I'm looking to buy a laser locally if possible. I have some cash saved up and would like to buy a laser for science class (I'm a teacher) that is fun, can pop balloons and makes a nice beam. I have a green pen style, maybe red would be nice. Feel free to email me privately or post here. Just wondering, thanks.
Ok, lets try this. I've read how you can get scammed ordering online and I was just wondering if anyone had a surplus and would be willing to part with something. I'd actually prefer to pay with cash and not send checks or use credit cards. Sorry about being a science teacher, it is a strange job.
If you haven't figured it out yet...
Any laser that is strong enough to pop balloons is too bright to use as a pointer.
If you try to demonstrate popping a balloon with a laser, you should have safety glasses for all who are observing or risk permanent damage to their eyesight as any stray reflection of the laser has the potential to cause irreversible damage faster than one can blink.
Our school is strange. We have 9 high school students, and their work is based on interest in a science based paperless school. This particular topic has been an interest for the last 4 weeks for two of our students. It started from bouncing a small projector laser off of multiple mirrors in our "library" if you could call it that. They they've been doing research on how lasers work etc. and contacting experts including joining this forum.
I got interested with them and got a green laser of of Ebay and found it interesting and would like to work with something more. We are not a public school and I know that somebody replying to the post is imagining a class of 25 students sitting at desks. We've gone shark hunting, built jacobs ladders and bred axolotls depending on the student. I appreciate the safety concerns and that has been done already as part of their research (the two students, the others could care less about their projects until presentations). So . . .
I had this vision of somebody in the panama city beach area with a basement full of lasers that they might be willing to part with one for a decent price as ordering online has it's drawbacks (not being able to see it work etc).
So the short answer . . .yes, I would expect both kids to have proper safety equipment. The laser is for me of course, but I'm always willing to share and spark their interest in science in any way possible.
To long, sorry, just trying to paint a picture and find a great laser.
Hmmm OK.
Apparently you are legit after all.
Is this you, Randy?
I'm sorry if I came across a little rude at first, but your 1st post didn't look very credible.
You know, "popping ballons" triggers my kiddo-alarm.
You'd be amazed at the stories some people come up with to justify a high powered handheld laser: http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/wtb-complete-1w-package-uni-project-61107.html
So now that is out of the way:
Buying lasers online is relatively painless, if you buy from the right sites.
Obviously there are many black sheep.
Of course, shipping from china can sometimes take a month or more, and customer
service varies a lot from company to company.
Two companies that can be safely recommended for their "a little better than cheap crap"
quality, their reasonable prices and their customer service are o-like and rayfoss.
Regarding your situation:
Why a pointer? If you want to conduct "scientific" experiments, use what scientist use:
laboratory style lasers. They are much more versatile, have a stable output, and are
less dangerous in the sense that they are mounted in a fixed position instead of being
flicked about from the wrist.
The 532nm wavelength is great because it is so much more visible to our eyes, so it's very bright,
But you figured that out already.
The 405nm and 445nm for example have the ability to make certain stuff fluoresce and
to charge up "glow in the dark" objects.
I only hope you will make sure everything is set up in a safe manner when you have kids around class 3 and class 4 lasers.
Accidents can and do happen, and then the crying begins.....
OK, I bit embarrassing but yes. Our actual site is oh-institute.org. More info there, it's a neat school.
I've seen the modules and they do look neat. Is there a site that explains how a typical setup might look? Anyway, all of that info is really great advice. There may be a student or two joining the forum as well. I don't know why I get addicted to stuff like this, but I find them incredibly interesting. Thank you again.
