Laser and Eye Protection

[Nake]

I thought I'd do some reading on this Laser forum to see what it was about. I've been reading for about an hour and something still isn't clear to me. If I was playing around with say, a 100mW green laser without an IR filter, I would need eye protection even if it wasn't pointed in my direction? What about the same rated laser with an IR filter?

 

[Cdawg]

ill take the opportunity to also ask.
after a day of playing with my laser, hours later i have a horrible, headache. my green laser never passed over my eye, an i still have 20/20 vision.

can you get light overexposure or anything form seeing the bright green light. especially if your eyes arnt use to it

 

[Hemlock Mike]

YES

Mike

 

[Nake]

I think I'll stick with Crees and Seouls. Only negative is black spots for ten minutes.

 

[Timelord]

You only get one set of eyes mate so look after them

 

[Ashton]

If you want to be completely technical, then, no, in a perfect world under laboratory conditions you do not 'need' goggles to protect your sight (though as with the guy above, you may get a headache)

However, we dont live in the world of marmalade skies and marshmallow clouds, in our world you might be aiming at a black match and hit a window, which coudl cause a partial reflection to bounce and hit you in the eye. Thus, it's best to ALWAYS wear protective goggles.

 

[SenKat]

Everything has reflective capabilities - anytime you mess with a laser over 5mw, and have your eyes open - you really should wear eye protection. It's kinda like saying you only need ear protection for a 50caliber, and anything less than that you don't.

 

[instinct]

Didn't someone know a really good place to get cheap goggles?

 

[allthatwhichis]

Cheap is relative... WL has a pair of 532/488 on their site for $50... I think it was $65 with shipping. Works well with both green and blue (473 and 488) I also got their 600 to 690 for my red off eBay for $50 shipped... I sould not find the red ones at WL's site though.

 

[Ashton]

If you look through the stickies I think there's a thread stating you can but goggles for like $10 a pair form one online retailer (cant tell you which one though, havn't read it for several weeks)

 

[instinct]

If you look through the stickies I think there's a thread stating you can but goggles for like $10 a pair form one online retailer (cant tell you which one though, havn't read it for several weeks)

that's what i was talking about.. but i don't see it in the stickies thread. I'll guess i'll just keep searching some more.

 

[beglobal]

I think it will be very useful for all of us.
I want to know more about What things could damage our eyes to avoid them

Ivancin

 

[Apex007]

that's what i was talking about.. but i don't see it in the stickies thread. I'll guess i'll just keep searching some more.

This is the thread I started recently about the Dewalt glasses that you may be referring to: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=150049

 

[instinct]

This is the thread I started recently about the Dewalt glasses that you may be referring to: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=150049

thank you so much that was it!

 

[Ashton]

I'm a little concerned... IIRC, dont red goggles block green light and blue goggle block red light? (what blocks blue light I wonder...) So wouldn't these red goggles be worthless for red laserlight?

Also, the site does NOT mention any OD specs on them, so I'm not 100% sure they're really laser-safety goggles.

I'm not trying to knock the site, it looks like a DAMN good deal! however, I, for one, plan to work mainly with red lasers, so I'm concerned about the protection offered for red light.

 

[instinct]

I'm a little concerned... IIRC, dont red goggles block green light and blue goggle block red light? (what blocks blue light I wonder...) So wouldn't these red goggles be worthless for red laserlight?

Also, the site does NOT mention any OD specs on them, so I'm not 100% sure they're really laser-safety goggles.

I'm not trying to knock the site, it looks like a DAMN good deal! however, I, for one, plan to work mainly with red lasers, so I'm concerned about the protection offered for red light.

I am looking to block green light.. we'll see how well they work.

 

[Bimmerboy]

Don't even THINK about getting these goggles with red lasers. This type is always advertised as red enhancing! They are designed to assist you in seeing the laser level, which is quite low in power.

What this implies, is that they are NOT designed for blocking green lasers. They were, I repeat, not made with the thought of blocking green lasers in mind, and I highly doubt there is any data on them for the 532nm wavelength.

From the research I've done, green blocking glasses come in different colored lenses. I've seen dark brown, dark red, pink, and a couple other colors and/or shades that I can't recall offhand. What this says, is that lens color is not the primary factor in creating optical density at a particular wavelength. It must be something else.

The logical question that follows is, how is it done then? That's the next subject I'll be looking into in order to get real information. But, in the meantime, it's a reasonable assumption to guess that optical density is created by way of specific formulations of chemicals to achieve that goal. It's quite likely that very few people know what goes into those formulations, and that's what I'm aiming to find out, if possible.

Long story short... these glasses are not designed to protect you for what you want to use them for.