Lasers
From CPFWiki
Laser evaluations at The LED Museum: http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/led/menutop.htm#27 (wait for the page to load completely)
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Safety
Remember: LASERS SHOULD BE HANDLED LIKE WEAPONS. Which means that you must at all times be fully aware of where the barrel is pointing at: you must evaluate whether the beam will hit eyes, any reflective surface that could lead the beam to eyes (eg calm water surface), or areas where people might be sitting (eg a darkened window, a cockpit), or heat up material (the darker the material, the more likely it will absorb light energy and heat up).
Here's some YouTube vids on how NOT to do it:
Safety links
- http://www.ansi.org/news_publications/news_story.aspx?menuid=7&articleid=2594
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety
- Sticky thread
- "Despeckling" Green pointer/cleaning...
- Is laser light polarized?
- FDA page
- Laser Light Shows
- Illuminating the Hazards of Powerful Laser Products
- Consumer Safety Alert: Internet Sales of Laser Products
Class IIIb and class IV laser light show projectors, identified as such on the label, may only be sold by or to individuals or firms with current, approved laser light show variances from FDA. Laser products that are advertised as uncertified components may only be sold to other manufacturers and may not be sold to the public for general use.
- Illuminating Facts About Laser Pointers
- Safety page (Wicked Lasers)
- Laser Safety (Laser Community
- http://www.pangolin.com/faa/laser-pointer_distance_table.htm
Experimenting with lasers
Some ideas
- http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3338883
- http://www.dragonlasers.com/catalog/Diffraction-Gratings-price0-p-1-c-276.html (no commercial link intended - if someone knows a general link, that's ok)
- http://www.lasercommunity.com/lc_view_project.php?aid=17
- http://www.lasercommunity.com/101-laser-experiments-t9047.html
- A Practical Guide to Lasers for Experimenters and Hobbyists, FAQ
YouTube videos
Open questions
Q: what eye-related optical effects exist when viewing lasers? Eg
- there's a ring around the hotspot, approx. outside the corona, that disappears when covering the hot spot to look at the corona
- little specks in the whole room (interference effects)
- how to take care of a laser unit, why:
- temperature
- moisture
- shocks
- how to measure light output
