# I need to know the dangers of lasers..



## R.W.D. (Aug 16, 2014)

Decided to start off with a cheap laser higher power than standard red dot pointer..
paid less than $10 and got two lasers from this guy I know. I haven't messed with them indoors they are green cheapo lasers. Learned that they burn holes in jeans and couch leather when you sit on them. It kinda scared me when I realize what the smell was -.- 

i know nothing about lasers really I know that I've heard about IR damage to eyes and I want to know how I can play with these things and not mess up my vision. I also need to know about legalities on them because I live basically right next to Craig airfield on Craig drive and after playing with all the lights I own shinning them in the air all at once I found out that's a no no a cop went around asking if anyone knew who was "shining a beam of light into the sky that looked like Christ coming down" his words to my neighbor. I'm glad my neighbors like my bright lights and don't care what I do with them so nothing came of it. But if I point my laser up at a star or something can I get in trouble??? I'm not a little kid I get the standard of lasers no point at people's faces, cars, planes, helicopters, anything the navy is flying around in, andprobably not a spaceship if I see one..

but am I allowed to point it at ther things? If I burn something with it will i get a letter from homeland security like when you blow things up as a kid? Are sunglasses enough protection or do I need special specs? I want to get into lasers but not into trouble.. I just want to know all the basics so I know the limit and can choose when to stay in it.


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## jonwkng (Aug 17, 2014)

Read this:-
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?133479-Laser-Forum-threads-of-interest


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## StarHalo (Aug 17, 2014)

Eye protection is not optional. Laser near an airport = Homeland Security handcuffs, definite no-no. Burning your own stuff is fine, just don't burn other people's stuff.


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## Norm (Aug 17, 2014)

A search of CPF for laser safety.

Norm


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

Like I said I know what I can't do with it pretty much but I don't know what I can do haha. Thanks for the link btw.


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

Ok been reading everything I can find and something that bothers me is something that said the goggles I need have to match the wavelength of the laser I'm using? I'm not sure how I'm going to figure that out like I said cheap lasers.. Another serious question is how bad could it really be to use them without protection? Being that ill be behind the laser and I don't plan on pointing it at anything near me so how much bounce back could I get from IR? I can see MAYBE if it was one of those crazy foggy nights and I'm filling the surrounding fog with IR and maybe that could be bad on unprotected eyes. 

Say I'm playing with it in a field away from people and planes could any real harm come of that?


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## mcnair55 (Aug 17, 2014)

Lasers are ideal for presentations and in my book should not be sold for any other reasons with out being licensed.If you were even shining it at the ground near an airport i would have you up and jailed with immediate effect.By asking questions on here you clearly have no idea about there use.:shakehead


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

I never said I live on the damn Tarmac.. It's a good thing your not in charge of anyone being "jailed" and if I was to shine a laser straight out away from me all the surrounding dense trees wouldn't allow the people in the watchtower even see it so chill. Obviously your blowing this way out of proportion in your mind. I tend on using the laser outside nowhere near anyone so even if it was a flamethrower that could reach 1000 foot away, no problem would occur where I'm going to use them. 

Asking questions is how you learn anyways idk about you but I'd rather learn from other people's mistakes than to shine a laser in my eye to find out what happens...

So that being said useful information in this post only thanks. Nothing like telling me what a laser did to someone who was a friend of a friend or ignorant threats of putting people in jail. If the post doesn't help don't post it. No trolls no laws from other countries or planets please only things dealing with my first questions.


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## mcnair55 (Aug 17, 2014)

R.W.D. said:


> I never said I live on the damn Tarmac.. It's a good thing your not in charge of anyone being "jailed" and if I was to shine a laser straight out away from me all the surrounding dense trees wouldn't allow the people in the watchtower even see it so chill. Obviously your blowing this way out of proportion in your mind. I tend on using the laser outside nowhere near anyone so even if it was a flamethrower that could reach 1000 foot away, no problem would occur where I'm going to use them.
> 
> Asking questions is how you learn anyways idk about you but I'd rather learn from other people's mistakes than to shine a laser in my eye to find out what happens...
> 
> So that being said useful information in this post only thanks. Nothing like telling me what a laser did to someone who was a friend of a friend or ignorant threats of putting people in jail. If the post doesn't help don't post it. No trolls no laws from other countries or planets please only things dealing with my first questions.



