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FrozenGate by Avery

Is fluorescence safe?

eexe

eexe

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The 1W laser is a hazard to your eyes, but not the fluorescence from the sand,
if that is what you are asking. It's not like the sand is sending out a laser beam, now is it?;)
 
anselm said:
The 1W laser is a hazard to your eyes, but not the fluorescence from the sand,
if that is what you are asking. It's not like the sand is sending out a laser beam, now is it?;)
Click to expand...

Depends.

The radiation emitted from the sand is neither coherent nor collimated, therefore the inherent dangers that result from coherent or collimated light radiation is not present.

However, it still does have the potential to cause flash-blindness. Just like how looking in an LED will leave you with a temporary blind spot, looking into an extraordinarily bright fluorescing body has the potential to do the same.

Just because it's not coherent doesn't mean it's safe either; looking into a 50W HID lamp at full power and at point blank can and will also cause permanent retinal burns.

But a basic rule of thumb: If it's uncomfortably bright then stop looking at it.

Of course, then there's other hazards, such as loss of night-vision when working in darkness, as the emitted green/yellow is often not attenuated by goggles designed for blue.
 
Thank you for the information :thanks: It's a pity that I won't be able to observe that fluorescene without harm. Will probably get a weaker pointer in the future :)
 
If you are interested in fluorescence, get a low-powered, 405nm laser. The 405nm is closer to UV so it fluoresces many more substances. Also, get it well under 50mW. The "blaze" from the super bright 445nm (and brighter 405nm) lasers overpower many of the more subtle fluorescent reactions in things.

My favorite fluorescence tool is a 20mW 405nm pointer

Peace,
dave
 
Super Brite and Ultra Brite (in short wave UV, results are more dramatic than most long wave)are the way to go, but like EVERYTHING else, you need to know what you are doing and observe safety proceedures.
Check out the Flourescent Mineral Society (uvminerals.org i believe).
If you think lasers are cool,,,,
 
123splat said:
Super Brite and Ultra Brite (in short wave UV, results are more dramatic than most long wave)are the way to go, but like EVERYTHING else, you need to know what you are doing and observe safety proceedures.
Check out the Flourescent Mineral Society (uvminerals.org i believe).
If you think lasers are cool,,,,
Click to expand...

Some minerals react to long wave. Some minerals react to short wave. Some minerals react differently to different wavelengths.

I focused on the laser aspect of it, since we are in a laser forum ;)

Although a visit to:
About the Fluorescent Mineral Society | FMS - The Fluorescent Mineral Society
and
http://uvminerals.org/gallery
is always enjoyable as well ;)

Peace,
dave
 
Last edited:
Sorry boss, I got wrapped up in the fluorescent mineral stuff (Williemite and Calcite from New Jersey, super cool under short wave, Manganocalcite under shortwave and sometimes long too,,, I could go on forever. It is a neat hobby (cool is the wrong word, shortwave sunburn and all that).
 
123splat said:
Sorry boss, I got wrapped up in the fluorescent mineral stuff (Williemite and Calcite from New Jersey, super cool under short wave, Manganocalcite under shortwave and sometimes long too,,, I could go on forever. It is a neat hobby (cool is the wrong word, shortwave sunburn and all that).
Click to expand...

No worries. I have a rock or two sitting around here ;) In the world of fluorescence, I have lots. I have two "favorites" right now.

The first is a slab of Franklin material (4x12) that I "write" on with a low-powered 405.

The second is a large feldspar crystal, that has quartz crystals on its surface, that have fluorapatite crystals embedded in them. When this piece is hit with UV, the fluorapatite glows orange from within the quartz. :drool:

In my office I am surrounded by fluorescent "targets." When I am bored, I see what I can find with the 405nm laser ;)

Peace,
dave
 
sorry for the derailment but i couldn't resist an LoL...

look at your rep Dave!! hee-hee. 420 and 69 make me laugh everytime

michael
 
Well, the fluorescense can be compared to the danger of looking at the spot of the laser on a matte surface. Its not usually considered dangerous for lasers of a watt or less as long as you keep some distance (a meter or so).

The power of the fluoresced light will be lower than that off the laser, at least by the difference in wavelength, and limitations in quantum efficiency.

Obviously this only goes for matte surfaces - if its a smooth surface it could still just relflect part of the original light and pose an eye hazard!
 
^Yeah, if the silicon coating on the sand is shiny enough that would pose a hazard. OT:And short wave UV bulbs(germicidal) are nasty so we won't investigate what fluoresces with those too much here.
 
For sure.. stay away from germicidal lamps unless you're absolutely sure what you are doing. Eye protection isn't that difficult (most ordinary sunglasses work fine), but with those lamps you got to think about skin protection too.

I'd stick to bluray lasers for fluorescense experiments - it's able to excite most commonly available fluorescent materials just fine. 445 also works on many materials.
 
If you are looking for things that florescence easily under a 405nm laser or black light, I would suggest picking up some cheap pieces of uranium glass, sometimes called Vaseline glass.

For some examples you can see my thread here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/weekend-flea-market-trip-pic-heavy-62595.html

This was just some random stuff I picked up at a local flea market. Some of it was as cheap as 25 cents, everything else was pretty much under $10.00 each.

The pics in that thread were done under a black light, but they look the same under a cheap < $12.00 405nm laser pen.
 
I believe this is the first time I've ever said this but I gotta get my hands on some of that sand.
 
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