Posted on 01/02/2005 7:16:29 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants
I agree. WHoever is doing this, even if it's a joke, should be strung up.
Didn't realize that. I thought the whole idea of the coherent light emitted from a laser was to keep the beam tight. Wouldn't the power of the laser be distributed in the larger area? So a 100mw laser would divide over 113 sq ft so it would produce 6uw sq/in. (math may be off a bit, but that's still very little power, certainly not enough to blind a pilot)
LOL
Wasn't very long ago a pilot flying over Utah got eye damage from a laser...
Found this on FAA site,
http://www.hf.faa.gov/docs/508/docs/cami/0107.pdf
Has a pic near the end that shows the winshield splash effect of a low level laser.
Yeah I saw that, I gather from the post in #66 that the beam could be as big as 12ft in diameter. I wonder what the pilot saw in the cockpit. The whole cockpit bathed in light? Although it says it came through the commanders window.
These lasers should be outlawed right away and the maroons highlighting the cockpits should be put on trial with lots of publicity.
I just heard a brief report about this on News Channel 5.
They said this happened right after take-off. At only 3,000 ft. the plane was still climbing. I don't see any way the beam could have been aimed into the cockpit - - - - or how the pilots would have been able to see the beam being aimed - - - - from the ground.
I believe a few of the other incidents happened during take-off, too, and have wondered what's above them that these beams could be sent from.
One pilot had eye-damage a couple of months ago from a beam that hit him directly.
I honestly don't think this is kids playing around.
Ok, tin foil hat at the ready, just in case.
This is what it is. It's kids or stupid adults buying green laser pointers on Ebay. These laser pointers will easily shine for 2 miles.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14954&item=5741912167&rd=1
They used to cost about 200 bucks, but have come down it price recently. Hence kids no get their hands on them and stupid adults too.
When I was a stupid adult in college I mounted a red laser pointer on a pair of binoculars. If I wanted to, I could have easily tracked an airplane with a more powerful laser. Mine would only shine about 2000 feet.
I bought a MOD-2 back in November from Beam Of Light Technologies, Inc. here is Oregon. They take a generic green laser pointer and "soup" it up the legal maximum of 4.99 mW output power. It has a 25,000' range and is pefect for sky-pointing when combined with a telescope mount.
http://z-bolt.com/generic27.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=green+laser+modification&btnG=Search
If I were to somehow accidently illuminate a plane it would only be for a fraction of a second. If these planes are being illuminated for several senconds it has to be by something with a sophisticated tracking system built into it or it is some targeting the planes as they are coming in on a predictable approach path.
Hey you're talking about Nashville here, where powerful lasers used for laser light shows are, if not common, at least not unknown.
Sounds to me like a couple roadies borrowed somebody's stage equipment for a New Year's Eve Party...
How hard is it to keep BINOCULARS trained on the cockpit windows??
'kids playing with lasers' Lasers powerfull enough to hit a plane 6 miles out and 'track' it?
Can somebody map these events?
so far it has been somewhere in new mexico (anybody know where?), washington DC, and nashville
" In fact these incidents are so rare as to be completely attributable to suggestibility."
How does 'rare' come out as 'completely attributable to suggestibility'?
Getting hit in the eye with even a weak laser at night is not something a person could be imagining or dreaming up. Now if they are lying, that's another story.
One pilot WAS temporarily blinded but I don't believe there has been a repeat of that intensity.
USA Today reports that the FBI believes the incidents are caused by "michief makers" and not terrorists.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-02-lasers-fbi_x.htm?csp=34
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.