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OhioGuy
Elite Laser
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 174
Location: Ohio, U.S.
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 Posted: 10/12/05, 5:32 PM Post subject: Use of &qu |
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I've used a pair of inexpensive ($14) red polycarbonate laser "enhancement" glasses for eye protection, and was wondering if these are really lacking in protection or not. To elaborate, these are sold as "enhancement" glasses to enhance the beam of a red laser often used in construction for alignment. They are red, though no Optical Density specifications were available for them. I notice when using them with a 75mW Phoenix greenie, that the beam becomes completely invisible, as does the reflected ambient brightness. The dot, on say a white wall several feet away, is easily seen as a faint, though readily viewable dot with no corona; very comfortable to light matches with, etc.
Based on this non-quantitative description, does anyone care to comment on the advisability and safety of this? |
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Nexus
Wicked Lasers Master
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 756
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| Posted: 10/12/05, 8:54 PM Post subject: |
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If the dot becomes and fainter and the beam is invisble, I'd say it is offering some sort of protection. Of course, we recommend our specially designed 532nm goggles that specifically block the green laser light.
Best Regards |
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fr0ng
25mW Classic Wicked Laser
Joined: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 30
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| Posted: 10/12/05, 10:31 PM Post subject: |
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| You only get one pair of eyes...spend the extra money to make sure you don't accidentally damage them. People don't understand that misuse of these pens can result in lifelong injuries. Its not fun, trust me. |
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nero_design
Wicked Lasers God
Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 1463
Picture(s): 98
Movie(s): 1
Location: Australia
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| Posted: 10/12/05, 11:12 PM Post subject: |
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For starpointing you won't need (or want to use) 532nm glasses with a green laser but for indoor use... yes, you'll probably want to consider them. Glasses need to be manufactured for the same wavelength of the laser you are using. 532nm is to protect against a rather specific shade of 532nm green laser. These same glasses would therefore be fairly useless with say a blue argon laser. They're really just a avoid accidents should anyone point their laser at a reflective surface.
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Regards,
Marco Nero
* Laser Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/nero_design/pro1wickedlasers
* Always use appropriate laser-safe eyewear when using higher powered lasers. |
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Athoul
Wicked Lasers God
Joined: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 7539
Location: Canada
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| Posted: 10/13/05, 12:06 AM Post subject: |
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Also in the higher power units, particularily in the 50mW + units, you have to consider the IR output that might be in the beam as well. While the color of the glasses you wear might make the beam look dimmer, the IR might still be getting through! Therefore I would have to recommend buying the specified glasses and not go for a cheap alternative...even though we all would like too.
cheers, |
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OhioGuy
Elite Laser
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 174
Location: Ohio, U.S.
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| Posted: 10/13/05, 3:41 AM Post subject: |
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| Athoul wrote: |
Also in the higher power units, particularily in the 50mW + units, you have to consider the IR output that might be in the beam as well. While the color of the glasses you wear might make the beam look dimmer, the IR might still be getting through! Therefore I would have to recommend buying the specified glasses and not go for a cheap alternative...even though we all would like too.
cheers, |
Don't these lasers incorporate an IR filter to filter out nonvisible, damaging radiation? Or are you saying that there is still some small fraction of IR radiation that passes through the filter and would be invisible to the eye? But if this is true, the ideal safety glasses for this application must filter at IR frequencies as well as 532 nm. And I thought I recalled when looking at the optical density vs. wavelength graph of these glasses that there was no particular filtering at the IR region. ? |
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Nexus
Wicked Lasers Master
Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 756
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| Posted: 10/13/05, 8:37 AM Post subject: |
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The ideal protection is triple coated glasses, 532nm, 1064nm, and 808nm, because there are trace, i mean less than a milliwatt amounts of invisible radiation being emitted at the same time as the green laser light. However, to get triple coated would push the cost of the goggles over the cost of a laser, and therfore, we didn't invest in those.
Best Regards |
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Davidgojr
Wicked Lasers Master
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 768
Location: USA
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| Posted: 10/13/05, 3:19 PM Post subject: |
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Keep in mind that IR light is reflected by glassy surfaces. If anyone has ever seen night vision pictures from an IR scope in total darkness, you will know that you cannot see through windows since IR radiation is reflected. Therefore, it's possible that even if some small amount of IR light made it past the filter, your goggles might block out the rest.
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