Be careful When Using a Laser Pointer

Green laser pointers are quite common in many countries all over the world and they actually have all kinds of applications, which include burning paper, lighting matches and popping balloons, giving lectures at seminars and so on.

However, laser pointers also bring harm and injuries to some people and wrong usage and carelessness are always the primary causes for those injuries. The laser beam is radioactive and harmful to the retina of human eyes. Many accidents have occurred since the laser pointer was put into the market. For example, a USA teenager was put into the prison for 15 months in 2010 after he pointed a green pointer at an airplane. Any pointing at the airplanes is dangerous, and the pilot usually has no idea what the green dot is and the crews usually misunderstand it. The green dot is extremely dangerous to the plane, which causes severe security problems sometimes. There is another example: in 2000, the Japan Consumer Information Center said that it had received reports of 14 cases about laser pointers since 1997.

Laser pointers can cause most severe hurt to the human eyes. Professionals say that the laser beams will leave afterimages in people’s vision, which can cause temporary vision loss and bring damages to the retinas and nerves. Besides, extremely powerful laser gadgets are harmful to the skin. The high power laser pointers also burn your skin as long as it can burn metal. So when you have children at home, you should let them stay away from the lasers, because laser pointer is not really a toy for kids.

Many governments in the world regulate some rules to decrease or eliminate the accidents or tragedies about the abuse or misuse of lasers. The Australian government announced a ban on importing of lasers which emit a beam stronger than 1mW in 2008. All laser pointers above 1mW are illegal to sell in UK. In the USA, any laser above 5mW requires a safety lock or other safety features.

In short, powerful laser pointers indeed bring some injuries to you or the surrounding people. You should read the safety instructions after purchasing a laser pointer and obey them. At the same time, taking some protective measures in advance is absolutely necessary and do not look directly at the laser beam forever.