[Laser] Laser Digest, Vol 96, Issue 1

[bernieS]

Dave, I don't think you carefully read the news article I posted, 
which stated it was a USCG crew-member--not a Pilot--who saw some 
light from a ground-based "handheld laser pointer" while riding on a 
jet plane.  This thread topic is not about the danger from 20 Watt 
Argon lasers or multi-watt lasers from DVD players.  It's about the 
USCG making an emergency landing to rush a crew member to a hospital 
emergency room because they saw some light from a "handheld laser" 
pointer at a great distance on a jet 
plane. 
http://www.hstoday.us/channels/us-coast-guard/single-article-page/laser-incident-forces-emergency-landing-of-coast-guard-jet.html

The FAA/USAF video I also posted states, "In the scenario of cockpit 
laser illuminations, permanent physical damage to the eye is highly 
unlikely.  The lasers involved in cockpit laser strikes, for the most 
part, will not cause physical damage to the eye due to variables such 
as length of exposure, intensity, and/or 
proximity." 
http://www.laserpointersafety.com/page52/2009FAAvideo/2009FAAvideo.html

So again, it seems to me that some government authorities (in this 
case USCG, but in most cases, law-enforcement oficials) continue to 
grossly misrepresent the facts and the factual risk of eye damage in 
these aircraft illumination with laser pointer incidents.  The 
concern I expressed here is that if this official laser 
fear-mongering continues to mount unabated, it could lead to 
erroneous crackdowns on amateur LASER DX experimentation.

There's no dispute that sometimes people do really stupid things with 
handheld laser pointers--including pointing them at airplanes.  But 
people in governmental authority positions who claim that extremely 
brief illuminations of airborne jet aircraft by handheld laser 
pointers is a serious risk to eye damage are either misinformed or 
disingenuous--and need to take a remedial class in basic physics.

-bernieS



At 12:12 PM 12/3/2012, Dave wrote:
>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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