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Thread: Your Laser Is Dangerous!

  1. #11
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    I like it

    A flowchart idea seems quite good, not patronising but sarcastic in a nice sort of way

    It's a long time since I used Powerpoint, but I believe there's an option somewhere under the 'File' menu that will allow you to compile to a .exe file so the presentation will run without Powerpoint being on the users computer.

    If I get time later i'll take a closer look.

    Cheers

    Jem

  2. #12
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    It's just a rough draft, it may be slightly sarcastic and need to be re-worded or completely re-done, maybe even trashed. Just throwing out ideas to see who salutes or spits..
    This is the .exe?:
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Last edited by steve-o; 03-27-2007 at 09:04.

  3. #13
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    Nooooo... You misunderstand me! I'm British - I LOVE the Sarcasm

    Give me more

    Jem

  4. #14
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    Yes they say I've got some English in me too--Love the dry-wit;
    Benny Hill, Are you being served, sometimes even Ab-Fab (every once in a while) oh- and can't forget Mr Bean and Monty Python. --And can't get enough of Who's line is it anyway. The list goes on...

  5. #15
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    Ahhh.... Good old British Humour Eh

    All timeless classics. Alas, quite a bit of our humour is becoming diluted and 'safe' due to political correctness. On the other hand there's quite a lot that makes its humour from political correctness. All's fair in love and war so the saying goes.

    Now where were we with this thread... Oh yes, I remember... People getting their eyes burnt out

    Jem

  6. #16
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    Uh--Yeh gettin off topic here

  7. #17
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    Default How serious is it really...

    Has anyone ever been injured by a laser pointer?

  8. #18
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    Smile Re: Are pointers harmfull? It depends...

    Pixpop;

    It depends on your classification of "pointer"...

    If we're talking about a less-than-5-milliwatt red laser pointer, the answer would be NO.

    If we're talking about a tweaked green pointer that is making a couple hundred milliwatts of green (and thus has probably 800 mw or more of 808nm IR comming from the pump diode), then the answer is probably YES. While I can't cite a specific case where it has happened, if you are dealing with those sorts of power levels the danger is real and immediate.

    The grey area is with the low power green pointers. True, the VISIBLE output is probably safe, but what about IR leakage? And when you take a green laser pointer apart, you are (potentially) exposing your eyes to several hundred milliwatts of IR.

    The problem with IR is that you can't see it very well. (Thus it looks like a "dim red light", as someone recently posted here on the forum.) It will not seem uncomfortably bright to you. You will not feel a need to blink or look away, even if the power level is quite high. So you can be causing PERMANENT damage to your eye and not know it. (Remember too, that the retina DOES NOT FEEL PAIN, so you really have no warning that something very bad is happening to your eyesight when dealing with lasers that produce IR output.)

    The thing to remember is that DPSS lasers (ie: green pointers) are a different beast because they contain a powerful IR diode that puts out as much as a hundred times more power than the pointer is rated for. And if you're a new laser enthusiast, and are not aware of this fact, you can really screw up your eyesight.

    Adam
    Last edited by buffo; 03-27-2007 at 12:42.

  9. #19
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    I have always used a video camera to assemble/adjust the crystal set underneath a metal cabinet. That way I can use the night vision mode and never have to take a chance of getting a shot if IR> It also helped a lot to use a tripod and separate viewing monitor. Just try not to get your camera with a direct shot if the IR is collimated! I know that the IR is going to be present if the driver is powered up , so I treat it like a loaded gun you wouldn't want to see. I would rather get a blinded camera than an eye! This is the safest way I have found....works for me.
    You are the only one that can make your dreams come true....and the only one that can stop them...A.M. Dietrich

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jem View Post
    Ahhh.... Good old British Humour Eh

    All timeless classics. Alas, quite a bit of our humour is becoming diluted and 'safe' due to political correctness. On the other hand there's quite a lot that makes its humour from political correctness. All's fair in love and war so the saying goes.

    Now where were we with this thread... Oh yes, I remember... People getting their eyes burnt out

    Jem
    One of the best, and also least heard comedies was a Radio 4 series called Struck Off And Die. Scenes of insane doctors pounding on patients chests screaming "Where've you hidden the chocolates!!" They were great, they were actual doctors, they dealt directly with issues in a totally non-politically-correct way, it was extremely funny and extremely shocking at times. They ran for two series, after which I guess someone decided it was a bit near the bone... I think their first series made Greg House look like he has a calm bedside manner, and may have been an unrecorded influence on the character of House, given that Hugh Laurie was probably still in UK comedy when that show was aired.

    I'd like to have heard them deal with careless use of lasers, they'd have pulled no punches on showing the silly ways a person can make it happen. People would actually remember it, and avoid them.




    MechEng3, nice. I think most people into gadgets like pointers and internet-connected PC's probably have a cheap webcam somewhere. (That said, I haven't, I should get one.) Encouraging its use should be a priority. It can get in close to a laser assembly and magnify it better than we can see ourselves, too, if it's not really shitty and cheap.




    Pixpop, as Buffo says (in a really good post), beware green! The really cheap pointers might be among the MOST dangerous.

    First, they might not have an IR filter.
    Second, they're entirely too easy and tempting to dissect the moment they appear not to work right.
    Third, they might have a 500 mW diode pumping to make 5 mW of light, if the firm decided to use a bulk order of 500 mW diodes to avoid other problems with efficient light production or reliability. If they did this, that's a two magnitude increase, and is extremely dangerous because it's likely to be unexpected, and because 500 mW is reaching to class 4 laser power the moment it crosses the line at 500. You might think that few will actually waste a 500 mW pump to get 5 mW, but it's a lot cheaper than speding money trying to get better accuracy and efficiency with the other optics. A 250 mW pump diode will be more common, but that's still extremely dangerous. It won't kill you, but as far as your vision is concerned, there's not a lot of difference between that and a handgun if you start staring right down the business end.
    Last edited by The_Doctor; 03-27-2007 at 15:01.

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