You know those scenes in movies like Ocean's Twelve, where burglars are blocked by a bunch of lasers shooting out all over the place, threatening to alert the guards if they're disturbed? They always struck me as totally fake, but after seeing this "Portal Denial System" from a company called Ionatron, they may be a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Ionatron's security device shoots a laser across a doorway or hall to create a stream of plasma (called a laser-induced plasma channel, or LIPC). Since the plasma is conductive, it's easy to fire a jolt of electricity down the plasma path, which can be lethal or "less lethal," at the operator's option. Guess it depends if you want to bother the police or not (kidding, kidding!).

Ionatron developed the system for the U.S. government, so it's not too likely you'll be able to put this in your personal art gallery. Don't cancel that Art Guard order just yet.

Check out some video of the Portal Denial System in action after the jump. — Peter Pachal

Ionatron, via Freshome