# Can A Nightclub Laser light show damage eyes?



## LEDGloworm

If I simply posted the question "Do I need eye protection when using my 95mW green laser pointer?" the answer would probably be "Yes"

But............ I was just looking at the Laser light show modules on ebay at various power ratings (saw one was 300mW) and it just occurred to me. With all this talk about the dangers of high powered laser pointers and the need to wear eye protection in case of reflection of walls etc, how can it be safe to sweep a laser across a crowed of people in a dark environment. I mean your eyes are one second all adjusted to the dark and then Bammm! 300mW in your retina.... I know its only quick but I though that a quick flash, with lets say 100mw pointer in your eye could be very dangerous. 
How can this be ok?


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## The_LED_Museum

If the lasers are aimed above the heads of the tallest person in the nightclub (7 feet is a reasonable value), clubgoers cannot access the laser radiation through normal club activities (eg. dancing, jumping, etc.), and there is a beam attenuation device where the beam cannot hit the people if the scanner fails, then it is ok to have higher powered lasers in a club enviroment - provided that the proper variances are submitted to the proper authorities.

The one that pisses me off is the commercial for Comcast high-speed internet...in one scene, a green laser show unit is on the FLOOR of a nightclub, and you can actually see the beams from it aiming upward at approximately 20° - right where it can directly enter the eyes of the people on the dance floor!!! :sick2:


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## alaskawolf

ive been to a few clubs and Raves where the lasers went in to the crowds for hours.


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## KBlaserman

The lasers must have been below 5mW, no one in there right mind would shine a 200mW lasershow laser at the crowd, lol..

Most times in clubs there is smoke added so it may appear strong but in reality its only 5mW.


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## LEDGloworm

alaskawolf said:


> ive been to a few clubs and Raves where the lasers went in to the crowds for hours.


 
Well that’s what I am talking about. Most clubs I go to have lasers that spin and rotate into the crowds, and no these are not little back street clubs, they are part of large chains of clubs. Even the ones that are set to shine just above the crowds will still reflect of surfaces and also will be at eye level at some point, e.g. climbing stairs.

http://www.mobilediscos.info/66cut.wmv

This is just a random vid showing how lasers are used in a night club


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## Manzerick

what dangers can a 5MW pose? I have one and it has a "danger" label on it. I just use it to play around (was lighing up trees last night) but brought it to work and showed some people in bright office light and was told it's too bright and a danger... any idea if this is true?


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## dr_lava

if it's REALLY <5mw, then no. some are more, though. some quite a bit more.


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## Galvnometer

The laws regarding laser show safety are less strict over here in europe although it does vary from country to country,deliberate audiece scanning is allowed but under tight guidelines,I have a 300mw 532nm system that I use in varios venues but in most places due to venue size and distance from the audence its not worth the risk and the pattens are kept above peoples heads.
Remember a single focused beam straight out the diode of a laser pointer is a lot more harmful than a scanned image where the laser power is spread out across a large area and at a distance where the beam has diverged enough so only a small percentage of the light atchley enters the 7mm diameter circle that is the lens of your eye.


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## Manzerick

i don't know if this will work for you guys but the link to the ebay auction is below. It really does show it's beam in the dark without smoke, fog etc... I just really need to know if i'm going to hurt myself worse than my "blind test" of my SF U2 lol

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5857048435&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1


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## dr_lava

some of those pictures.. I can't even tell what they are of. and the ad is kind of misleading. 'other auctions' list the power as <5mw, because that's the LEGAL rating. 5mW and above is a different class. And most pictures aren't retouched. If the advertiser wants to impress with pictures, they should add the exposure time , F-stop, and the ISO rating of the pic for a true idea of the look of the beam. You could probably see the beam of a 1mW laser at 30 sec exposure ISO 400 easily. Anyway, PM me your address and I can mail you a diode of known uA/mW for you to test with.


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## nero_design

If it's a single stationary beam,yes... but it's unlikely unless the beam is in singular mode and is neither being scanned, diffused or 'in transit'. I can recall several clubs in the 80s which fired a fanned out laser into my eyes whilst I was sitting at a table enjoying a quiet drink. In once instance I had to get up and move. The beam was an Argon around the 10-15Watt range. The 40W+ lasers I have seen outdoors were always fired over the heads of the crowd. When reduced to a single beam, they would punch through a credit card up close. Something I remember is that the beams had a LOT of divergence. So the only nasty place to be was right up close to it.

As for the clubs and raves, it used to be acceptable to fire the lasers into the crowd as long as the laser heads were in scan mode. These days it's probably not a good idea in case someone sues the venue. But for all those of us who grew up with lasers in the eyes... well most seem no worse for the experience.

Hunt down the old Frankie Goes To Hollywood "RELAX" video clip from the 80s....It's nothing but lasers... they get right up close to the scanning lasers and use them to create "time tunnel" effects. Remember that a lot of science fairs used to use blue argon lasers to create the Time Tunnel effect for people to walk through.... and there was always a chance to look into the laser... yet the risks were low since the beam was scanning at such a high rate.

Lyrics Excerpt:
But shoot it in the right direction
Make making it your intention-ooh yeah
Live those dreams
Scheme those schemes
Got to hit me
Hit me
Hit me with those laser beams


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## Lasernerd

In the US it is illegal for any beam over 5mw`s to be in contact with the public none zero!
In Canada it is legal to provide lasers that are in the 2 watt area to be provided to the public to create the desired effect,crowd scanning,tunnel effects with NO damage,,a 500 watt strobe light can cause more damage.
I have been providing Varianced laser shows for over 10 yrs.


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## alaskawolf

Lasernerd said:


> In the US it is illegal for any beam over 5mw`s to be in contact with the public none zero!
> .


 
oh well, i guess there are a lot of clubs in the U.S. that are breaking that rule.


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## Lasernerd

Yep enforcement is non-existent!


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## Manzerick

do you think it's smart to play with it outside? you hear on the news all the time about some jacka$$ hititing a plane or driver or anything. I myself only aim at like buildings... trees... the groud.. and then I freak thinking I might get arrested...


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## SuperNinja

Manzerick said:


> i don't know if this will work for you guys but the link to the ebay auction is below. It really does show it's beam in the dark without smoke, fog etc... I just really need to know if i'm going to hurt myself worse than my "blind test" of my SF U2 lol
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5857048435&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1



Anyone know if one of these can be modded?


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