Laser Pointers

Commercial laser pointers appeared approximately 15 years ago. At first they were big and heavy. Their use was exclusive to a few proffessions such as educators who found them useful for teaching. As time passed, laser pointers became smaller and more powerful. Today, regular laser pointers can be purchased for five dollars in Radio Shack or even cheaper depending on the dealer.

With their affordable price came not only millions of happy educators, but also numerous malicious users. In the United States, pointing a laser at a police officer or driver is illegal. Could this be an overreaction? The short answer is no. While laser pointers are ideal for many different purposes, they can also cause damage to the human retina. The reason is complicated, and won't be discussed here. Nevertheless, many accidents have ocurred as a direct cause of a laser being pointed at a person.

The continuous improvement of laser pointers is becoming dangerous. Currently, green light lasers are being manufactured and distributed all over the world. They are fifty times more powerful than the red laser we are all used to. Their 532 nm wavelength is much more powerful than the laughable red light laser 650 nm wavelength. Despite numerous attempts by different governments to stop their production and distribution, they are still being sold by many different sources today. On a side note, I purchased mine for $70. While having a laser may be dangerous, how could I write an informative article without the actual product?

With green laser pointers, the beam of light can actually be seen. This is opposed to the red light laser where one can only see the red point at the end. A green laser can reach more than 2.5km during night, and much more during ideal extreme darkness conditions. In fact, pointing at stars is a common practice of the green laser pointer. Now that you have your feet wet, it is time you begin learning more about lasers - the way they work, why they are harmful and how to get the most out of them.