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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

saftey with winter season

C

Clearoutt

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Oct 27, 2014
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Hey guys just want to remind you that there are reflecive surfaces during winter. And to please be careful so no one gets hurt. :)
Ice is something to take into consideration cause it has reflective properties.
I am making this post cause we all love to play with lasers in the snow.
Please leave any other opinons or hazards during the winter. Thanks :D
 
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usedwolverine56

usedwolverine56

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Clearoutt said:
Hey guys just want to remind you that there are reflecive surfaces during winter. And to please be careful so no one gets hurt. :)
Ice is something to take into consideration cause it has reflective properties.
I am making this post cause we all love to play with lasers in the snow.
Please leave any other opinons or hazards during the winter. Thanks :D
Click to expand...

I dropped my pl520 in the snow a few days ago and it survived. :eek:
 
thestug

thestug

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Just how reflective is snow and ice? How powerful does the laser have to be before you risk eye damage from snow reflections?
 
mortuus

mortuus

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anything over 10mW u dont want really reflect back in the eye, and its not like anyone is gonna tell anyone to point lasers at snow for fun to see what happens just avoid that all you can to be safe.
 
Eudaimonium

Eudaimonium

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thestug said:
Just how reflective is snow and ice? How powerful does the laser have to be before you risk eye damage from snow reflections?
Click to expand...

Snow is as diffuse as it can possibly get. Ice not so much, it will produce specular reflection (but awesome patterns).

Any laser that can be taken outside to be pointed in the snow is safe to point in the snow.

mortuus said:
anything over 10mW u dont want really reflect back in the eye, and its not like anyone is gonna tell anyone to point lasers at snow for fun to see what happens just avoid that all you can to be safe.
Click to expand...

While it's true that you don't want 10mW in eye, point a laser in snow is not only completely safe (as a matter of fact it's one of the safest things you can point a laser at), it's actually very fun since subsurface scattering effects produced in thick snow are very pretty. It makes the whole area under the impact point of the snow glow as if you buried an LED under it, while the dot itself isn't overly bright. Works best on "freshly" fallen snow, you know, when it's horrible to make snowballs.

Not to mention pointing the laser through densely falling snow. It's amazing.

Don't forget to enjoy the winter OUR way, people :D
 
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thestug

thestug

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Eudaimonium said:
Snow is as diffuse as it can possibly get. Ice not so much, it will produce specular reflection (but awesome patterns).

Any laser that can be taken outside to be pointed in the snow is safe to point in the snow.



While it's true that you don't want 10mW in eye, point a laser in snow is not only completely safe (as a matter of fact it's one of the safest things you can point a laser at), it's actually very fun since subsurface scattering effects produced in thick snow are very pretty. It makes the whole area under the impact point of the snow glow as if you buried an LED under it, while the dot itself isn't overly bright. Works best on "freshly" fallen snow, you know, when it's horrible to make snowballs.

Not to mention pointing the laser through densely falling snow. It's amazing.

Don't forget to enjoy the winter OUR way, people :D
Click to expand...

It's good to know that I don't really have anything to worry about as far as snow is concerned. However, I would have thought that since snow is essentially just ice flakes and white in color that you would get a lot of reflection.

Do you have a picture of glowing effect of a laser being pointed at snow?
 
Eudaimonium

Eudaimonium

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thestug said:
It's good to know that I don't really have anything to worry about as far as snow is concerned. However, I would have thought that since snow is essentially just ice flakes and white in color that you would get a lot of reflection.

Do you have a picture of glowing effect of a laser being pointed at snow?
Click to expand...

Think about a bright sunny day with snow cover - if you just try to conceive of the amount of sun's light being diffusely reflected everywhere, or if you've ever had to drive in those conditions, you know it's horrible but can be helped with regular old sunglasses.

I sincerely doubt you have a laser that can output entire street's surface area worth of sunlight's power, but if you do than it may be problematic :D

No, not on hand currently. Honestly I wouldn't mind having some snow fall here finally so we can shine lasers around and take pretty pictures, last winter sucked, we had some snow cover for like, 3 weeks and that was it, rest of it was mud, and some more mud.
 
bdgreenb

bdgreenb

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I rarely get to see it snow as I live in LA, but a couple of years ago I took my 250mw 532nm firedragon to mammoth lakes, and it started to snow very gently with huge snowflakes. I was shining the laser through the failing snow when a flake passed over the beam only a few cm s from the apature, the resulting green flash made me instantly turn off my laser and I could see spots. Didn't get any permanent damage, but it was really scary. Just wanted to give a heads up to any other snown00bs out there. Ps lasers + icicles is too cool for school
 
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