http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/ Laser Pointer Danger?

So just how dangerous is a Laser Pointer? We've all heard the stories about people going blind after shining them in their eyes, or pilots being temporarily blinded by them when they hit an aircraft.

I used to believe that most of these rumors, other then the danger to close-up exposure directly into the eye, were a lot of bull and bunk. I mean, how can something running on a pair of AAA batteries and emitting less energy overall then a votive candle blind someone 4 miles up in the air?

So the other night, around dusk, my friend Eric and I drove out to Lake Monroe outside of Orlando, FL. He and I were on a boat launch on the northern side, and my friends Kevin and Carl were on the southern shore, 17,184 feet, or about 3.26 miles, away.

We set the lasers up on tripods, so that they would be stable enough to photograph and went about aiming them, using my headlights as a reference point.

It was a relatively clear night, with just enough moisture in the air to allow the beam to refract to the point it could be seen.

These were the results:]]> en-us Gallery 2 RSS Module, version 1.1.0 Sun, 19 May 2013 18:04:14 -0700 120 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/d/16820-4/laser.jpg http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/ http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/lasers.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/lasers.jpg.html
We set the lasers up on tripods, so that they would be stable enough to photograph and went about aiming them, using my headlights as a reference point.
]]> photo Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:26:15 -0700 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/laserpath.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/laserpath.jpg.html
The Laser's Path across Lake Monroe (Image from Google Earth)]]> photo Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:26:15 -0700 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/laserlable.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/laserlable.jpg.html
This is the spec label for the lasers. 532nm wavelength (green) and less then 5 mW power output. That's less then 5/1000th of a watt. Your typical nightlight emits 1,000 times more energy then this laser pointer. ]]> photo Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:26:15 -0700 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/direct.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/direct.jpg.html
Looking directly into the beam produced painful results and did in fact completely obscure our vision, even though the camera was less affected by it. ]]> photo Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:26:15 -0700 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/beamacross.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/beamacross.jpg.html
This picture is looking down the beam as it is reflected off of the white-painted side of a building on the opposite shore:]]> photo Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:57:00 -0700 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/beam.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/beam.jpg.html
It was a relatively clear night, with just enough moisture in the air to allow the beam to refract to the point it could be seen. ]]> photo Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:26:15 -0700 http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/bank.jpg.html http://www.lildobe.net/gallery2/v/laser/bank.jpg.html
As the beam hit the bank behind us, it was approximately 8 feet wide. ]]> photo Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:26:15 -0700