These are VERY DANGEROUS and can cause permanent irreversible eye damage for so much as a glance at the beam or a reflection. The reflection doesn't have to be from a mirror either, a wall with a glossy finish, or a car's reflective paint is enough. Here is a story where reflections from tent fabric made 30 people "partially blind"
arsole
New Member
posted: Jun. 29, 2010 @ 10:02a
At less than 5mw these are not powerful enough to cause any real retina damage.
So how safe are these things (the sub-5mW class IIIa version)? They won't burn you. They won't cause permanent eye damage. Tests were performed on individuals who were scheduled to have an eye removed for medical reasons. For the purposes of the test, the eye was normally functioning. Test subjects stared directly at 5 mW lasers with there to-be-removed eye for five to fifteen minutes from various angles. No permanent eye damage occurred. Some changes in tissue were noticed. Of course, in a real-world incident, laser light entering the eye would likely last for less than one second, as people naturally look away from bright things and close their eyes, so there is no real danger of direct damage.
barefoothannibal said: These are VERY DANGEROUS and can cause permanent irreversible eye damage for so much as a glance at the beam or a reflection. The reflection doesn't have to be from a mirror either, a wall with a glossy finish, or a car's reflective paint is enough. Here is a story where reflections from tent fabric made 30 people "partially blind"
Im guessing that the lasers used in that story were much more powerful that 5 mW.
As this is a generic brand, I'm also guessing that it's power is much less than 5mW.
That said, I still recommend safe practices regarding the laser and always treating it like it's a dangerous tool. Temporary blindness for a driver can create very dangerous situations.
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