Be Cautious of Others When Using Laser Pointer

CENTRAL DISTRICT, Hong Kong - Nov. 21, 2013 - PRLog -- Laser pointer is preferred by consumers as soon as it came into the market. At the same time, its safety is emphasized. That laser pointers are potentially dangerous shouldn’t come as any big surprise. However, ubiquity has a way of breeding a lack of respect. And lack of respect leads people to point electromagnetic radiation at the eye holes of helicopter, airplane pilots and automobiles.

According to researchers, human eye is a fantastic optical instrument capable of concentrating light a 100,000 times onto the retina. And only a few milliwatts at the cornea can be focused to a spot so small that the power density on the retina can become greater than that generated when staring into the sun.

Lasers with power more than 5mW can potentially cause irreparable damage to the human eye if shining it directly to eyes. When focused on the retina, they yield more power density than looking at a welding arc. One should wear a pair of laser safety goggles when operating such magnitude laser pointer.

What’s more, green laser pointers in particular fire off a considerable amount of infrared signal in addition to visible light. The human eye is far less sensitive to infrared, which means it can’t protect itself by automatically closing like it does with bright, visible lights. Even though you can’t “see” it, infrared can still mess you up.

Now, with the development of laser diode technology, the price of laser pointer is so competitive that all people if needed can afford it. And laser enthusiasts turn their interest to high power laser pointers for burning experiments. For instance, popping balloon, cutting tape or burning matches etc. Those laser pointers are at least in power no more than 100mW. The higher the power, the more effective the experiment, also the more harmful they have potentially.

One can protect himself well by wearing laser safety goggles or other protective ways, but others safety should be considered at the same time. It was not the first time to hear someone is arrested into prison by pointing at pilots, drivers or neighbours. In fact, when President Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, he made it a federal crime to shine a laser beam at or in the flight path of aircraft—punishable by up to $250,000 in fines and five years imprisonment.

Please be cautions when using laser pointer for yourself and others. Don’t be idiot. Just because you can buy a laser pointer and shine it into the heavens doesn’t mean you should.

For more laser safety tips, you can browse http://www.laserto.com