[Laser] Laser Digest, Vol 96, Issue 1

Dave wa4qal at ix.netcom.com
Mon Dec 3 12:12:19 EST 2012


Having stared into a 20 Watt Argon laser, I can tell you that it 
is.....GREEN!
And, a 150 millisecond pulse from such a laser is enough to instantly
cauterize the retina (And, 150 milliseconds is faster than you can blink!).
In my case, fortunately, the laser was wielded by a VERY talented retinal
surgeon, and she had given me some VERY effective drugs.  But, I wouldn't
recommend any of this for general enjoyment.

However, there are some fools out there who have taken the blue laser
from a DVD burner (1-2 Watts?) and are using them to burst balloons,
and light matches from a distance.  That's simply insanity.  There are
also irresponsible companies selling multi-watt Green lasers.

Given that the pilot experienced a temporary vision loss, and that
they had no idea of exactly how much power had been fired at the
cockpit, the prudent action was to get the pilot to a medical facility
as quickly as possible.  The retina of the eye [1] is a very delicate
membrane, and, once damaged, the damage can rapidly spread [2],
if not treated immediately, thus turning a minor bit of damage into
total, complete, permanent blindness.

[1][2] I've been forced to learn about his the hard way.  While moving
a computer, the coiled keyboard cable became stuck, and I gave
it a mighty yank to free it.  Unfortunately, it came loose, and the
connector end slammed squarely into my right eye (Yeah, I was
doing something Real Dumb, and it came back to bite me.).  I didn't
experience any symptoms for 6 weeks.  But, I woke up one morning
to a bunch of floaters in my right eye.  While examining them, I
noticed a blind spot in my peripheral vision, which hadn't been there
before.  Figuring that sudden changes in vision aren't a good thing,
I rushed in to see my ophthalmologist.  He dilated my pupils and
looked into my eyes, then said "I'm not real sure what I'm seeing,
but I don't like it, and since I'm not sure what's going on, we're
going to send you to someone who will.".  A few hours later,
I had an appointment with a retina specialist.  She dilated my
eyes again, and said that I'd hit the jackpot, with a detached
retina, a torn retina, floaters, and a mild cataract.  Then, she
asked me a question which stunned me:  "Have you had anything
to eat today?".  When I replied in the negative, she responded,
"Good.  You're having eye surgery....this afternoon.".  So, the moral
of the story is, if you notice any sudden changes in your vision, any
new floaters, or, I'm told, red flashes, get to an ophthalmologist
IMMEDIATELY (The red flashes are the retina detaching, and, once
detached, it can't be fixed, and will be a permanent blind spot.  Plus,
once one portion detaches, it tends to pull more and more of the
retina away from the back of the eye, leading to greater and greater
permanent vision loss.).  [/1][/2]

Oh, I am not a medical professional, but I have used lasers, in
or form or another, for the past 30 years.

Dave



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