Wicked Lasers Introduces Handheld One-Watt Green Laser

First time accepted submitter (and Slashdot coder) cogent writes "Wicked Lasers, famous for last year's 1000mW handheld blue laser, and infamous for its handling of six-month-long backorders, is now selling a green version. There are three power levels, each priced at $1/mW (300mW, 500mW, 1000mW). Since the eye is far more sensitive to green than to blue, this is pretty much the state of the art in putting-dots-on-stuff technology. Wicked Lasers sent out an email promising to handle backorders much better this time." Adds reader whitedsepdivine: "There is currently no disclaimer that this is not a lightsaber on their site, so we can only assume that this version is."

Comments

you don't want this

[vijayiyer]

As cool as this is, you really don't want one. Specular reflections off other surfaces can blind you instantly. There's no way to actually hand hold it with it powered in any remotely safe manner. If it doesn't terrify you, you don't know what you're dealing with, and if it does, you probably don't want one.

Re:you don't want this

[Anonymous Coward]

"If it doesn't terrify you, you don't know what you're dealing with, and if it does, you probably don't want one."

Well, I actually have a 2.5W blue laser, but yes - it terrifies me and I treat it with the respect it deserves, wear proper eye protection, keep body parts away from it, and only operate it in a safe/controlled environment with no 'random people' around. The people calling it a 'light saber' scare the bloody crap out of me, as if its some 'cool toy'. A 1W laser is about as much of a 'toy' as an AK47 or a flamethrower, and deserves every bit of proper training and handling as those do.

Re:you don't want this

[kimvette]

I have wanted one for the longest time but have resisted for precisely the reasons you cited. All it takes is one bystander to glance at the reflection even from a distance, and they're injured for life. It's not worth it even for such a fantastically fun toy.

I've been thinking about a 70mW-90mW laser for a while but even that poses a high risk of injury even at a significant distance.

(obligatory WARNING: DO NOT STARE INTO LASER WITH REMAINING EYE.)

Re:you don't want this

[Alef]

I work lasers on a daily basis. At 1000 mW, I would avoid looking even at a diffuse reflex at any reasonably close distance. I would never handle one of those without protective glasses and it mounted towards a beam stop.

Re:you don't want this

[TheRaven64]

A 1W laser is about as much of a 'toy' as an AK47 or a flamethrower

So, you mean it's not a toy, it's a really fun toy?

Re:you don't want this

[TheLink]

Yeah it's like an easily concealed fully-automatic machine gun that can fire continuously for one to two hours till the battery runs out, with an "effective range" of up to 149 metres (see NOHD).

AND any idiot/scum with 1000 bucks can buy it and use it, no need for a license or training.

It doesn't actually do direct lethal damage but anyone who thinks this is fine is either stupid or ignorant (or is already blind and has no nonblind entities he/she cares about).

There are already idiots/scum with high powered lasers. In one case, some spectators were shining high powered lasers at the opposing team's players in football match. I'm not sure how high powered they were, but those players certainly noticed and complained. They eventually lost the match, but I don't blame them, I would refuse to play in such conditions. I would actually recommend that the match be called off or boycotted. Not worth permanent eye damage.

Re:you don't want this

[Anonymous Coward]

The comment about proper eye protection is naive. Eye protection for a 1W green laser would only protect against attenuated reflections. Such a laser should only be operated inside an appropriate enclosure, or in a closed room while mounted in a fixed position below eye level with now reflective surfaces in the room. There would need to be appropriate signage on the doors to the room.

No one who cannot calculate Nominal Hazard Zones should be making decisions about operating the laser.

Re:you don't want this

[kimvette]

I've lusted after 1000mW diodes for a long time with the idea of programming beam splitters, mirrors and the like to produce laser shows for parties and family events but it's just too dangerous for close quarters. Kids will insist on playing with them, or if I goof, or anything fails, the idea of blinding someone is scary.

I do need a brighter pointer for astronomy (easier aiming of telescopes and cameras, pointing objects out to others, etc) and 1000mW would be perfect for that (a nice bright clear beam even in low-dust conditions) but the risk of dropping it or a chance reflection off an insect, bat, bird, etc. is just too great because at that level a close range reflection would mean near instant blindness. Even the 70mW-90mW (WL has a 75mW model) is a bit much, but 25mW might not be enough and if you go 50mW, why not go for 75mW for $10 more?

I'd love to play with a 1000mW laser, but since you can't look at the specular reflections, or objects you aim it at without protection, what's the point? What can you safely do with it once you pop a balloon with it, or light a book of matches or burn a wasps' nest? The fun would die out pretty quickly. You can't cut steel with it, you can't weld with it, or really do anything practical with it, and it'd be a boring toy once you've experienced the novelty of popping a balloon or two from across a field using nothing but a beam of light and find there isn't anything you can safely use it for.

Re:you don't want this

[Amouth]

Those who do can go fill in paperwork and registration forms - no different from guns (not that that is working out particularly well in a market that's flooded with the things).

i think the part that is different here is that the average Joe views a gun as a dangerous weapon - one that if i pull the trigger i have the chance to alter someones life and i'm responsible for it.

the average Joe views a laser pointer as a toy.

this product is anything but a toy - and anyone who teats it as such will pay the consequences (along with the people around them).

While i'm against laws preventing me from owning something like this (or a gun, which i don't currently), I'm all for mandatory safety training & certification. If there was a machine that had something like this on it in Industry - there would be safety training, and that is for people who deal with them on a daily basis (same as cops and guns). The fact that we let the average Joe with no training go wild with it is just irresponsible, and sadly it is more likely the people around this person who will pay for it.

