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@jwc, thanks for the info. I *think* I see the part of the fovea you mentioned. You are right, it does not immediately stand out as abnormal. Sorry to hear about your accident. Good luck -- maybe over time it will heal. At least your brain compensates for it.

@jwc, are you sure about the bubble-like area? From what I can tell, that is the fovea of a normal retina. See for example http://www.bio.miami.edu/~cmallery/150/neuro/retina.jpg and fovea Your bubble-like area does appear to have one or more darker spots inside the bubble. I don't see the...

@dr-ebert, you referred to a picture of laser glare as a "simulation of a picture taken with a camera". Just to clarify, it is an animated GIF combining two actual photographs, taken looking through an actual aircraft windscreen. In one photo, actual laser light was aimed through the windscreen...

Nordhavn -- Very interesting, thanks for the YouTube link. I have put a frame grab and embedded the YouTube video at the LaserPointerSafety.com news page (go to http://www.laserpointersafety.com/news/news.php and scroll down to the Nov. 8 listing). The beam was waving around an awful lot. I...

OK, I got an answer from the laser safety expert I checked with. The correct relationship between laser power and visual effect is a square root relationship (not linear). Let's say a 5 mW laser produces a certain amount of glare on an aircraft windscreen at 1200 feet. Previously, I said a laser...

Thanks to everyone for your very interesting comments. A few thoughts... maxkilz, you may be right about the brightness not being linear to the power increase. I may have spaced on the calculations. I am checking with a laser safety expert and will get back to the forum when I find out (And if...

The question is not whether pilots have the ability to don goggles without endangering the aircraft. Of course they can put them on. The question (or one of them) is whether once donned, will the inevitable color-restricting qualities of the the bandpass filters interfere with pilots' ability to...

Assume that someone evil is using a very high power laser with the ability to track and stay on the cockpit window. Also assume the exposure characteristics are not enough to damage the fovea. (This is a reasonable assumption. It is pretty hard to cause serious total-blindness eye damage in a...

RA_pierce: I agree with much of what you have written. Yes, the problem may not be solved any time soon. At least ILDA and others are trying to get the word out. Perhaps this effort is too optimistic and too late. But I'd rather try and fail than to just wait around for further bans. And I...

Believe it or not, my cat activated the Post button before I finished typing or editing my last post. I was going to say, "I'd like to see the three-wavelength bandpass goggles that allow unencumbered viewing of indicator lights and CRT/LCD screens, and can also effectively protect against, say...

I personally agree about the term "idiots" for those who aim lasers at aircraft. The LaserPointerSafety.com website in part is geared towards them so I don't want to use it at the site, if you catch my drift. Regarding active or broadband coated windscreens, I am not qualified on details of...

There are a number of problems with having pilots routinely use laser-protective goggles during takeoffs and landings. One is that the wavelengths to be defended against are unknown. Yes, today most laser-aircraft incidents involve green pointers around 532 nm. But other wavelengths are...

Regarding airplanes and how visible the beam is, and how dangerous... Check out a site I helped build, LaserPointerSafety.com. It includes photos from FAA simulators showing what the beam looks like at various powers and distances. For example, a 5 mW green laser can distract a pilot from over...

Re: laserpointersafety.com/ thank you ILDA and Aix Thanks for noticing the LaserPointerSafety.com website. If you can pass the word, it would be very helpful -- especially on the aircraft issue. There are a number of people who simply "don't think" about the distraction/glare hazards to...