A comprehensive resource for safe and responsible laser use



Frequently Asked Questions


General interest questions



Below is more information about laser pointer safety in general. There is a separate FAQ for "doubters" -- people who think concern over laser pointers is overblown. Many aviation-related questions are on the FAQ for doubters page.

If you have a question not answered by either FAQ, please contact us using the link at the very bottom of this page.

  • LASER POINTER HAZARDS
  • What are the biggest problems with laser pointer misuse?
       
    There are two main areas of concern.

    One is the problem of distracting or interfering with pilots' vision when laser pointers are aimed towards aircraft. People have been arrested and even jailed for shining lasers towards planes and helicopters. (See the aviation incident news page for many articles about aircraft/laser incidents, and the Sentences page for fines and jail terms.) So don't do it!

    The other problem is eye injuries caused by a person aiming a more powerful handheld laser in their own eyes or at others who are close by. This can cause temporary or even permanent eye injuries. This problem is discussed in more detail on the Consumer laser eye injury info page.
  • What other laser pointer problems are there?
       
    • Laser pointers have been aimed at cars, busses, trains, boats, barges, and ferries. Just as with aircraft, this can distract or temporarily blind a motorist or driver — this is obviously unsafe.
    • During riots or civil disturbances, some protesters have aimed lasers in the eyes of police. Where this is prevalent, police now have eye protection available.
    • At sporting events, spectators have aimed laser pointers at players such as football goalies. This is unsportsmanlike (to say the least!) as well as a potential eye hazard for the player.
    • At concerts and movie theaters, sometimes an audience member will think it is funny to wave the laser dot around on the stage or screen.

    Such misuse will backfire. When ordinary citizens are distracted, harassed, annoyed, or temporarily blinded, they are more inclined to support restrictions or bans on laser pointers.
  • Have laser pointers ever caused a vehicle or aircraft accident?
       
    Lasers have been misused by aiming at vehicles or aircraft for decades. This website’s author is aware of vehicle-aiming incidents as early as 1981. Regarding aircraft, from 2004 when the FAA began requiring pilots to report laser illuminations, through December 2018 there have been almost 50,000 incidents in the U.S. where lasers were aimed at pilots.

    In the discussion below, “accident” is defined as an incident that results in actual damage to the vehicle, aircraft or property; or that results in a bodily injury (e.g., anything beyond a claimed laser light injury to the eyes). In contrast, “incident’ is something potentially hazardous or dangerous, which does not result in property damage or bodily injury.

    For example, laser light in a pilot’s eyes may have caused a missed approach and a subsequent go-around. While this incident is cause for serious concern, it did not result in an aircraft accident.

    The following information is current as of March 1 2019.

    Lasers causing vehicle accidents

    • On October 25 2016, a person shining a green laser at another driver caused a three-car crash which resulted in body damage to the vehicles. There were no reported injuries due to the crash or due to the laser light. The incident occurred on Interstate 5 in Oregon.

    • The website author is aware of one other documented accident caused by a laser pointer. This comes from a 1999 Springfield, Missouri laser pointer ordinance that references a local accident: “a three-car collision, where a young man pointed a laser light into the car ahead of him and startled the driver, causing him to slam on his brakes and create a pileup.”

    • In 1998, a man going nearly 100 mph caused a five-vehicle crash that killed four teens in Morgan Hill, California. Prior to the crash, the man was aiming a laser pointer at other cars. According to the Associated Press, “Law enforcement officials partially blamed the accident on the laser pointer”, although a SF Gate story filed at the same time was less certain: “[I]investigators were trying to find out what role, if any, the laser pointer may have played in the crash.”

    • The author has heard informally of five vehicle accidents in France, around 2014, caused by laser visual interference but has not been able to find documentation.

    This website’s has a page that lists some non-aviation laser incidents. The stories on this page have tags that include Car, Motorist, Road rage and Driver. Clicking on these tags to find all relevant articles brings up stories where vehicles are targeted by lasers. In some of these, there are incidents including claimed eye injuries. There are even some laser-related deaths, such as when youths suspected of lasering a police car died after being chased by police, or when taxi drivers, angry at teens aiming lasers at them, stabbed a youth to death. But these deaths are not due to laser-caused car crashes.

    Lasers causing aircraft accidents


    • As of March 1 2019, there have been no documented cases of the light from a laser causing aircraft accidents (e.g., a crash or injury-producing incident).

