Saturday 19 April 2014

This Fan-Made Spider-Man Web Shooter Really Works





A German laser-weapons hobbyist has put together a Spider-Man-inspired web shooter that shoots a harpoon-tipped fishing line instead of a liquid web.

Patrick Priebe, who's no stranger to making real-life versions of superhero powers (he also created a pair of X-Men Cyclops glasses) — has created a wrist gadget that can shoot projectiles, and he designed it to resemble the one a certain Peter Parker sometimes wears.

To bring this to life, Priebe created a web shooter that is actually a coil gun that wraps around the wrist. A coil gun is a projectile accelerator that uses metallic coils to shoot objects through electromagnetism. He then slipped on a Spiderman-themed glove to enhance the full effect.

His creation coincides with the debut of the Spider-Man 2 film in Germany this weekend.

There are three buttons under the device — for charging, the aiming laser and the trigger — and it runs on a single lithium-polymer battery.

In a video posted to YouTube, Priebe takes aim on a block of Styrofoam across the room. When he pulls the web shooter's trigger, the block falls.At one point, Priebe "webs" the Styrofoam with a retractable fishing line and then pulls the block toward him — similar to what Spider-Man sometimes does when he wants to catch bad guys like the Scorpion.

Priebe, who has a background in chemistry with a day job as a lab technician, says he makes "laser gadgets" like this in his free time for fun.

"I love science fiction in general and sometimes, seeing this type of technology on the screen just isn't enough," Priebe told. "I've made a few coil guns before, so I used the same principles of physics and it was much more simple to make this time around."

He says he has no plans to sell his version of the web shooter.

IMAGE: YOUTUBE, ANSELMOFANZERO