Is there anybody out there? Man guilty of shining laser pen at police helicopter claims he was hunti

Originally posted by wiredamerican
Shining 1 watt lasers into cockpits does not cause temporary blindness I'm sure.

Obviously you haven't been at the receiving end of a 1 watt laser.. You won't see it very often because most who have one respect it and take caution where they use and aim it. You can literally start a fire with such a laser.. Imagine what it does to a retina. You can get permanent blindness from staring at the dot reflection off a wall (without safety glasses).

So I have to ask...

Why are laser pens widely available?

It seems they are dangerous in the hands of idiots - as are guns - and why are guns widely available?

Used to be a club near me that had a laser show on the roof, think they had to shut it down.

Originally posted by catwhoknowsplusone
So I have to ask...

Why are laser pens widely available?

This is a good question, beyond commercial and scientific uses it is hard to come up with too many reasons.
Some reasons are

- For a business presentation
- Amature astronomy
- Aligning weapons sights
- For hiking or bush survival

To be fair some of the reasons seem more like 'just because' than anything else. They certainly are not necessary to perform any of these tasks but can make life a little easier.

reply to post by pazcat


OK,

We give laser pens and guns to idiots and/or murderers.

Are we totally insane?

There ARE legitimate uses for these lasers.

I use them to collimate my telescope mirrors.

reply to post by 30_seconds


Same here, but it's not one of these high powered ones that start fires and I doubt it would be any use to annoy aircraft.
And it is not necessary but it definetly makes collimation super easy.

Originally posted by pazcat
reply to post by 30_seconds

 

Same here, but it's not one of these high powered ones that start fires and I doubt it would be any use to annoy aircraft.
And it is not necessary but it definetly makes collimation super easy.

Yes a lot of people say why would you need a laser like that.

Well as one manufacture's motto is, "If you have to ask, you'll never understand"

When you first use a portable compact 1 watt laser, it is a pretty interesting feeling. Power Any intelligent person who goes through this understands that something like this commands respect. Seeing how fast it burns objects should tell a person straight away that it is a very dangerous tool which is too be respected such as a gun. Unfortunately you get these less intelligent people who will use it like a toy. The manufactures really don't even consider these as "pointers" and some go to lengths on their site to address that.

Originally posted by wiredamerican
Shining 1 watt lasers into cockpits does not cause temporary blindness I'm sure.

You're 'sure'? Based on what? Your gut?

I think the real reason is that high powered lasers mess with super secret laser detectors that are in place for national or global security.

Super secret laser detectors? Have any evidence for that, or is it your gut once again?

Quick follow up: The sentencing hearing for this chap has now taken place.

menmedia.co.uk...

‘Naive’ man who shone laser pen at police helicopter avoids jail

Brown was described by his lawyer, Philip Reed, as a ‘simple soul, childlike, and a giant who wouldn’t hurt a fly’. Mr Reed said Brown, who found the pen in the street days earlier, had been told that there were UFOs in the area.

“He is so naive he believed all that stuff and was experimenting and playing and didn’t think through the consequences of his actions,” claimed Mr Reed.

But magistrates in Manchester said his behaviour had been so serious that it crossed the custody threshold.

Chairman Andy Sokhill said because of Brown’s educational problems they would suspend a four-month prison sentence for a year.