Next time i am shooting in the woods let me hope i never come across a guy with a laser then.:nana:


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## Str8stroke (Aug 17, 2014)

I recently researched this. You also need to read up on the wave lengths. You will need different eye protections based on the wave lengths. Some glasses cover a broader spectrum than others. A friend of a friend's great great uncles brothers cousin told me that with a powerful blue laser, you probably could burn a wasp nest about 10 or so feet away no problem, or melt stuff in a glass of water, or burn stuff on the other side of glass, or run off that pesky neighborhood tom cat!


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

Haha i bet. My problem is not knowing what wavelength I'm trying to block on the cheapo lasers  I until further informed plan on not being in any way, in the path of the beam or bounce it off anything slightly reflective. 
Ill get a nice one at some point soon and then have the necessary protective gear to go with it.


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## BloodLust (Aug 17, 2014)

R.W.D. said:


> I never said I live on the damn Tarmac.. It's a good thing your not in charge of anyone being "jailed" and if I was to shine a laser straight out away from me all the surrounding dense trees wouldn't allow the people in the watchtower even see it so chill. Obviously your blowing this way out of proportion in your mind. I tend on using the laser outside nowhere near anyone so even if it was a flamethrower that could reach 1000 foot away, no problem would occur where I'm going to use them.
> 
> Asking questions is how you learn anyways idk about you but I'd rather learn from other people's mistakes than to shine a laser in my eye to find out what happens...
> 
> So that being said useful information in this post only thanks. Nothing like telling me what a laser did to someone who was a friend of a friend or ignorant threats of putting people in jail. If the post doesn't help don't post it. No trolls no laws from other countries or planets please only things dealing with my first questions.



Actually, shining a laser even near an airfield or airport can be grounds for arrest. It's a serious safety issue.
The chances of you being caught may be relatively low but if they do catch you, they can arrest you.


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## TEEJ (Aug 17, 2014)

A few points:

1) If the beam is RED or GREEN, etc..., that tells your the wavelength closely enough to select an appropriate safety measure, as the color is essentially the wavelength.

So, as yours are green, green lasers are roughly 532 nanometer (532 nm) give or take less than 5% or so....but the less expensive ones tend to be closer to the 532 nm.

2) IR is often a real problem with cheap lasers because the fliter that more expensive ones might have is missing. IR starts ~ 700 nm or so on up. You can get eye damage from IR w/o even feeling it in time to blink.

3) REFLECTED beam damage is the most common issue for people playing with a laser inside...as for example, when the beam plays across the wall light switch/electrical receptacle, chrome frame/furnishing, steel screw, or whatever, the beam can reflect back into the users or a bystander's eyes. The same for any shiny enough surface (A light colored wall with a glossy finish, etc). Outdoors, again, anything shiny, even a wet surface, can reflect a beam back atcha. 

4) The REASON you need to match the wavelength of the glasses to the laser's, is that you can't filter out EVERYTHING, as that would be something NO light penetrated, and you might as well just wear a bucket over your head, etc...you won't see the beam or what its on anyway.

5) The protective glasses filter out the laser's wavelength(s), but let through other wavelengths so you have SOME LIGHT to see what is out there, aim, etc. The glasses have something called an OPTICAL DENSITY (OD), analogous to how dark your sunglasses are, for each wavelength. So, the darker they show a wavelength, the higher their density to it. OD 7 at 532 nm means less 532 nm light gets through the protective lens than if it were OD 6, etc. The more powerful the laser, the higher the OD for that laser you'd want...as ALL the dots will STILL be visible even with OD 7, etc....just reduced from eye burning intensity to visible intensity by the OD factor.

6) The glasses can have a band width or two in the laser's visible range (So yours should i_nclude_ the 532 nm in its range), but might also work for blue, etc, as well, and, it should have IR protection up in the over 700 nm range as well. (Remember, for reflected beams, your by standers are just as vulnerable as you are, so more than one pair of glasses might be appropriate if you show others your stuff)


7) An example of safety glasses, with the range on them:








Notice it lists several wavelength ranges and the OD for each range? It also shows the percentage of visible light transmission (% VLT), which is how dark things look if you think of them as dark sunglasses. 35% would look about like looking through your average pair of sunglasses. The OD tells you how well it removes the wavelengths specified, which is NOT the VLT...the VLT is essentially for the REMAINING light getting through. Also notice the IR range ODs listed, etc. This pair is rated to protect from the IR as well as the_ listed_ visible wavelengths.

