P4 5 No Mr Bond: I expect you to Die!

Abstract

We investigate the laser used in the 1964 film Goldfinger, during the scene of James Bond tied to
the table, watching a laser cut through gold. We find that to completely vaporise the gold in this
fashion, it would correspond to a laser power of approximately 27.6 kW, which is possible by the
lasers of the time. We also consider that the actual requirement to vaporise gold in this way is
significantly affected by thermal conduction and the reflectivity of the gold surface.