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Thread: Staring At Laser Dot (Newbie panic)

  1. #11
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    swamidog is offline Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
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    that looks quite low power. i wouldn't be concerned about looking at the dot. just be careful with reflective surfaces and other people's eyes.

    Quote Originally Posted by dellboy177 View Post
    heres a pic at about 2 feet, theres flash on my camera just to note. Attachment 41147 it was made in china but was an english seller
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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    without flash probably looks more worrying :/ Click image for larger version. 

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    bumping just to let you guys see the pic.

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    It doesn't 'look' like that will do any harm. Laser dots are quite weird to look at as they are often speckly looking. That always makes my eyes feel odd!

    If you are still unsure, it's worth getting your eyes checked. If you plan on playing with lasers it's wise to get eyes checked regularly anyway.

    Out of interest, what were you measuring the heat of?

    Keith

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    Looks like maybe 635nm, close to helium neon laser wavelength. Slightly orangish red light? Cameras don't usually make that clear, btu it doesn't look like a deep red to me. In other words, safe in this case, but startle factor might make it otherwise. Given that most shiny surfaces are lousy at emitting much heat radiation, you won't be pointing at them very often unless for cautious fun.

    Incidentally, I recently wondered about these thermometers.. I was advised by dnar (member here) to look at Fluke. They make a wide range, with very wide range of costs, but there's one for a bit less than a hundred quid (sterling, cheaper in USD) that you might like a lot better, because it has a variable emissivity adjustment for different surfaces and materials. You'll get better readings that way. (And incidentally again, if you ever get deep into lasers, there's a 'Lasercheck' that is very sensitive to low power, and has a similar adjustable feature, this time for laser wavelength/colour, to allow accurate readings.)

    In short, with not too much money you might easily beat the quality of the thermometer you have now.

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    Hi there again guys, sorry for dragging this thread back up, but here's the ebay page for the laser thermometer, should I be worried still? I was at an optician and they took a retina photo and told me i was perfect. Maybe just me overthinking. Thanks for your replies

    http://www.ebay.ie/itm/300989761152?...84.m1497.l2648

  7. #17
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    swamidog is offline Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
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    assuming this is correct:

    "Diode Laser: Output<1mW,Wavelength 630nm-670nm."

    you have nothing to be concerned about.

    even if it's not correct, i would only be concerned if your're trying to measure the temperature of a mirror....
    Quote Originally Posted by dellboy177 View Post
    Hi there again guys, sorry for dragging this thread back up, but here's the ebay page for the laser thermometer, should I be worried still? I was at an optician and they took a retina photo and told me i was perfect. Maybe just me overthinking. Thanks for your replies

    http://www.ebay.ie/itm/300989761152?...84.m1497.l2648
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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    Quote Originally Posted by swamidog View Post
    assuming this is correct:

    "Diode Laser: Output<1mW,Wavelength 630nm-670nm."

    you have nothing to be concerned about.

    even if it's not correct, i would only be concerned if your're trying to measure the temperature of a mirror....
    Thanks man. But a retina photo would show up anything, wouldn't it?

  9. #19
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    the only way you will damage your eyes with 1mW is if you poke yourself in the eye with the probe.

    Quote Originally Posted by dellboy177 View Post
    Thanks man. But a retina photo would show up anything, wouldn't it?
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

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    Quote Originally Posted by swamidog View Post
    the only way you will damage your eyes with 1mW is if you poke yourself in the eye with the probe.
    Haha, message received, thank you.

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