    Anyone with links to documented cases of vehicle or aircraft accidents is asked to email the author (see “Contact us” link at the bottom of any page).
  • When does a laser pointer get powerful enough to be dangerous?
       
    There is no specific threshold between a "safe" laser beam, a potentially hazardous one, and a clearly dangerous beam. The following are some guidelines.

    Bright Light Hazard

    Even a "legal" (in the U.S.) 5 milliwatt laser pointer can be a potential hazard if the light distracts or temporarily flashblinds a person such as a pilot. This is why you NEVER aim a laser pointer at an aircraft, or the driver of a vehicle.

    Eye Hazard

    For direct damage to the eye, the exact severity will be due to many factors: beam power, exposure time, beam/eye relative motion, distance from the laser, retinal injury location, and a person’s physiological/genetic susceptibility to eye injury (some people are more sensitive than others).

    • If a person deliberately stares into a laser, even a small 1 milliwatt beam could cause a spot on the retina.
    • Safety standards are based on a person blinking and/or turning away from a bright light within 1/4 second. Taking this into account, an accidental exposure to a 5 milliwatt beam is considered tolerable, as long as the person is not overriding their blink reflex. A 1998 Lancet article by Mensah, Vafidis and Marshall states “A 5 mW laser with high retinal irradiance is too weak to cause retinal damage, even if shone in the eye for several seconds.”
    • After some point, even blinking and moving isn't fast enough to prevent injury. As a very rough approximation for laser pointer use, above 10 milliwatts the potential hazard from general use outweighs the benefit of a brighter beam. This does not mean that an injury will occur; just that there starts to be a potential hazard.
    • At around 100 milliwatts, an accidental exposure at close range may cause a change to the retina which can be defined as an eye injury. The victim may or may not notice it depending on where the spot is on the retina. The injury may heal after a few days or weeks if the exposure is not too severe. According to the 1998 Lancet article, “Between 100 and 500 mW of diode energy is required to produce a clinically retinal burn.”

    Skin Hazard

    At around 150 milliwatts, the beam from a laser can be felt on the skin, depending on the beam focus, skin color (absorption), etc. At roughly 500 milliwatts, the laser's beam begins to be a skin burn hazard if the person is within a few meters of the beam.

    Incidentally, even powerful industrial lasers cannot cause deep burns, severed limbs, gun-type injuries or other effects seen in science fiction movies. While multi-watt laser beams are definitely serious eye hazards, they are ineffective at causing incapacitating body injuries.

    For more information

    Some additional information is in an article from Scientific American, “Can a pocket laser damage the eye?”
  • How do I know if I have a too-powerful laser pointer?
       
    According to the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates lasers, about 60 percent of lasers they tested in 2018 were over the power listed on the label — or the label did not list a power level. Lasers called “pointers” or sold for pointing, are required to be less than 5 milliwatts in the U.S., and less than 1 milliwatt in countries such as the U.K. and Australia.

    These are tips from FDA on how to tell the strength of a handheld laser:

    • If the pointer is small and runs on button batteries, its output probably is less than 5 milliwatts.
    • If it's pen-sized and runs on AA or AAA batteries, it's likely to be more powerful and may exceed 5 milliwatts.
    • If it's flashlight-sized and runs on a cluster of AA or AAA batteries or runs on lithium batteries, it likely exceeds 5 milliwatts.
    • Pointers sold with battery chargers probably drain their batteries quickly and are likely to be overpowered.
    • Some pointers are sold with a removable cap that spreads the beam into a pattern. If used without the cap, the beam becomes a single beam that could exceed 5 milliwatts.
    • Look for keywords that sellers might use to indicate a pointer is highly powered without saying that it's over 5 milliwatts: powerful, bright, ultra, super, military, military grade, super bright, high power, ultra bright, strong, balloon pop, burn, burning, adjustable focus, lithium battery, lithium powered.
    • Look for videos or photos that show the laser burning, melting, balloon popping or show a bright, well-defined beam of light
    • Look for purchaser comments on websites that tout the brightness or power of the product.
  • On a CSI:Miami episode, a laser pointer brought down a plane by injuring the pilots' eyes when they were 1/4 mile (1320 feet) in the air. Is this possible?
       
    (The episode is "Money Plane", first aired March 7, 2005.) The CSI:Miami laser scenario as presented was not plausible.

