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Gov't Report: Laser Pointers Produce Too Much Energy, Pose Risk For the Careless
coondoggie writes "Commercial grade green and red laser pointers emit energy far beyond what is safe, posing skin, eye and fire hazards. That was the conclusion of a National Institute of Standards and Technology study on the properties of handheld lasers. The study tested 122 of the devices and found that nearly 90% of green pointers and about 44% of red pointers tested were out of federal safety regulation compliance."
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"The study tested 122 of the devices and found that nearly 90% of green pointers and about 44% of red pointers tested were out of federal safety regulation compliance."
So blue lasers are safe then?
In other news, a report reports that automobiles produce too much energy and poses risks, including death, for the careless.
No sig. Move along - nothing to see here.
Obligatory xkcd http://what-if.xkcd.com/13/
Sometimes it's better not having signature
"We need more testing in this field, particularly on that white wall over there."
...buy lots of laser pointers.
This makes me soooo want to buy laser pointers I don't need, just because I may soon not be able to.
How unsafe would a cluster of these be...
now I just need some hydrogen balloons.
are we supposed to fight the sharks?
Just claim to be a member of the NRA and any attempt by the gummint to lower power is infringing your 2nd amendment rights.
It's the NLA, the National LASER Association, and we do have a serious lobbying effort underway.
If the founding fathers had had lasers, then they'd have done fine without France's support.
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ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
In a similar report, we've found that 100% of lighters, knives, crampons and Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifles are outside tolerable limits for safety.
Seriously, you'll shoot your eye out, kid.
This signature is false.
No. Fuck this shit. I move that every citizen of the USA shall receive from the government one glock 9 mm pistol, one box of hollow point ammunition, one multi-watt laser pointer, one... no, make that TWO extremely fucking dangerous magnets, and a big fucking bucket of fireworks, to do with as they please. In one year, the survivors can get together and discuss additional regulation. :-/
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
The government regulators have no desire to prevent you from buying or selling higher power lasers. They do care when you lie to your customers and tell them the lasers are less dangerous than they actually are. They care when you use shoddy manufacturing that allows harmful IR to escape the casing, while again telling the customer that they are completely shielded against this. If these lasers worked as advertized, then there wouldn't be a problem. Alternately if they were sold as class 3B devices (which is what they effectively are) there would be no problem, as the purchasers would know the risks and could plan accordingly. But they weren't and the manufacturers/importers should be held responsible for their recklessness.
Not so much that...as that it seems the govt. figures we are all fucking idiots that can't be trusted with our own judgment to use anything more dangerous than a butter knife, or maybe those rounded edge scissors we all got in first grade.
I sure miss lawn darts and clackers and....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
it seems the govt. figures we are all fucking idiots that can't be trusted with our own judgment to use anything more dangerous than a butter knife, or maybe those rounded edge scissors we all got in first grade
I think thats pretty accurate for how a very large number of people in the country should be treated. I definitely don't want a lot of people I know with a commercial laser, as I do like my eyesight. I have a 500 lumen flashlight (its really really bright in a tightly focused beam) and the number of people I told "don't point it at your face because its incredibly bright", that did exactly that is astounding. When I asked why? their response was its only a flashlight... I've seen several people do that with lasers too. Not to mention that is the governments targeted mentality with their current form of "education".
The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand. - Frank Herbert
Your apprehension reminds me of this article: Russian concert laser show blinds 30
"Simply" changing the level?
A LOT of things are different whenever you change levels. For instance, Class I devices do not need emission indicators. But higher powered lasers do need emission indicators. In fact, they need fail-safe emission indicators, which typically means using two LEDs and two current limiting resistors and two GPIO pins on your microcontroller. Not only that, but the color of the emission indicator must be substantially different from the emissions themselves, so that an operator wearing safety glasses can still see the indicator light up.
Plus, there's that whole product report thing that you have to send to the FDA's CDRH. I'm not entirely sure but it's probably a felony to put false statements into the Initial Product Report.
:(){
Well, thank you so very much for that link. I'd never before heard of "what-if.xkcd.com" and I am pleased to become a fan. I like the thinking and calculation* that went into that article. (* I am a fan of arithmetic and of calculating whatever I can whenever I can, as any review of my posts would show you. Recent example: Amazing! 4513 bytes per neuron per data-entry showing that the average data-cube per neuron is a cube of 16 pixels on the side for monochromatic laser, or a cube of 11 pixels edge-length if three different color lasers are used for data acquisition)
... by-standards ...
I'm not standard. I'm a special unique snowflake no matter where I stand!
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
are we supposed to fight the sharks?
Just claim to be a member of the NRA and any attempt by the gummint to lower power is infringing your 2nd amendment rights.
It's the NLA, the National LASER Association, and we do have a serious lobbying effort underway.
If the founding fathers had had lasers, then they'd have done fine without France's support.
We of the NRGA (National Rail Gun Association) salute you.
I'll see your 30 round clip and raise you 10 pounds of 10 penny finishing nails.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
"KNOWS MOST of us are fucking idiots".
After all, how else can they explain how they got elected.
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
I bought an overpowered green laser "pointer" because it seemed neat-o. I keep it in a safe with my firearms, primarily because I have young children. The laser has zero practical value, although it is fun to pop dark-colored balloons with.
I have learned that anytime I show it to someone, if I let them handle it, they do something stupid with it. No matter how much I try to explain the importance of behaving responsibly, people don't get it.
From XKCD What-If #13:
Ah, in favor of tyranny - what a surprise. You'll be glad to know you're not alone - intellectuals have been speaking the same words as you, but calling it Coercive Paternalism instead so it sounds good.
"In this book, Sarah Conly rejects the idea of autonomy as inviolable. Thus in many cases it would advance our goals more effectively if government were to prevent us from acting in accordance with our decisions. Her argument challenges widely held views of moral agency, democratic values and the public/private distinction, and will interest readers in ethics, political philosophy, political theory and philosophy of law."
No more freedom because we might make choices that Sarah Conly disagrees with. What was that bit in George Orwell's seminal tract on tyranny, Animal Farm?
"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
it's actually quite useful for pointing out stars and dark sky features.
I'm not a big fan of guns being easily available to all, but in my opinion guns have more practical/reasonable uses than high powered handheld lasers.
Yes you can use those lasers to point at stuff in the sky. And get yourself in big trouble if an aircraft happens to be in the area. I say use a lighted extendable stick instead.
With guns, you can't shoot continuously for minutes. With lasers you can. If you pick the right scenario (everyone looking at the same area) you can blind a lot of people.
Couldn't a high powered laser be used as a defensive device? If someone tries to rob you, you could blind them, perhaps irreparably. Though a bit macabre, in many cases that might be a better option than simply killing them with a gun (let it be known, though, that if someone broke into my house and I had a laser and a gun... I'd grab the gun).
I bought an overpowered green laser "pointer"
I didn't.
My experience with other people and normal-powered lasers means I wouldn't trust anybody else to have it within a mile of other people's eyes. Constantly having to tell people "no" and "because you're an idiot, that's why" isn't worth it.
No sig today...