The pair above could work for the 532 nm (Green, as they go up to 534 nm) and for Blue, as that's ~ 445 nm, also between the 190 - 534 nm bandwidth. Yellow or Red though would be longer wavelengths than the ones listed, and THIS pair would NOT be what you'd pick for THOSE wavelengths.


8) You CAN shine your laser into the sky, at stars, etc, and pointing out stars and constellations is a VERY common use for lasers. You just want to be VERY sure you DO NOT point it WHEN there might be ANYTHING in the same air of man made origins....such as a satellite, plane, chopper, etc. So, awareness of your surroundings, and a consciousnesses that the APPEARANCE of you shining the laser dangerously can be interpreted so as you jail you - is paramount.

Laser light, hitting the windshield of a cockpit for example, creates a glare that makes the pilots unable to see out - which, as you could imagine, would be REALLY annoying at a minimum if you are a pilot. (The entire view is glared, its not a "dot") They also worry, now a days, that they may be being sighted by a laser guided anti-aircraft battery, etc, and that can be pretty scary too. Things like that are taken REALLY seriously, and, you need to take all of these factors into account. Common sense goes a long way, including predicting OTHERS POTENTIAL PERCEPTIONS of what you might be doing, even when you yourself know you mean no harm, etc.

I have, for example, BOUNCED lasers off clouds, so the beam goes up, and then ricochets off in another direction. If you see a plane way off to the side, no where near where you wanted to shine your beam, that beam could STILL hit them on a bounce shot....plus, they can SEE IT HIT THE CLOUDS, and, that can be all it takes to be a problem. So, again, keep it off if you see anything that might see it...to be on a safe side.


Does that help?


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

BloodLust said:


> Actually, shining a laser even near an airfield or airport can be grounds for arrest. It's a serious safety issue.
> The chances of you being caught may be relatively low but if they do catch you, they can arrest you.



Doing a lot of things near an airfield could get me arrested that's why I'm super careful. I plan on using it at the least 5 miles away and further from my house though so I think ill be ok.


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## mcnair55 (Aug 17, 2014)

R.W.D. said:


> Doing a lot of things near an airfield could get me arrested that's why I'm super careful. I plan on using it at the least 5 miles away and further from my house though so I think ill be ok.



Good luck but suggest you brush up on how far from the airport the aircraft starts its descent.(Your 5 miles is no where near far enough away)


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

Actually teej that does help not sure why I wasn't thinking clearly as an RF tech I know light is just a higher frequency thus each frequency requires its own filter to block it therefore it isn't as hard as I wasting thinking to block the IR. 
now I'd like a good source for a good pair of filtered glasses so I don't off and by a cheap pair that might as well be reading glasses or something..


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

Like I said its an airfield not a port nothing larger than very small private jets go though it. A lot of ultralites and small planes for weather advertising banners or people who do it for fun. Been on a few of the planes they start descent very close to the field. But in the same case small planes don't fly very high but you always know when ones anywhere near you can hear them all. So I think ill be fine. I don't point 3000 lumens at a plane that I know I could hit leaving or landing so I'm definitely not goin to do it with a laser.


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## TEEJ (Aug 17, 2014)

R.W.D. said:


> Actually teej that does help not sure why I wasn't thinking clearly as an RF tech I know light is just a higher frequency thus each frequency requires its own filter to block it therefore it isn't as hard as I wasting thinking to block the IR.
> now I'd like a good source for a good pair of filtered glasses so I don't off and by a cheap pair that might as well be reading glasses or something..



I like NOIR (Pictured), EagleEye are very popular (Lower OD, but, lower price).


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## R.W.D. (Aug 17, 2014)

Awesome ill check these out also.