    A legal, off-the-shelf laser pointer like the one on the show has a maximum power of 5 mW. At night, a beam from this laser could cause glare out to about 1200 feet. It would prevent a pilot from seeing past the light, until the light was removed. Already, at 1320 feet, the glare level would be very low — distracting but manageable at night.

    To make it even less plausible, the laser exposure on the show happened on a clear, sunlit morning. In such a case, the pilot would see a green flash but a pointer would not cause glare or flashblindness. The reason is that the pupil is constricted in bright light, so less light can enter the eye. That means the laser no longer is the brightest, most obscuring light source.

    CSI:Miami took another dramatic liberty. The pilot was said to have “corneal scarring”. However, visible light from a laser goes through the clear cornea and is absorbed by the retina. A laser pointer could not cause corneal scarring (though pilots exposed to visible laser light have subsequently rubbed their eyes so hard that they scratched their corneas — a painful and fortunately temporary condition).

    Just for reference, a 5 mW laser is an eye hazard up to about 50 feet from the laser. For a pilot who is 1320 feet in the air, the laser light would be far too weak to cause any eye injury.

    Despite the flaws in the CSI:Miami episode, it is good to inform the public about the general idea that laser pointers can potentially be hazardous. This is why you should never aim a laser at or near an aircraft.
  • A child aimed the beam from a laser level at my toddler son's eyes. Will he be OK?
    According to your letter, the laser level is Class 3R with an output less than 5 mW. This would not cause eye injury assuming your 2-year-old son blinked, turned his head or otherwise did not stare for seconds into the beam.

    Even if the laser is slightly more powerful than 5 mW — for example, if it actually was 10 or 15 mW — any possible injury would be minor and would heal.

    I understand that you have been to two ophthalmologists. All of them could not see your son’s entire retina, but they did not see any injury or abnormality in the central retina. This is to be expected. Should there be “hidden” damage in the outer part of the retina, even this would not adversely affect useful vision.

    If this case involved laser pointers, I would be more cautious. Often laser pointers and handheld lasers that only emit beams are mislabeled. They may say “<5 mW” but actually be as much as 50 mW or more. But for a laser level purchased from a major hardware chain, it is likely that the laser does meet the U.S. government limit of 5 mW output.

    Your son will be fine; you do not need to worry.

    (Thanks to JP, who asked this question April 20 2018)
  • A teacher aimed red, green and purple handheld laser pointers at my 4-year-old child (and the rest of her class) during a science demonstration I attended. When I asked the teacher about the laser, he said it was 5 mW. Is there any damage that can be caused by quick glances into the eyes?
       
    At a power level of 5 milliwatts, there is no damage that can be caused by quick glances into the eyes.

    That said, the teacher showed EXTREMELY poor judgment and set a bad example for the children. No one should ever deliberately aim a laser pointer at someone's face or into their eyes.

    Five milliwatts is the maximum allowed in the U.S. for a laser to be sold as a "pointer". This low power level would not cause eye injury for a momentary exposure, where the laser is being waved around or flashed across eyes. However, if a person was to deliberately stare into a 5 mW laser pointer for many seconds, then heat can build up in the eye and cause retinal damage. But that was not the case in this situation, so the children are OK.

    I originally had concerns over the purple laser pointer, since it was probably well over 5 mW. (This is because human eyes do not pick up blues, purples and reds as well as green and yellow light. If a green 5 mW laser looks a given brightness, a red 5 mW laser will appear only about 25% as bright, and a purple laser would appear only about 3% as bright. Said another way, the purple laser would have to be roughly 30 times more powerful, around 180 mW, to appear as bright to the eye as a green 5 mW laser.)

    Fortunately, I understand from a phone conversation that the teacher aimed the purple pointer only at the ceiling, not at the children. This is good. However, the other two lasers also should have been aimed well above or away from the children as well. I am glad to hear that you spoke with the teacher and he will not be doing this again.

    (Thanks to JM, who wrote December 6 2018)
      
     
  • My 16 year old son purchased a laser off eBay. It is 532 nm, green. It is able to light a match. Can this strength or colour cause problems to eyes by reflection? The website claims a power of 0.5 mW but someone suggested it was a lie to allow sales. To find the laser, search this term on “eBay” Portable High Power Laser Pointer Pen Green 532nm Zoomable Burning Beam Light”.
    I did not see the item at eBay when I just looked. Can you send a photo of the laser? Can you tell me what type of battery it uses?

