http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blog...een-laser-124347171--abc-news-topstories.html
hmmm..what kinda lasers do this? Not laser pointers, right?
Who would even think of doing that anyway?
Our eyes are most sensitive to the frequencies in the green wavelength. This makes sense, as it's both in the middle of the visible spectrum, as well as the frequency most often reflected by vegetation. Thus, a 5 mW laser in green appears brighter than the same wattage in either red or blue: "The human eye perceives pure green light 800%, 2,000%, and 19,000% brighter than red, blue, and purple light respectively." -
Source
That same source makes near 1 W laser pointers (close to 200 times more powerful than the 5 mW ones used in the classroom). According to them, "Under review by Guinness World Records, the Spyder 3 Krypton is the world's brightest handheld laser. Our Earth's atmosphere ends at 62 miles, but the Krypton goes beyond as it breaks through our atmosphere, into outer space. With its extreme range of 85 miles, the S3 Krypton is the first and only handheld laser visible from outer space. Directly viewing the dot of the Krypton <1W laser (86 million lux) will appear over 8,000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun. Safety goggles are a must."
I saw one in operation two months ago at an outdoor astronomical observation gathering. Unbelievable! I can certainly see how anything more than a split second could inflict eye damage.
