Practical uses for handheld lasers - What do you use your Laser for?

[firelord777]

I'm not sure what 'it' is supposed to be here. But there are standards. Refer to the wikipedia link Laser Safety Anyone who owns and operates a laser should be intimately familiar with these standards which include protective requirements. Note that "In many jurisdictions, organizations that operate lasers are required to appoint a laser safety officer (LSO). The LSO is responsible for ensuring that safety regulations are followed by all other workers in the organization." This is indicative that even highly trained professionals require enhanced ongoing training and audits. I don't think even .1% of hobbyist class 4 laser owners have the oversight of an LSO. Do you doubt that?

Nope, I definitely don't doubt it. IIRC, you have to take classes and that totals to I believe several hundreds of $. But LSOs are mainly used in laser shows, with people without appropriate laser safety goggles. laser enthusiasts usually, and I say usually because I've read of a few accidents when people became careless, wear safety lenses.

Cheers

 

[Eidetic]

I've been the LSO at former jobs, use class4 lasers for fun and business at home, play with laser light and encourage as many as possible to do the same. There is no reason to regulate them more, and in fact regulations that exist are being relaxed because of the absence of real justification for them as lasers now start being integrated into more consumer products. The path to safety is education, not regulation. Suggesting the wearing of goggles that block out all of the light is ridiculous when the entire reason for operating the laser is to see the beam.

LSOs are not "mainly used in laser shows". They are mainly used in industry and hospitals, to control access to beams by ignorant people and to mitigate against exposure to frivolous lawsuits. Class 4 lasers go all the way from 500mW to 20kW of laser beam power. There's no way that all the regulations put in place for 20kW are necessary for 500mW.

That's not to say laser light isn't to be respected. When the flashlight doesn't turn on right away, people point it toward their face and try again. Don't do that with any laser!!! Don't play with animals with lasers >5mW. Start with low power lasers and work your way up, learning about them as you go. Always know what the beam hits at the end and that it can handle the power there. Don't point it anywhere there might be eyes. Don't let your friends handle it, or put anything into the beam.

 

[Dr. Mario]

Sorry about grave-diggin'.

Anyhow, I have a 520nm direct-diode green handheld laser (emphasizing "handheld laser" rather than "laser pointer", since it's obviously a class IIIb laser), just for the coolness factor of a true Gallium-Nitride laser diode. I may also eventually use it for optical experiments (such as holography imaging).

And, yes, if you have Osram or Nichia green diodes in the "laser pointer"-ese setup, the red-colored laser goggles are a must. This is one insanely bright laser diode I have ever accquired!

Building and owning a DIY laser is gray-area in terms of laws but if you ever try to point your homemade laser, no matter how ugly it is, at the planes or any moving lights in the sky, the cops will be more than happy confiscating you and the laser both.

 

[Arilou]

Green lasers aren't that unsafe, because you can actually see how bright it is. 650 nm or 405 nm is a lot more dangerous, because it doesn't look that bright, and can be a lot more powerful than it seems. I accidently got myself in the eye with one of those, and it was bad. You really really don't want to do that.

 

[Dr. Mario]

True.

However, that's dependent on optical power (the Osram diode in my green laser's set at 70mW), and longer / shorter wavelength than green area of eye sensitivity (560 - 500nm) can be intimidating to our eyesight, like 808nm pump diode in DPSS - it would look dimmer at 200mW compared to 1mW 670nm light but if brought under any digital camera, it would be blinding bright to the camera. That's one thing that anyone buying the laser that's clearly labeled Infrared and/or Ultraviolet should know how to treat them with respect.

And some lab DPSS lasers are capable of high-energy pulsed output - the materials will behave very strangely toward that time definition of pulsed laser light, and you don't want your eyeballs to be the material being shone upon.