    Generally, if a handheld laser uses button batteries, one AA, or one AA then it is probably in the safe Class 2/Class 3R range of being below 5 mW.

    If it uses more than one AA or a battery larger such as 18650 then it is probably Class 3B which is not considered safe.

    If the website says the power is 0.5 mW (1/2 milliwatt) this is probably completely untrue, as the Class 2 limit is 1.0 mW and 0.5 would be even dimmer.

    Certainly if the laser can light a match and can char or burn dark materials it is Class 3B (above 5 mW).

    The power of the laser can cause a problem to the eye by reflection. Specifically, it is a "diffuse reflectance hazard" meaning that even looking at the dot on a close-up surface could cause eye injury. A special problem is that a person might be staring at the dot, for example to keep it on a match head while trying to light it, and so any damage would be in the central part of the vision of both eyes.

    I would never look directly at the laser dot in such a case. If for some reason I had to burn a match head etc., I would use safety glasses, or if not available, dark sunglasses and not look directly at the dot, only off-axis.

    I would also only allow a 16-year old to use a Class 3B laser when they are supervised by a responsible adult.

    (Thanks to BT, who wrote Feb. 6 2020)
  • Will a Class 4 laser blind a cat?
    A Class 4 laser could injure a cat, dog or other animal, in ways similar to how a Class 4 laser could injure a human.

    First, some background. A Class 4 laser has an output above 500 milliwatts (1/2 watt). This is the most hazardous of the four main laser classes. The beam has the potential to cause instant eye injury, to burn skin, and to char or ignite materials.

    Whether an eye injury (or skin/material burn) actually occurs depends on many factors. These include:
    • the laser power
    • the distance from the laser to the eye, skin, or material
    • the diameter of the beam on the eye, skin or material
    • the exposure time
    • for the eye, which part of the retina is illuminated. An injury to central vision (the fovea) will cause worse vision impairment than the same injury to the outer edge of the retina.
    • for skin, the color of the skin and the skin type (e.g., thick soles of the palms vs. thin lips)
    • for materials, the color of the material and the actual material substance (cardboard vs. metal) and thickness

    For the eye, the outcomes of laser exposure can range from no effect, to a barely perceptible visual spot (which could be temporary or permanent), to significant loss of visual acuity.

    This is true for humans, and is just as true for cats or other animals. A laser eye exposure may cause no injury, a small injury with little or no visual impairment, a significant injury with visual impairment, or — rarely, this would probably be due to deliberate mistreatment — total blindness in the eye.

    We do not know the safe laser limits ("Maximum Permissible Exposure" or MPE) for cats; no studies have been done.

    There is some conjecture that cats' eyes may be more sensitive to excess light than human eyes, because their pupils can let in more light. This topic is discussed on the page Tips for using lasers with pets and other animals. Also note that the same page discusses how playing with a laser pointer is probably not healthy for a pet's behavior.

    If you suspect an eye injury to a cat, see an ophthalmologic veterinarian such as a member of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

    Finally, it goes without saying that a Class 4 laser — or any laser — should never be aimed at or into the eye of any person or animal.
       
  • STORE LASER SCANNERS
  • Can the laser scanner at a checkout injure my eyes?
       
    The very short answer is “no”. Here are more details:

    In stores you often see a hand-held scanner which is aimed at the Universal Product Code “stripes” on a package. Or you see a window in the checkout counter, over which the UPC code is passed.

    Sometimes LEDs are used as the light source, but often lasers are used. You can tell if it is a laser because there will be a pattern or geometric shape made up of thin lines; this is one example:

    Lissajous_curve_5by4
    Image via Wikipedia, by Alessio Damato


    Having the scanned laser light go into your eyes is not hazardous. In the U.S., the laser power for a checkout scanner must be below 5 milliwatts. This is the same as the power limit for a laser sold as a pointer.

    It is difficult enough for a 5 mW laser pointer to cause damage to a person’s eyes. You pretty much have to stare at the beam at very close range, making a deliberate exposure to the single “dot” of the pointer. A 1998 Lancet article by Mensah, Vafidis and Marshall states “A 5 mW laser with high retinal irradiance is too weak to cause retinal damage, even if shone in the eye for several seconds.”

    For a store’s laser scanner, the power is further spread out by being scanned rapidly over an area. This means that the “dot” of laser light cannot remain on the same area of the retina and build up heat.

    While having a laser scanned pattern in your eyes can be annoying (and rude if deliberately done by a cashier), there is no cause for concern.

