why not have a laser that you could click on (or have it turn on )when the satt signal get low ??-- zippyt, Jun 13 2003 I have thought of this too and think that while much work would be needed, it could work. Probably test this out on golf courses or some larger area. I see a tower or something that is higher than most of the obsticles holding the laser. You could get rid of the mirrors and scan the area just before you "cut" it. The laser is applied in varing amounts to areas based upon the desired height, always measuring for people, animals or anything. The area would be layout out first with some web based interface like you see with many network devices and even a schedule could be set up as well. I seem to think it would be best if it cut daily to keep cuts of short intervals and be less likely to cause the area to get too hot. Testing could figure out the longest bursts and best wavelengths for safety and maximum cutting.-- baref00t, Aug 24 2004 /Why not have a laser that you could click on (or have it turn on )when the satt signal get low ?? /
Like when a blimp flies over or the neighbors kids build a tree house.-- popbottle, May 17 2015 The biggest issue I can see with this is that it would likely char the top of the grass along the cuts - which would likely be very unsightly! Nobody likes a blackened lawn.
On the other hand, this provides a benefit - it gives you a powerful incentive to frequently water your lawn. After a few dry-lawn cutting fires, Darwinian selection will leave behind only those who keep their lawns wet, green, and uninflammable.-- Hive_Mind, May 21 2015 murder [+]-- Voice, May 22 2015 random, halfbakery