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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Noob Questions

Joined
Jul 20, 2010
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Hello,

I have been lurking here for a few weeks and have learned a lot of valuable information. I have been thinking of getting a green 532nm laser somewhere in the 20mW - 125mW range depending on a few things:

In no way am I willing to risk my eyesight without goggles, but how do you enjoy your lasers if you cannot see the beam and you can only see a dim dot through your goggles? I understand that burning won't matter for wearing goggles as the point is to burn, but when not burning how do you see the optical effects through a crystal or some sort of optics? Do you video it, photograph it etc.? Can you see the effects with goggles on?

The goggles I have been thinking about are NOIR Lasersheilds that Laserglow and Wickedlasers sell which are OD 2 - what would be a good fit in mW for these glassses? I understand that for a 50mW laser approx. 0.5mW of light will pass through with a direct hit to these glasses and that with a 100mW laser approx. 1.0mW will pass through. Obviously the 100mW laser is brighter, will it show better while working with glasses? Would the beam be visible at all? I guess I am looking for a good match of laser power to glasses strength in the hopes that I can achieve a balance of safety with visibility.

If I were to burn at close range using the OD 2 goggles will I be protected if I stare at the burning/reflecting dot? Do I need to keep moving my head around to prevent reflections from burning through the goggles? How bright is the dot while burning with a 100mW laser and OD 2 goggles?

Thank you for your help!
 





Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
1,173
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Welcome to LPF, I'm glad to hear you've learned a few things already. Remember to use your search bar in the future, as I know this has already been covered multiple times.

You can enjoy your laser's beam just fine without goggles, but be smart, just avoid reflective surfaces, aircraft, cars, and don't annoy people with it. The goggles are more for indoor use and burning, as burning creates unpredictable reflections that can be strong up close. The power of laser you're talking about, under no circumstances would melt your glasses with a diffuse reflection, 100mW is unimpressive when it comes to burning IMHO.
 
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
Messages
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Is it ever possible to match the goggles with the laser such that you are safe from an accidental direct hit while being able to see the beam?

For experiments where you are shining through an object, how do you observe without taking off your goggles? Do you just shoot a photo or video?
It would seem to me that taking off your goggles could be risky because of stray rays, reflections etc.

Thanks for the help.
 
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
1,173
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Goggles are made to reflect or absorb the wavelength you're using, that's how they protect you, so no, as far as I know, there is no way to see the beam and still be fully protected.

When you are shining through an object you can take your glasses off so long as the object in question and the laser are both secure, or not moving, so the reflections shouldn't be shifting. If that's not possible then I suppose you can take the risk, I have before plenty of times, and view it without goggles, chances are you won't get any reflections of more than 5mW from most objects anyway. :)
 
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
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If your goggles are protecting you sufficiently, you should not be able to see the beam. Here is how I balance admiring the color and having fun burning indoors:

At night I often shine my laser around outside - that allows me to see the beam and have fun with that.

Then indoors, I always use glasses and I do cool things like shining the beam into mirrors, and stuff like that, which would not be safe without glasses.

Taking pictures and videos are definitely a great option to see the beam/dot indoors, especially if you have a nice camera.

OD 2 for 100mW doesn't seem much, but I'm not really sure. I use OD 6+ for my ~800mw laser.
 




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