    A very quick test is to close your eyes and see if you have any afterimage from the exposure (similar to the afterimage caused by a camera flash, or the sun glinting off a reflective object.) Normally you should not have an afterimage, or it should fade in less than a minute. If you do have a longer-lasting afterimage, or any new spots in your visual field, you may wish to have an eye exam by an ophthalmologist or a retinal specialist. Even then, this is suggested only for an extraordinary exposure such as deliberately staring into the scanner, or if the scanner is suspected to be malfunctioning and is brighter than normal.

    It would not be economical to require laser scanners to have additional safety features, such as eye detection (to turn off if they see an eye) or a direction detector (to turn off unless the laser is facing downwards). Between the low power of the laser itself, plus the added safety of a constantly-moving beam, an accidental or unwanted exposure is not hazardous.

    (Thanks to L.B., who asked this question February 10 2016)

  • LASER USE WHEN HUNTING
  • When hunting before dawn or during dusk, I want to know where my friend is. Can he aim a laser pointer at me as I wait in a tree stand?
       
    As I understand your request, you want your friend to aim a laser pointer at you so that you will see the light and then know his location. This will happen outdoors in dim conditions: pre-dawn and dusk. You'll be in a stand with a window so you can look out and see his location.

    Yes, your plan is feasible and safe with a low-powered Class 2 laser pointer (less than 1 milliwatt). You can get these online or at a pet or office supply store. The cost should be just a few dollars.

    Either red or green should be fine. There is no difference between them in terms of eye hazard (color does not affect the hazard). The green will be more visible, but then you are at a relatively short distance so you should see the red just fine. And red is usually less expensive.

    Just to be clear, the technique is that your friend will aim the laser pointer towards your location. You'll see a flash of light, as if he had aimed a red flashlight at you. One difference is that the beam is narrow enough so that only persons (or animals) looking straight back at the laser will see the flash.

    You will NOT see the beam in mid-air except perhaps in unusual conditions such as rain, mist or fog.

    Don't worry about eye injury. The Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance for a 1 mW laser is 24 feet. Plus you will not be staring into a steady light; instead, your friend will be aiming with his hand which is difficult to hold steady on a target. So the beam would be in your eye for only brief instants.

    The only thing to worry about is if you get a mislabeled pointer. The pointer label might state that it is Class 2, but for various reasons -- evasion of import restrictions, incompetence at the factory -- the actual light output might be significantly higher than the U.S. limit for laser pointers which is Class IIIa or 3R (less than 5 milliwatts).

    My suggestion is to buy three laser pointers, made by different companies, from different sources. They cost so little that this is a small investment in safety. Check out their brightness and use the dimmest of the three. If they all look about the same, great. But if one or two are much brighter, then do not use these for your hunting application.

    Finally, it should go without saying: DO NOT USE THE LASER SIGHT ON A FIREARM for this application. If you have a gun or rifle that uses a laser for targeting, NEVER aim that laser at a person (except if you are a police officer, or for self-defense when you intend to fire upon a person).

    For the location application described above, use a handheld laser pointer, preferably in a color different than the color on your firearm. For example, if your hunting companion has a green laser sight, use a red pointer for locating purposes. If you see a red light aimed at you, fine. But if you see a green light you know that somehow your companion has mistaken you for a target and you need to take action.

    (Thanks to Phil D. who asked this question October 5 2017)
  • I have some standard laser gunsights from Leapers now mounted on rifles with scopes. Both are very good, long distant ones with bright green laser dot, not cheapies.

    If I look through my scope, close up or a far view setting, and have my green laser on, the bright green laser is now brightly centered in the scope's reticle.

    My question is if this is safe to the eye's retina to view a green dot laser this way, being thus magnified in the scope?
    Yes, it is safe to view the green laser dot at a distance through the scope's reticle.

    Laser light is dangerous when the beam is directly aimed into your eye. This is because the eye's lens will focus the beam down about 10,000 times to concentrate it on your retina. Whether an injury occurs will depend on the laser concentration (irradiance which is power over a given area) and on how long the beam sits at the same point on the retina.

    Using a reticle, binoculars, camera, etc. to look at a distant laser dot is fine.

    It is possible to incur an eye injury by looking at just the dot up close. This is called a diffuse exposure. It happens with very powerful lasers, when you are staring for a number of seconds. For example, if someone is trying to burn a hole in paper or light a cigarette with a Class 4 laser, and they stare right at the laser dot as things are smoldering --not smart!

