Youtuber Drake Anthony has put scientists to shame by constructing a DIY laser shotgun. Perhaps it isn’t the most sophisticated device a technology company could whip up in a professional lab, but it certainly gets the job done.

As seen in the video, this homemade laser can burn paper, burst balloons and cause chemical fires.

Why did this young man decide to spend his time making something so blindingly epic?

“There’s no, no good reason for anybody to own something this powerful,” Anthony explains in the video. “But because it wasn’t illegal for me to build, I decided to build it anyways.”

Until legislation catches up with science, Anthony will likely continue to experiment with laser weaponry. After all, he has already created a homemade light saber and “death ray laser drone bot.”