That 1W blues around... not too much myth over them?

[Laserburns]

We was three of us, in the room... all wearing goggles, just like three scared mad scientist, a Spartan 1W was turned on, and we was passing black sellotape on it, wondering how great a fast cutting was...

Suddendly my sister opened the door, came in the room.. she saw the blue beam from a point to another and yelled "WOW!" just put the hand on the beam.. and we screamend "OH NOOO!!.."

And shee "ohh. nice..is just warm..ah ah ah" keep playing on the beam with a hand for a few seconds, then went out the room, and get to kitchen to eat a sandwitch.

We watched each other like three jerks.

--
Is a funny and real story, and the basis of it is the fact, that MAYBE those handheld lasers are not such a menace for skin like laserfan and technicians try to paint them...


I posted this also to know other people opinions.

 

[RA_pierce]

So you're saying 1W of 445nm laser light is hardly dangerous and the idea that it could be harmful to eyes and skin is a myth?

And you're saying that Casio put 24 of them in a projector so that means 24W of 445nm laser light is "not that bad?"



Good luck.

FYI: In the big picture, there are much more powerful lasers applied to industry, medicine, and research that would make a 1W spartan look pathetic.
However, the FDA classification exists for a reason. A Class IV laser is bad for your skin and eyes. Period.

 

[Laserburns]

So you're saying 1W of 445nm laser light is hardly dangerous and the idea that it could be harmful to eyes and skin is a myth?

And you're saying that Casio put 24 of them in a projector so that means 24W of 445nm laser light is "not that bad?"



Good luck.

Dont know... of course you dont have to beam them directly into eyes like a jerk, and focus them in the skin for a minute...

But i think that generally, pointing them around to shit and stars could be quite safe.

Is just my opinion.

 

[RA_pierce]

It is safe if it is used safely.

Even though it will not immediately set fire to objects or sever arms and legs, it is a good idea to inform any observer of the potential dangers.

It's not a problem to be comfortable using the laser, but make sure that you don't let yourself/others underestimate what these lasers can do. That's when bad things can happen.

 

[Grix]

I think you are exaggerating. Either she moved the hand around really fast, or the laser was very unfocused/underpowered. If you hold your hand still under 1W focused light for even just a second you will get serious burns, and it will hurt a lot.

 

[enigmahack]

Is a funny and real story, and the basis of it is the fact, that MAYBE those handheld lasers are not such a menace like laserfan and technicians try to paint them...

I think the problem is that they *ARE* that dangerous, and they *ARE* that "menacing".

Just because someone was able to look at a beam for a few seconds doesn't mean it's okay to do so.

You're basing your justification off of her immediate response which seemed none too terrible. The problem is that you don't know what kinds of effects have gone unnoticed. What if there's a blind-spot in her eye that she didn't feel or notice? What if she's got discoloration or desensitivity to a specific color that she may not notice for a few days?

And then to take that incircumstantial evidence and post it on the forum without scientific evidence is slightly... disturbing.

Not so much about what has happened already - we can't change that. It's the potential for someone else who is new to the forum, reads your post and hurts themselves because of what you said.

That's the real concern.

 

[eexe]

Someone here has almost cauterized an artery with a class IV blu-ray which was in fact weaker than spartan. Be careful and not stupid.

 

[qumefox]

I think you are exaggerating. Either she moved the hand around really fast, or the laser was very unfocused/underpowered. If you hold your hand still under 1W focused light for even just a second you will get serious burns, and it will hurt a lot.

I've accidentally got my hand in a 900mW 445 beam near the focal point before (was moving the LPM) trust me.. it hurts a lot.. instantly..

 

[LtKernelPanic]

I've never let my hand get near the focal point of my 1+W 445 but you still can feel the heat even in an unfocused beam. I have however hit the focal point of my 190mw 6x 405 laser since I couldn't see the beam with my glasses on and that hurts like hell and it's only about a fifth or sixth the power of the 445.

 

[Benm]

It all depends on power density. If focussed to a pinprick it will certainly be painful and probably cause a burn almost instantly... there is a video on there where you can actually see a bit of smoke puff out of someones hand.

But lets consider it focussed to infinity: Waving your hand through the beam isn't painful, although you do feel a bit of heat. If you hold your hand still, it will be pretty painful.

A friend of mine wanted to try and feel how hot it is. We started with a the laser focussed at 10-20 cm or so from the lens, and the held his hand in the beam way beyond that, such that the 'dot' was 5 cm or so in diameter. He gradually moved closer to the laser, and figured out it was a good idea to stop when the dot was about a centimeter in diameter.

With narrower beams you have to be more careful though. I've gotten a couple of startles from just 60 mW of green when adjusting dichro/mirror setups, moving a finger straight in the ~1.5mm diameter beam.

 

[Laserburns]

It all depends on power density. If focussed to a pinprick it will certainly be painful and probably cause a burn almost instantly... there is a video on there where you can actually see a bit of smoke puff out of someones hand.

But lets consider it focussed to infinity: Waving your hand through the beam isn't painful, although you do feel a bit of heat. If you hold your hand still, it will be pretty painful.

A friend of mine wanted to try and feel how hot it is. We started with a the laser focussed at 10-20 cm or so from the lens, and the held his hand in the beam way beyond that, such that the 'dot' was 5 cm or so in diameter. He gradually moved closer to the laser, and figured out it was a good idea to stop when the dot was about a centimeter in diameter.

With narrower beams you have to be more careful though. I've gotten a couple of startles from just 60 mW of green when adjusting dichro/mirror setups, moving a finger straight in the ~1.5mm diameter beam.

Also that lasers concentrate their heat into black areas and much much less into white, must be said.

 

[qumefox]

I've never let my hand get near the focal point of my 1+W 445 but you still can feel the heat even in an unfocused beam. I have however hit the focal point of my 190mw 6x 405 laser since I couldn't see the beam with my glasses on and that hurts like hell and it's only about a fifth or sixth the power of the 445.

It wasn't intentional when I did it.. trust me.. The laserbee I LPM heatsink has a small hole right below the tec where the wires go through. I had grabbed it from behind to move it and beam went through hole, hit palm, then the thermopile was dropped and expletives were uttered.

 

[Benm]

Also that lasers concentrate their heat into black areas and much much less into white, must be said.

The friend that tried was a blond caucasian guy - and yes, i can imagine that it would be more sensitive for colored people.

I will not allow anyone i know to try the effect on molds though, imagine how responsible i'd feel if any if them would develop melanoma's in the exposed area at some point...