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## R.W.D. (Aug 18, 2014)

Another question after thinking about it how much of a threat are water droplets like dew without eye protection? I'm not talking like point a laser at it from an inch away or anything but distant like you see when you shine your light around at night? And maybe spider eyes, do spider eyes pose a threat to mine if the laser hits them and I can see them lighting up??? I don't plan on pointing it at eyes but when a light is parallel to your sight you get all the glowing spider and frog eyes..


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## TEEJ (Aug 18, 2014)

R.W.D. said:


> Another question after thinking about it how much of a threat are water droplets like dew without eye protection? I'm not talking like point a laser at it from an inch away or anything but distant like you see when you shine your light around at night? And maybe spider eyes, do spider eyes pose a threat to mine if the laser hits them and I can see them lighting up??? I don't plan on pointing it at eyes but when a light is parallel to your sight you get all the glowing spider and frog eyes..



The flashlight/spider eye trick is not really the same for a laser....because of the heat issue in addition to the light issue...and the precision of the involved aim points.

Not eye spotting as a good practice so much, in that a beam strong enough to reflect BACK with enough energy to HURT your eyes would essentially be boiling theirs - but water can be an issue. A piece of glass in the grass where you're looking for spiders could whack you pretty good though. 


So, there's SPOTTING hidden spiders or frogs with a FLASHLIGHT, and there's BLINDING/Killing spiders and frogs with your laser....not the same thing....and I'm assuming you didn't think about that your laser is NOT fair to use to _SEE_ THEIR EYES AT NIGHT. Hence the pointers about that use...and advising against it....unless of course your plan was to blind/kill night critters, etc.




Think of it in terms of reflection....and avoiding it. That means that if its foreseable that a reflective surface could be hit, have the safety glasses on. If its dark, and you're looking for spiders with a laser, its a LOT less likely that you will accidentally hit the eyes with the dot - whereas the flashlight beam is putting a several foot wide spot on the ground typically....so its more shotgun than rifle in its aim compared to a laser. THAT means you'd essentially be sweeping a dot across the grass, but not see anything but the dot.....and that means you would be vulnerable to the dot sweeping across something reflective before you could avoid it. The back of a soda can, glass, a shiny surface from being wet/polished, etc...so, you'd have the glasses on.

Range is also an issue, as a reflected beam is hitting you with ~ 25% or less of the intensity that you hit the surface with, as you are ~ double the distance as the reflective target. (Inverse square law)

If shining your laser into your own eyes at double the target distance would be a bad idea, the glasses should be on...as that's about what your exposure would be.


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## R.W.D. (Aug 18, 2014)

Alright thanks great to know. Haha I don't plan on hunting critters with a laser xD I don't mind the spiders frogs ect. So I won't try to torture them. my wife asked if it would kill flies and I told her not to try it. I'm thinking about getting her a low power laser idk about her playing with one that could pose a threat because accidents happen. Still teaching her safe gun handling I told her to think of the laser like a gun in terms of the safety being on, on the laser and not to point it anywhere you wouldn't point a gun.


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## R.W.D. (Aug 21, 2014)

I have another question about laser dangers. Do lasers poser a threat to my skin? Not that I care but I'm a curious person. 
I know people are scared of cancer from microwaves and working on or near hot broadcast towers but does a laser pose a threat similar to other frequencies?? I'm not worried about them causing problems really but I'd like to know. If I'm going to get health problems I think lasers and flashlights come last on my list. 

I mean mess with R.F. For a living and ill tell ya I've seen some poop. I saw a man get hit with a beam from a radar system on his arm and he had instant internal damage by cooking his tissue through.. Also messed around with low frequency and had to go to the hospital because it caused me to uncontrollably puke and gave someone else a seizure. Guy I work with Jerry got a three week headache from ultra high frequencies.. There are tons of things I've experienced with diff frequencies and that's why I got into lights in the first place because light is just a higher frequency.


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## CyclingSalmon14 (Aug 22, 2014)

OUCH RF burn is no joke as you must know, eek! Scary! TEEJ thanks man, your post really helped me to understand the goggles better and it should be sticky ed IMO its that well written and useful! Hope you are doing ok to. This whole thread has answerd a fair bit for me!


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## R.W.D. (Aug 22, 2014)

Yea this thread is pretty helpful I think.


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