Re: Questions about powerful lasers
It really depends on what company made the laser. Cheap Chinese companies will often not include IR filters, so you may get as much as 20-30mW of IR output. However, high quality manufacturers like CNI include IR filters, so I am actually incapable of measuring the output (but it is still there, just below 1mW).
That said, it is not inherently true that all goggles that block 532nm or 473nm or 589/593.5nm lasers will also block 808nm and 1064nm (the two wavelengths of IR emitted from all of these systems). However, I just got a pair of goggles that blocks both the IR wavelengths and the visible wavelengths. OEM Laser Systems also sells a lot of goggles that protect in the same manner - protect from IR and the other colors.
I haven't actually read up on what "nm" is but I'm assuming that's the wavelength of a laser, which also determines the color of the laser. If that's the case, finding a pair of goggles that blocks both would be relatively easy I would think, which is good.
See, this is where I am going to get flamed. When I was a kid, I once just got a red laser from Walmart and literally just pulled my eye open wide and just shined it in my eye for a good few seconds. Maybe that's why I wear glasses now, but I doubt it - I don't have any unnatural blind spots.
The point is, your eye is remarkable when it comes to healing itself. Personally, I am extraordinarily comfortable around lasers below about 30mW. I know it's far above the maximum permissible exposure, however remember that this is the government that is doing this regulation. And, in the event that someone gets hurt, they are going to sue the crap out of someone. So, we can know that 5mW is certainly a conservative estimate. That said, this doesn't mean you won't be that 1% that gets hurt by 5mW or whatever. It just means it's an incredibly small risk. So yes, there is a risk with a 6mW laser, it's just really small. No, by any means, it is not as dangerous as a 1W laser. But, there is a risk in doing anything, and to be completely honest, probably walking around your house is more dangerous to your vision than safely using a 6mW pointer (what if you fall or what if a fly lands on your eye and scratches your cornea?).
I've probably done something similar with a cheap laser from a store. I know I've grazed my eye with a direct beam with those and I'm not aware of any blind spots (although my vision has seemed to degrade a bit over time, but it's not nearly to the point where I need glasses, I just need to squint at things occasionally). Of course that's a laser under 5mW. I'm comfortable with playing with those simply because causing damage to someone's eye would have to be very deliberate, and it'd basically have to be shined on someone's eye for a good period of time before it'd cause damage, giving that person plenty of time to blink or turn away as well.
Also, part of the "government regulation" thing is why I came here. I know typically when a rule or limit is placed and excessive warnings are put up about how dangerous something might be, it's probably an over-reaction, but because, I dunno, 1 out of 1,000 people may have been injured by it, it needs a warning label stressing how dangerous it is. If I were to wear a powerful set of goggles rated for the laser I'm using, used a LPM to make absolutely sure that it does what it says it does (you never know when you're buying from someone you don't know, especially online), then bought a laser under 200mW and got hit in the eye by a beam that bounced off of something, I'd likely be unharmed. That is, based on what I've learned so far. If a pair of goggles like you have subscribed can cut a laser down by
1,000,000x the original laser strength, then I'm pretty damn safe. That, along with safe laser-usage practices, maintaining control of my laser and making sure not to point it recklessly, and I think the chances of me hurting myself are pretty low. Most lasers have to be held down in order to keep the laser going, so I'd basically have to be doing this intentionally. That story about the guy who's 1W laser rolled off his chair or whatever and strayed off into his eye either had its button held down by something, or you didn't need to hold it down at all. That, of course, was because his goggles were off while it was on, and it was not secured.
I'm basically just being paranoid because the danger is so high. Lasers also seem to be a highly sophisticated technology, one that I have very little experience in, and the internet isn't always the most secure place for information, since that information can be written by almost anyone, and that anyone may be a moron speaking as though he were a professional. Anyone in here, even, could potentially be misguided or misinformed, but not know it simply because that person hasn't had an accident yet. That's part of the reason why I started this thread. I'll admit, I didn't search for some of this info, but I wanted to gather as many alternate viewpoints as I could. Five people all telling me the same thing may not comfort me as much as one would think, but it's certainly more comfortable than just reading off of a web page that claims to know everything about lasers.
So, with all of that said, I'm glad the folks here have been as accommodating as they have, but I feel I still have learning to do and I'll probably be spending much of that learning here. Already you guys have done a good deal to point me in the right direction. I think it's pretty safe to say then when I finally do start using lasers, I'll probably be wearing something like a blast suit
.
(Apologies for the length of this post, btw)
is to buy a big can of raid hornet and wasp killer it shoots a stream of posion 12 feet away.