Lost in Cyberspace

I usually read and post in the LED section but I've decided to learn about lasers. I somehow found myself in the marketplace section of the site and ended up registering as a new users thinking the format had changed. Talk about getting turned around Well, I'm back in familiar territory and looking forward to learning about lasers. I was shocked and disturbed to read in the News that a pilot at JFK had his vision hurt by a green laser aimed from the ground. I have always been impressed by the people who post and moderate this site, so I can't wait to get started. Frank

You are supposed to register as a new user when you go check out the marketplace. Just, the marketplace is too easy to get lost in because there is so much cool stuff there! There are a few links in candlepowerforums.com that take you to some of the subforums of the cpfmarketplace.com forums.

Lasers are dangerous not because of their power, but because of how small of a dot a laser can be focused down to, and the eye is very good at focusing things onto our retinas. If you want to get into lasers, I'd recommend starting with a <5mW 532nm (green) pen. They are bright enough to be more impressive than any drugstore laser keychain, and are more of a "classical" laser than a red, blue, or violet laser.