Re:you don't want this

[drolli]

I fully agree. I (being a physicist) can not imagine any purpose for this laser outside a firmly mounted case inside a lab or workshop.

If you write on the lase: don't point it to aircrafts, then this is exactly what some asshats are going to do.

Re:you don't want this

[SleazyRidr]

I think the issue is that everyone knows that guns are dangerous, so they get treated with respect. People think of laser pointers as especially cool flashlights, while they are as dangerous as a gun to someone's eyesight. Sure, they do have the small warning box near the bottom of the product page, but the title reads "Green Laser Pointer...", so you know these'll get bought by people who don't realise what they can do.

Re:Might add a warning...

[n5vb]

I would add avoiding *scattered* light to the list of warnings. (It has a BRH Class 4 warning label, which does include that wording.) A bit safer perhaps than other wavelengths because your eye responds with very high sensitivity to 532nm green (so you're not in *quite* as much danger as you would be from short-wavelength blue or, far worse, UV), but you definitely want to be wearing 532nm notch filter glasses with side shields as even looking at the beam spot on a white (and non-specularly-reflecting) surface could give cause fairly rapid eye damage. (And you can't control who's staring at the beam spot in most cases.) Note: The beam spot of my 40mW DPSS laser is significantly brighter than I'm comfortable looking at for long..

(Wicked also has pretty emphatic warnings in the manual about never aiming it at satellites. Me, I wouldn't want to be the guy who gets sued by or faces criminal charges from the operators of a commercial or government LEO satellite whose sensors are damaged by one of these. Goes at least double for whoever tries to show off to the ISS crew .. not a good idea.)

Counts as a weapon and is highly dangerous

[gweihir]

Take care that this counts as a weapon in many countries and possession without a matching laser-permit can land you in jail. Here you need a permit for any laser class 3 or above, i.e. > 5mW. Also it is very easy to permanently blind someone with this thing by reflection only. If you are stupid enough to point it at a flying airplane or helicopter (quite a few people are), you will go down either as a terrorist or for attempted murder. Or with this thing likely for completed murder as most helicopters and quite a few airplanes do not have a second pilot. Pointing it at a moving car can have the same effect. It is quite amoral to sell these to normal people.

Re:Might add a warning...

[SomePgmr]

I'm normally the first guy to say, "oh leave people be", but this kind of thing is one where I think I'd be happier with a person having to have some kind of minor license to buy one... if only to just create some token hurdle to ownership.

The problem with lasers is that, whereas everyone knows how dangerous a firearm can be... people tend to treat lasers like toys with no consequences. "Yeah, yeah, don't shine it in anyones eyes... got it." But I have never seen someone wear eye protection when using one, much less making sure everyone for miles around had eye protection when they're shining it through windows, at passing cars, etc. And they're coming down in price so any goofball can screw around with pretty powerful ones.

Maybe it's time to make sure people buying these things really understand how bad they can screw up with these devices in just a moment of bad decision making? And I don't mean clicking "I Agree" to a paragraph on a website that they didn't read. Maybe something more like a amateur radio test?

For me, it's awkward talking favorably about regulation. Maybe I'm overly concerned about something that isn't really an issue.

Re:what the heck are these for?

[gweihir]

There is no legitimate use. I have a 4mW green laser pointer, and that is clearly visible in daylight and quite enough. The only use I see is as an anti-personnel and anti-aircraft weapon. In quite a few countries possession only will land you in jail. And there are quite a few stupid scumbags that point these at airplanes or helicopters for fun. One went down for several years here recently for pointing it at an ambulance helicopter in flight. That is 4 times attempted murder. (pilot, EMT, doctor, patient). Quite even making the pilot unable to fly safely for 15 minutes can kill the patient. You can do that with a much smaller laser already.

Re:Might add a warning...

[RichardJenkins]

NO, it's a damn weapon. If you're out walking the streets with this, the police should be about as suspicious as if you're walking around with a kitchen knife in your pocket.

Re:Might add a warning...

[NoSleepDemon]

I'm almost certain that someone in my town has something similar to one of these. My apartment's fairly high up overlooking a couple of main roads and residential neighbourhoods, and one afternoon I was watching TV when I was hit by an extremely bright green light that seemed to come from somewhere down the road, and which then briefly filled my whole vision. It wasn't a particularly pleasant affair, luckily whatever dickhead was shining it around didn't keep it in one spot for long. They really ought to be classed as weapons - it only takes one careless turd to wave one of these at a set of flats / office / condo and you've got a good chance of flashing someone in the eyes.

Re:Might add a warning...

[smellsofbikes]

But I have never seen someone wear eye protection when using one, much less making sure everyone for miles around had eye protection when they're shining it through windows, at passing cars, etc. And they're coming down in price so any goofball can screw around with pretty powerful ones.

FWIW when I bought the 350mW laser I'm using on my CNC mill to do marking and drill soldermask stencils, I'd already purchased a set of laser goggles designed for that wavelength, and always wear them when it's powered up. The reason I did that is because I've worked in three high-power laser labs, two commercial and one academic, and in all three at least one coworker had partial blindness from an unintended exposure. (In two of those, the person had been wearing laser glasses, and had just gotten unlucky with a specular reflection off a tool sitting on a desk that deflected the beam upwards between the edge of the glasses and the person's cheek, which is why I got against-the-skin-all-the-way-around goggles.) One dubious benefit to high power lasers in private hands is that it'll most likely be the owner's eyes that get fried in the reasonably short term.