I need advise and help. I'm 15 and I would like to understand lasers better. Thanks.

[IsaacT]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Your best bet as far as school goes is to leave the lasers you care about at home. You have to remember that at schools teachers are perfectly ok and allowed to confiscate lasers. If the laser happens to be a powerful one with the ability to burn things, I know of many a teacher back in grade school who would've considered it a weapon and been even less likely to let you keep it.

Hard as it is to do this(I carry my lasers EVERYWHERE) I would say leave your lasers at home.

As far as what you should get, if you want to be able to burn things, go for a 405nm laser @100-150mW. Reason why: there are cheap goggles that do their job readily available for 405nm wavelength lasers, and while red lasers can be decently inexpensive for higher powered lasers the goggles will eat the difference and then some.

If you want something that looks cool and that you can see the beam, then don't bother with anything other than 532nm lasers. Mrcrouse is selling overspec green penlasers that will be roughly 35mW. This will be bright enough so that you can see the beam easily at night and maybe even dimly in the day....AND HE IS SELLING THEM FOR 12 BUCKS!

I hope that helps! You can find Mrcrouse's sale thread in the Buy/Sell/Trade section of the forum.

Peace,
Isaac

 

[planecool]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Wow, thx man i do want to see the beam and ill check it out thx. Also when i said the above laser i know its a Class IIIb en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety told me to read this and i did. So if i don't point that laser at anyone will a reflection still blind them its 10mw... Thx

Edit: I looked at the laser and i kinda have my heart set on a purple or blue laser but... I'm still open

 

[Zeebit]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

A reflection could still blind someone but it depends on a lot of factors like focus, surface reflectivity, distance, etc. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

To be safe, do not use the laser near reflective objects and stay away from people when using a laser.

 

[Jacob32123]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

A reflection could still blind someone but it depends on a lot of factors like focus, surface reflectivity, distance, etc. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

To be safe, do not use the laser near reflective objects and stay away from people when using a laser.

That is correct.

And by reflective surface, we don't mean mirror. 100mW off glass (like a window) reflected to the eyes will cause damage instantly.

Look at this thread before you continue. http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/hit-eye-1000mw-445nm-blue-laser-69469.html. The same thing would happen in roughly same amount of time with 100mW.

 

[planecool]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Ok... But this is a 10mw laser still same thing or could i for instances use this 405nm 10mW Violet laser pen/Focusable/Silver chrome [OL-405-10] - $10.50 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce for a presentation. Thx i'm learning real fast.

O wow read the post on the laser injuries and yeah... i'm gonna be care full and if i use any big lasers ill get a pair of glasses.

 

[ApexProxy]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

The laser you linked to is safer for the eyes but can still be dangerous. Hoever it is not powerful enough to burn anything and will not have a visible beam. You would truly be best off and safest with the laserglow 3-5mW. If you want a little more power for a beam in the night sky you could go with one of the pointers Mrcrouse is selling. Any laser that burns something is very unsafe for your eyes because if it burns a balloon think of what it would do the the inside of your eyes.

Seriously stick to under 50mW and go with 532nm so you have a cool beam. Don't make your goal to burn stuff since its simply too dangerous.

Here are some goggles that work with anything between 405nm and 532nm lasers and they are cheap enough to get a couple of them for your friends as well:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OBZ64M/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

 

[Zeebit]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

What apex said.

If your main intention is burning then go get a pair of safety goggles. 10mw of 405nm wont have a visible beam. For better dot and beam visibility go with a 532nm laser.

 

[Things]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Please don't take the lasers to school, unless you have organised something with a science teacher to use it as part of an experiment under supervision. Teachers can and will confiscate lasers, and could possibly hand them over to the police. Enjoy them in the safety of your own home. If you accidentally hit someone else in the eye, they could sue you for everything you and your parents own, and you'd be living on the street. Don't risk it.

 

[ApexProxy]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

I actually think he should avoid burning for now until he is older since it really is too dangerous and one mistake and you ruin your eyesight at the age of 15. Seriously, who would want to live almost their whole life with damaged eyesight because they wanted to burn something with a laser as a kid. It really is one easy mistake and there is no recovery for the damage. First try your luck with a 532nm(green) pointer that is less than 50mW(with goggles) and use that for a couple years. Once you have lots of experience with that then you could upgrade to something with more kick like a 100-200mW 405nm to burn things with.

Please, for your sake wait until you are at least 18 before you go for more power...

EDIT: Things has a serious point on taking them to school. That's one of the worst ideas ever. Possibly even a worse idea than pointing a laser at a cop car.

 

[Things]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Age isn't the only factor, it's your maturity, you need to know yourself if you're capable of handling high power lasers. I started with lasers when I was 13, even joined this forum at 13, but being the nerd I am, I quickly learnt the dangers of lasers.

Back then though, the only way you could get a high power laser for a reasonable price was to build one yourself with a 16x 660nm diode. 405, 445, 635 and 640nm diodes didn't exist commercially even 5 years ago

 

[ApexProxy]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Experience is exactly why I suggest rolling with under 50mW for a couple years then upgrading after you know how to handle them well. Now if he turns out to be super into the laser hobby and does crazy amounts of reading and research the couple years could obviously cut shorter. Besides, 532nm at 50mW is still a nice beam.

 

[Zeebit]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Age isn't the only factor, it's your maturity, you need to know yourself if you're capable of handling high power lasers. I started with lasers when I was 13, even joined this forum at 13, but being the nerd I am, I quickly learnt the dangers of lasers.

Back then though, the only way you could get a high power laser for a reasonable price was to build one yourself with a 16x 660nm diode. 405, 445, 635 and 640nm diodes didn't exist commercially even 5 years ago

So basically, you are an 18 year old forum super moderator?

 

[IsaacT]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

No matter what Things' age is, I think it is safe to say that he does a great job here and is a very well respected member. Just because someone is not old does not mean they cannot be a leader.

 

[Zeebit]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

I did not say anything about his age. I was just asking. I forgot to say, but I had not intention of offending him and of course, I respect everyone here.

 

[ApexProxy]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

We all know Things is a great moderator and 18 isn't young to be a mod anyway. Back on topic, the OP is in fact young and is just getting into the hobby and this is why I am suggesting they start off low and work up in power.

I also agree that it depends on the person entirely if they can handle high powered lasers at younger ages. Everyone is different and everyone has a different affinity, some are more mechanically inclined and grasp things like this hobby quicker than others.

The first thing to being safer is understanding how something works and what it is capable of. This goes back to my suggestion of doing lots of reading and research. The more you understand the safer you can be.

 

[sopark4000]

Re: advise and help. im 15 and need to understand high powered lasers. Thx

Well, Thx so your saying its not illegal to have hence i can have it at school... Just not a good idea.

I 100% DID NOT say it's ok for you to have at school.