Yeah, that'll do it.
“Pilots have been blinded by these things.”
No they haven’t, that’s a bunch of crap... Nor will there be. The eye will react to a visible light laser of the power of these devices fast enough to protect the eye. At close range with a target that is nor moving you may get a flash of light that would produce temporary blindness only, similar to a flashbulb or flash tube.
The devices we are talking about are in the MW range, usually under 5. The power density decreases with the square of the increase in size of the beam. The damage done to the retina is proportional to the average power (heat) absorbed.
If it was possible, our own military could use it against incoming planes. It doesn’t work... Assuming one developed the servo system to keep the beam trained on the cockpit window (which would be bulky and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars) and you used a higher power laser - then maybe...
Flash blindness ruins dark adaptation for at least several minutes. That can be a significant issue for a pilot.
There are 1,000 MW green laser pointers on the market.
Just google “wicked lasers”.
“a bunch of crap”
?Really? The FBI disagrees.
http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/making-a-point-about-lasers
“temporary blindness only”
This particular case the airliner was on short final, and reported getting hit in the eyes every half a second. You don’t see a problem or potential hazard there?
Maybe you’d feel different if it were your wife and daughter on the plane. But since it was mine, no big deal?
Google is your friend, From another article in USA today.
“More powerful devices are increasingly available and can cause far more problems, says Gus Anibarro, education director at the Laser Institute of America, which promotes laser safety. A laser that is hundreds of times more powerful than an approved laser pointer was introduced for sale last year, and Anibarro fears that could lead to more eye injuries.
A 15-year-old boy recently burned his retina and impaired his vision from a green laser he had bought because it could pop balloons and burn paper, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. He had pointed the laser into a mirror, and the beam reflected into his eyes.
Two pilots for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in Florida were temporarily grounded for several days after their helicopter was illuminated by a green laser early New Year’s Day as it flew over Naples, Fla. Two teenagers were arrested and charged in the incident.”
As far as shooting ducks with rifles. It’s easy. The reason we use shotguns is because they are so limited in range. Gives the ducks a sporting chance.
You are soooo wrong. Nice try though
“If it was possible, our own military could use it against incoming planes”
I don’t think babygene knows how to google. Here’s just one of thousands of articles on laser weapons. In this case the navy shot down a drone.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=laser-downs-uavs
Yeah, that'll do it.
Its my understanding that a green pointer laser is only dangerous as far as it is distracting to a pilot. The light bounces off of random surfaces and can cause the pilot to be distracted. Probably not any more dangerous than having an annoying fly buzzing around the pilots head as he is landing the plane.
That being said, it should be illegal to intentionally distract pilots as they fly. No doubt about it.