Lasers Being Pointed At Aircraft

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

That's a good one... any more?

Glad you liked it.

The BS meter is still pegged out, and everyone with 1st hand knowledge smells it. Keep paddling…

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

And on that note, I apologize to the forum ( manta22 included) for being very un-moderator-like. Sometimes my BS meter pegs out, but I should hold myself to a higher standard. I can't ask you all to remain civil if I fail to do so myself. My sincere apologies.

For that reason, I will recuse myself from this discussion going forward…

 

[MIflyer]

Any of y'all recall the USN helicopter crew that was targeted by a Soviet laser from a ship and ended up with permanent eye damage?

 

[GrauGeist]

Our 172 was "painted" by a red laser one evening, as we were approaching Orange County Airport (SNA) and it lit up our cockpit with a starshower of red.

I was in the right seat, but damn - I had dots in my eyes for quite a while after that.

 

[manta22]

And on that note, I apologize to the forum ( manta22 included) for being very un-moderator-like. Sometimes my BS meter pegs out, but I should hold myself to a higher standard. I can't ask you all to remain civil if I fail to do so myself. My sincere apologies.

For that reason, I will recuse myself from this discussion going forward…

No apology needed to the forum or o me- no offense taken. This is an adult forum where we can discuss things rationally but without necessarily agreeing. Now lets talk about bird strikes...

 

[MIflyer]

It would seem to me to be an almost trivial technical effort to have drones that will home on lasers and then ... BAM!

 

[GrauGeist]

It would seem to me to be an almost trivial technical effort to have drones that will home on lasers and then ... BAM!

Let's propose it to the Ukrainians.

If it can be done, they'd find a way.

 

[Alan Stevens]

A link to visible and non-visible light laser devices Class 1-4 definitions "Laser Classification Explanation"

Infrared lasers are much more dangerous to the human eye compared to a visible laser of the same power, because infrared lasers do not trigger a blink reflex, which means the laser has much more time to damage your retina.

You can't see infrared light so you don't know it is aimed at you.

 

[GrauGeist]

A MASER is one that can wreak havoc, too.

 

[MIflyer]

And to add to that, a laser beam will "scatter" when it shines through certain types of transparent material, causing a blinding burst.

Back maybe 30 years ago, one night the local magistrate came to my brother's home, in a very small very rural town in SC, saying "I need your help! Get your gun and get in the car!"

They drove to a house; there were a number of cars parked around it. A major rumble was about to take place, a disagreement between two groups, and the magistrate wanted to stop it before it got started. The magistrate got out of the car, told my brother to take cover behind it, and started giving orders, telling the people there to break it up and go home. My brother switched on the sight laser on his AK-47, which accidentally hit one of the mirrors on one of the cars and suddenly there were a hundred red dots, everywhere.

And that shut things right down.

 

[Alan Stevens]

A MASER is one that can wreak havoc, too.

Very difficult to find any to purchase retail.

Lasers are easy to purchase.

 

[GrauGeist]

Very difficult to find any to purchase retail.

Lasers are easy to purchase.

There are solid state room temp. MASERs now.

Then again, with the way that technology is advancing, I'm not surprised that they have actually come up with a real life, working light saber!

 

[GTX]

'Unsafe and unprofessional': U.S. chides Iran after American helicopter hit with lasers

No one was injured and the U.S. helicopter was not damaged.

www.politico.com

 

[MIflyer]

You can't see infrared light so you don't know it is aimed at you.

Funny thing is that if you need to test a TV remote control, you can't see the IR light, but if you use a digital camera to look at it, you can see it.

 

[GrauGeist]

Funny thing is that if you need to test a TV remote control, you can't see the IR light, but if you use a digital camera to look at it, you can see it.

My night-vision can see IR, but none of my Pentax DSLRs can.

 

[MIflyer]

I have used my Fujifilm DSLRs to see the light from remotes. And as for night vision, those little pointer lasers show up VERY well with those. I have a blue laser I've not tried with the night vision scope.

 

[manta22]

My night-vision can see IR, but none of my Pentax DSLRs can.

Silicon photodetectors can't see past about 900nm. The IR is cut off; Indium antimonide or germanium response extends further into the infrared. IR cameras typically use cooled detectors for high sensitivity applications.

 

[Alan Stevens]

Funny thing is that if you need to test a TV remote control, you can't see the IR light, but if you use a digital camera to look at it, you can see it.

Your eye can't see it but the right photographic device can "see" it and convert it to an image that you can see.

 

[manta22]

Your eye can't see it but the right photographic device can "see" it and convert it to an image that you can see.

That's because TV IR remotes use LEDs in the range of 900nm, on the edge of silicon responsivity. It is "near-IR".

 

[Alan Stevens]

That's because TV IR remotes use LEDs in the range of 900nm, on the edge of silicon responsivity. It is "near-IR".

The new Webb Telescope operates in the infrared spectrum and produces beautiful photos of the cosmos.

But they are all synthetic renderings using colors that we can see.

The James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope specifically designed to conduct infrared astronomy. Its high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.