Blu-Ray 6x plus UVA LEDs fluorescense

Mike - where are you?  Maybe I can steer you to some rocky areas.  Any scorpions in your neck of the woods?  (they'll glow too).  PM me your address and I'll throw a couple pieces in the mail for ya - it's really quite interesting to see what this laser does.

One of the very surprising things is that it actually causes some rocks to glow which don't even glow under LW UV - only SW UV.  Apparently the laser is so powerful it causes glow previously unknown in some specimens.

Side note - have you hooked up the red LD from the LG unit?  Worthy as a LD?  I'm thinking of making a 3rd unit, but using perhaps 5 violet diodes surrounding one visible red LD.  In the bright sun it's so difficult to see the violet LD that pointing the laser is a challenge.  I'd use the red LD as a "pointer" for my "pointer"

Mark

Mark --

I live in North central Iowa -- The fly-over zone !! No scorpions here -- yet.
The red in the 6x sled acts like a 16x red. Might be good for 150 mW of 660 nM. Yes it will pop balloons !

Mike

Yeah - the box said it was 16x (just read it)....

Hmmm... maybe I should hook up the IR too. There's a thing called photon scatter (or something like that). I know a guy who takes a TV remote control to UV shows and zaps rocks with it. Sometimes they'll flash (in the dark) from being hit by IR....

Be real careful with IR -- It can be bad stuff.

Mike

I just pushed the IR diode to ~70 mW. Don't know if that is enough for you. It's hard to focus.

..
btw , congrats on your work.

Mike - prb'ly won't fool with that... sounds dangerous.

Milos - thx! It was fun, now I'm lookin' for something else to do - anyone know of a SW laser??? LOL

^ they exist but are large and extremly expensive.

I think 337nm is as short as they'll get in the relatively near future Still would be kinda cool

A quick question for pirateo40, there is a lot of people building 405nm lasers but no one has addressed the UV issue in regardes to skin. Now its obvious that us humans wear sunscreen for a reason, my question is, does 405nm fall into the category of possibly causing skin related cancers? Ive searched google and yahoo for the wavelengths which are dangerous, and its seems that below 400nm is dangerous and above it is not. I couldn't think of a better person to ask, considering the field you work in. I know black light tubes are bad for the eyes, and id imagine some of the related hazards translate when involving lasers. What would be your thoughts on this?


PS 405nm is the only laser which my iguana will respond to, which is quite funny to watch. He tries to measure the temperature with his tounge the second he sees it.

Pirateo40 said:

Just thought of a neat accessory for Blu-Ray lasers - Franklin calcite. The laser is so powerful that you can "draw" on the rock with it. It leaves tracks of your lines as you move (actually phosphorescense). It's cheap - you can pick it up in Franklin NJ for $1/LB. Or find some cheap on ebay in the fluoresent mineral section.

These lasers do neat things with many different minerals: sodalite, calcite (some), wernerite, ruby, autunite and andersonite (uranium), fluorite, and many more. The more translucent the mineral the deeper the beam "digs" in causing a glow to appear from within....

Just a suggestion for another thing to show off your lasers.....

Mark

Click to expand...

If you can pick up a single crystal of calcite, it's also birefringent, which can be fun. So turned in some directions, light just passes straight through as 1 beam. Turned in other directions, you end up with 2 parallel beams of light coming out the other side. Pretty awesome for a natural grown-in-the-ground crystal.

wannaburn said:

A quick question for pirateo40, there is a lot of people building 405nm lasers but no one has addressed the UV issue in regardes to skin. ..... I know black light tubes are bad for the eyes, and id imagine some of the related hazards translate when involving lasers. What would be your thoughts on this?


PS 405nm is the only laser which my iguana will respond to, which is quite funny to watch. He tries to measure the temperature with his tounge the second he sees it.

Click to expand...

LOL - I bet your iguana likes it!  Reptiles use UVB to warm up; that's why they sell those "Blue" actinic reptile fluoresent bulbs for sunning.

405nm is just above the UV spectrum.  If you look at a wave length chart for these LDs you'll see that they span from 400nm to 410nm - but none of it is considered UV (below 400nm).

I'm not an MD, and have no training in the medical dangers of UV; but I do know what's bad in our hobby and what's been published.  Longwave UV (350nm to 400nm) is the commonly avialable blacklight - buy the tubes in Walmart, Home Depot, etc.  Kids use them for their posters, and you find them at "Raves" etc.  To my knowledge it is not dangerous (or the FDA would have warning labels all over the blacklight bulbs you buy).  We get LW from the sun - and it's not even the stuff that gives you a suntan.  The most common wave lengths for the blacklight bulbs are 375nm, 365nm, and 350nm - all depending on the type of phosphors in the fluorescent tube.

UVB (300nm to 350nm) is midwave UV and is the stuff that reptiles like, gives us a suntan/sunburn, etc.  It's bad and can burn your skin and eyes.  UVC (<300nm) shortwave is superbad. It will burn your skin, your eyes, and blind you.  That is light from germicidal lamps.  UVB and UVC both carry "FDA warnings".

So - the UV content of the violet diodes is non-existent.  But!!!  The light is barely visible BUT VERY STRONG.  That's the danger I see (no pun intended).

FWIW - I use LW everyday with no eye protection.  I use eye protection for UVB and UVC.

Side note: I got the yellow goggles reccommended by someone here; they work great.  Mostly the big advantage for me is that they filter the blue/violet light allowing the fluorescent colors to come thru.

MIKE - haven't forgotten about your rocks, just haven't made it to the PO yet....

Mark

I tink the ability for him to see UV spectrum, is the same reason flower eating insects see the same. With the bearded dragon, he is more of a carnivor, and doesnt respond to the 405 but rather 650 as he is an insect hunter opposed to a leafy diet. My turttles seem to respond to red, green and blue. Im going to experiment with the 405 when it warms up and see how butterflies and bee's respond to it.

Hey Mark ---

You da MAN ;D I got my box of rox today

Thanks so much --- That ruby Matrix is super red.

Guys with 405's --- Start looking for neat rocks that glow. I don't think we have crystaline rocks like these around here -- just sex stones ----

Mike

Hiya Mike,

Might you be able to post some photos of the aforementioned effects at a later date, kind sir? Sounds kewl.

Cheers, CC

I found out this weekend that garnets (they were in jewelry so I'm not sure of the species) glow a deep, bright red when hit with the 405nm. I've never seen that before.

In my office, I am surrounded by rocks and minerals. I sit here, in my chair at night, just making things glow with the laser

Fluorapatites light up the whole room [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Daguin --
Remember that a ruby laser is garnet based RED.

Mike

I've tried difuser, filters etc and can't get a good picture of these rocks and their color. I gotta think some more.

Mike