A dazzler is a non-lethal weapon which uses intense directed radiation to temporarily disorient its target with flash blindness. They can effectively deter further advances, regardless of language or cultural barriers, but can also be used for hailing and warning. Targets can include electronic sensors as well as human vision. Initially developed for military use, non-military products are becoming available for use in law enforcement and security. Design Dazzlers emit infrared light against various electronic sensors and visible light against humans. They are intended to not cause long-term damage to eyes. The emitters are usually lasers, making what is termed a laser dazzler. Most of the contemporary systems can be carried by a person, and operate in either the red (a laser diode) or green (a diode-pumped solid-state laser, DPSS) areas of the electromagnetic spectrum. The green laser is chosen for its unique ability to react with the human eye. Dazzlers maintain eye safety by producing diverging light that is less coherent (focused) than typical lasers. This produces a larger, less concentrated spot at greater distances which is easier to aim at longer distances and retains the desired effect on targets. History Some searchlights are bright enough to cause permanent or temporary blindness, and they were used to dazzle the crews of bombers during World War II. Whirling Spray was a system of search lights fitted with rotating mirrors which was used to dazzle and confuse pilots attacking the Suez canal. This was developed into the Canal Defence Light, a small mobile tank mounted system intended for use in the Rhine crossings. However, the system was mainly used as conventional searchlights. Handgun or rifle-mounted lights may also be used to temporarily blind an opponent and are sometimes marketed for that purpose. In both cases the primary purpose is to illuminate the target and their use to disorient is secondary. The first reported use of laser dazzlers in combat was possibly by the British, during the Falklands War of 1982, when they were reputedly fitted to various Royal Navy warships to hinder low-level Argentinian air attacks. However, Michael Heseltine, the UK's Secretary of State for Defence immediately after the conflict, stated that whilst the dazzlers had been deployed they were not used. At the end of Operation Desert Storm, F-15E crews observed the Iraqi military's massacre of Kurdish civilians at Chamchamal. The pilots were forbidden from firing on the Iraqi soldiers