How powerful is the blue laser in this video?

[froglest]

Hi, I signed up here to get an opinion from the laser experts.

Hong Kong police have arrested a student in Hong Kong for buying 10 laser pointers from a store, stating that he was in posession of offensive weapons.

The police demonstrated the power of one of the purchased laser pointers at a press conference a few days ago by burning a black area of newspaper with a handheld blue laser pointer:

https://www.scmp.com/video/hong-kong/3021977/laser-pointer-weapon-explained

There's a bit of discussion going on in local forums, but it would be helpful to know the approx power of the pointer.

What's your best guess? 100 mw / 445 nm?

 

[RB astro]

1.21 gigawatts.... 🌩

 

[GSS]

From what iv'e seen over the years I assume it's easily 1W.
The first level of cheap blue ones are 1W to 1.6W. They usually have a pay a little more laser option which they advertised at 3W and these can do well over 2W..
I'm talking about what I have seen from members but i'm pretty sure my numbers are close..
If they focused that spot a little tighter the paper would of caught fire a bit quicker.

Without starting a big debate was the shop owner arrested also?

Edit: after looking at the video the shop did nothing wrong as laser pointers aren't illegal..
It's the idiot students that used them maliciously by pointing them at police and security camera's and trying to cover their faces..
I'm all for the student getting arrested, why would he need 10 of them??

and NO it's not because they are mass produced cheapies and always better to get a couple for that price

 

[Lifetime17]

hi, Seems they didn't collimate the beam or what lens is in the laser . I say about 1.2mW's they focused on the black ink on the news paper and it took a long time to start burning.

Rich

 

[OrangeDragon]

Based on the distance from the paper and the rough size of the beam at that point combined with how long it took to see smoke I would estimate its around 1.2-1.5w. I have a few of those cheapies, and that's exactly how they respond.

 

[paul1598419]

The beam looked perfectly focused in the video as can be seen in the smoke as it rises. My understanding is this person was arrested only for being in possession of the pointers and not for using them. It is difficult to say the exact power, but it could be as low as 500 mW or as much as 1000 mW from what I've seen here. Very doubtful it would rise to 2 watts.

 

[d4rkey3]

i guess around 300-500 at one glimpse but it seems more if u focus more on the video lol the laser is not actually focused and still burnt the paper but i still think its below 1w though but around that

 

[Encap]

No real way to know without a laser power meter readout of the laser output.

Would guess ess than 1W. How much less , who knows, and what difference does it make?

As mentioned above: "It's the idiot students that used them maliciously by pointing them at police and security camera's and trying to cover their faces I'm all for the student getting arrested, why would he need 10 of them?? "

If you are a protest leader in Hong Kong where groups use lasers to taunt/antagonize Police you have to expect some pushback by the Police at some point.

 

[paul1598419]

From what iv'e seen over the years I assume it's easily 1W.
The first level of cheap blue ones are 1W to 1.6W. They usually have a pay a little more laser option which they advertised at 3W and these can do well over 2W..
I'm talking about what I have seen from members but i'm pretty sure my numbers are close..
If they focused that spot a little tighter the paper would of caught fire a bit quicker.

Without starting a big debate was the shop owner arrested also?

Edit: after looking at the video the shop did nothing wrong as laser pointers aren't illegal..
It's the idiot students that used them maliciously by pointing them at police and security camera's and trying to cover their faces..
I'm all for the student getting arrested, why would he need 10 of them??

and NO it's not because they are mass produced cheapies and always better to get a couple for that price

I'm not trying to single you out, Peter, but it was stated that he only purchased the pointers and had not used them for anything yet. I have far more than ten pointers and I wouldn't know how to respond to the police if I were confronted about why I need so many. If the individual had purchased them legally and had done nothing wrong with them why is okay to call him out on that? Seems like police harassment to me. Is it because he is young? Is it because others have used them improperly? I don't get it.

 

[d4rkey3]

I'm not trying to single you out, Peter, but it was stated that he only purchased the pointers and had not used them for anything yet. I have far more than ten pointers and I wouldn't know how to respond to the police if I were confronted about why I need so many. If the individual had purchased them legally and had done nothing wrong with them why is okay to call him out on that? Seems like police harassment to me. Is it because he is young? Is it because others have used them improperly? I don't get it.

maybe they pointed it at the police lol otherwise idk why would actually police arrest them i mean u can have a bag full of lasers and if u are not using them for anything malicious then it should be fine i guess

 

[Encap]

The protestors in HK have used humdreds of lasers---a protest laserfest of sorts--several Police have claimed damage to thier eyes and so on---is a bit wild over there---If you read the article about it in prior thread they say:
"Hong Kong police charged a student leader from the Baptist University of Hong Kong with possession of offensive weapons on Tuesday after they found 10 laser pointers in his bag as he walking through Sham Shui Po in Kowloon.

Police said the items were not “laser pointers” but “laser guns” and held a demonstration during a press conference on Wednesday. They pointed the beam from a “laser gun” at a piece of newspaper two meters away for about 10 seconds and then smoke started coming from the page and a burned spot formed on the newspaper page.

Police condemned the protesters for using “laser guns” to target their officers, saying protesters pointed at their officers’ eyes at previous protests and could have caused injuries."

Is a very tense situation in HK at the moment with all the protests ongoing.

see: https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/08/article/hk-police-arrest-student-leader-with-lasers/


Also see article here: https://observers.france24.com/en/2...ters-use-lasers-confuse-police-damage-cameras

 

[paul1598419]

So, it's guilt by association? I would think it doesn't matter what anyone else has done, only what YOU have. If the kid bought the lasers and did nothing else but walk with the bag of them, it is harassment.

 

[GSS]

Wrong yes, but after what months? i'm guessing of this going on all human tolerance on both sides is boiling out of control.
I can't imagine the kid doing any true jail time?? or is still in lock up??
Edit: I see they protested with more lasers against his arrest..
I don't see anymore 301 lasers for a cheap $5 soon??

 

[Alaskan]

I also think it is harassment, they want to make it illegal to buy laser pointers, it isn't illegal, or he could not have purchased them, I would think. This is in response to that crowd of people in China who were all pointing lasers at cameras during a demonstration to keep from being identified.

 

[paul1598419]

Nah, the Chinese are not going to stop a money trove like these cheap pointers being sold outside their borders. It was also my understanding that the lasers were in response to police trying to identify protesters for later retaliation. It wasn't the best idea, but I do understand their concern. Remember Tiananman Square?

 

[Alaskan]

Yea, I posted a response to that video where a bunch of people were using them to blind cameras saying it will lead to problems, maybe making them illegal, but money does keep a lot of things legal which we would be better off without.