Ok, Who Got the New Techie Toy for Christmas?

[billroper]

This article discusses a couple of recent (as in post-Christmas) incidents of someone shining a laser into the cockpit of a plane. (I heard about it on the radio this morning.) The government is worried that this might be terrorists.

Maybe. I, on the other hand, would start checking the catalogs that sell high-end toys for techies to see which of them are selling lasers that would fit the description of the offending beams. I think several somebodies got a new toy for Christmas and didn't realize that they could actually hit the airplane with it.

Never underestimate what a techie will do with Somebody Else's Airplane.

Comments

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

this link from polyfrog's journal shows (a) a site that was selling lasers that might be a real problem for planes (I don't know enough about the subject to determine how much the beam would spread or be attenuated by the distance from ground to airplane, but it would certainly blind people at close range), (b) said site has closed in the last couple of days because of these stories, (c) it includes a link to another story reporting 6 incidents in the last few days.

I think it's almost certain that the people pointing the lasers at planes are idiots rather than terrorists, but that won't keep either the government from ramming draconian regulations through or would-be manufacturers to pull their products off the market to cover their own asses. So once again, a few idiots who make the news cause all of us to lose a little more of our freedom, and once again, the only people who will care are the few who would actually want to use that freedom responsibly -- such a small minority that their rights can be stolen safely.

Laser danger classes

[vampirdaddy.livejournal.com]

A brief overview. None of those is regulated at all in Germany - but insurances insist on the following rules if you want some protection/reimbursement:

Class 1 - harmless. But usually not found except inside CD and DVD equipment. Usually rated <0.5 mW (milliWatt).

Class 2 - can cause burns in the retina if looking directly into the beam for more than 1/4 second - usually less than 1 mW. Usually found in the "laser pointer" devices. Laser protection goggles are a must, as are a key-operated switch, a mechanical block and it is not allowed to operate such Must be used in a sealed lab (with "Laser in Action" warning sign) by persons with at least 10 hors of on-system instructions.

Class 3 - invisible class2, or visible that can cause retina burns even when coming from a brief reflex (e.g. beam bouncing off a glass), skin damage from direct or otpical reflex possible. I'm not sure on this, maybe 20 or 50 mW. See above, plus lab door must be equipped with breaker curcuit that shuts off laser when door opens. Operators need at least 20 hours instructions to each system.

Class 4 - the open class. Diffuse reflex (from wall, floor, sand, whatever) can cause permanent damage to eye or skin. See above plus protective clothing, 40 hours operator training.


*ALL* systems are freely, unrestricted available. Some "normal" Laserpointers reach class 3. I myself have worked with all classes. The class4 was a Nd:YAG with 20W (-equivalent) of averaged light power - your desktop lamp is 2-5 times more powerful. But the laser was pulsed, which gives 1J per pulse, an equivalent of 5-10GW/sq.in. (yes, 5 GIGAwatts per square inch), which is enough to vaporize steel in a few nanoseconds. Direct, short (nanosecond) hit into the eye is instantly terminal for eyesight within 800km if you INCLUDE diffusion and absorption effects through the atmosphere. Remember: this is "only" a 20W laser...

Back to the article: pulsating green - could be a laserdiode (classes 1-4), a He:Ne-Laser (classes 1-4, but usually only continuous), a CU-vapor (usually class 4) or Nd:YAG (see above, usually class 4). So I'd say the pilots were lucky.

I personally know one person that has seen a full (1J, avg. 20W) green Nd:YAG reflex on a matte black-painted concrete wall - unprotected (without laser goggles). For maximum 3 nanoseconds. Luckily the reflex was not in front of him but more to the side, so he still has 80% sight on the *other* eye...