    Coming back to your use... again, looking through the reticle in the way the laser gunsight is intended to be used is perfectly safe.

    (Thanks to Steve T., who asked this question December 13 2018)
       
  • LASER HAIR LOSS COMB
  • I have a Lasergain XL laser comb for hair loss. Is it hazardous to look at the laser beams? I had them reflect off my glasses a couple of times.
         
    BACKGROUND:


    The
    Lasergain XL has 32 low-powered red lasers.



    The idea is for balding persons to move the device over their scalp like a comb.



    This
    Low Level Laser Therapy is said to stimulate hair growth. (According to Wikipedia, studies have shown conflicting results.)

    FAQ ANSWER:

    The Lasergain XL appears to be safe. According to the manufacturer, each of the lasers is Class 3R, meaning less than 5 milliwatts. This will not hurt your eyes for momentary exposure. In fact, if you wanted to injure your eyes you'd have to deliberately stare into one of the lasers.

    Sometimes there are products where the laser is claimed to be lower power, perhaps to get around import or safety regulations, but really the laser is much higher power. This does not appear to be the case with the Lasergain XL, as far as I can tell from the website information. So each laser is likely to be Class 3R, and even if it is slightly higher in power it would not become hazardous for momentary exposure until it is at least 10 times Class 3R, or 50 mW. (I assume all of the lasers look about the same brightness. If one is much brighter, simply cover it with black electrical tape or similar.)

    In addition to the low power, the laser light appears to be diffused. From the scalp photo, these do not look like 32 sharp dots from narrow beams. Instead, they are wider areas of light. This is spreading the light out, so that if you looked into the beam(s) all 5 mW from each laser would not be focused to a pinpoint on your retina. This diffusion is safer than the same amount of laser light focused in a sharp beam.

    The reflection off your glasses also increases safety compared with directly looking into the laser light. Reflection off a typical glass surface will be about 4 to 8 percent of the original beam power -- so a reflection has less power than the direct beam.

    Incidentally, having 32 lasers instead of one does not matter too much from a safety standpoint. It is not possible for all 32 lasers — or even 2 lasers — to be focused on the same area of the retina at the same time. If you were to stare into the device long enough you would get 32 smaller retinal injuries, not one large 32-times injury.

    (Thanks to the person who asked this question May 16 2019.)
  • LASER STAR PROJECTOR
  • I have recently purchased a galaxy starry sky projector light, and my husband pointed out that some classes of laser are harmful even if reflected off a surface. I have since been anxiously searching to determine if my light is safe! I have not been to come to any conclusive answer. I'm hoping you might be able to help answer whether or not this product is safe to use?

    The box says that it is a Class 3R laser with wavelength 532 nm. I have it set up on a table so that is projects upward onto the ceiling. Are there any hazards with staring at the ceiling for an hour, with the laser projecting off the white walls, or shinier painted trim, or ceiling fan?
         
    Assuming the laser star projector is correctly labeled, it would not be potentially harmful as long as you do not stare directly into the beams, or into a sharp, mirror-like reflection of the beams.

    I say "correctly labeled" because some laser pointers and laser light show projectors have Class 3R labels indicating they are safe and legal (in the U.S.), but the laser is much more powerful. So you should always treat any laser, especially from a questionable source or unknown brand, as if it is more powerful than it really is.

    From the Amazon description, seller Hei Liang appears to be knowledgeable about safety laws and thus probably the device is Class 3R. A U.S. brand, Blisslights, makes a similar projector. They originated star projectors. If you want to get a star projector guaranteed to comply with U.S. laws — perhaps because you want to use the projector around children — then check into the
    Blisslights version.)

    Here is the laser star projector you purchased:

    Amazon star projector squashed

    Inside the star projector is a relatively powerful laser. The beam goes through a holographic diffraction grating and is split up into hundreds of smaller "beamlets". For a legal-to-sell Class 3R laser projector, the maximum power of the strongest beamlet cannot exceed 5 milliwatts.

    Don't worry about beamlets somehow combining. You cannot simultaneously get two beamlets in your eye at the same time AND have them focus to the same spot on the retina.

    This means the maximum power that would be on your retina in any one "dot" area would be 5 mW. This power is recognized to be safe as long as a person does not deliberately look into the laser beam, or at the sharp reflection of a laser beam (e.g., reflected from a mirror in which case the beam is about 96% of its full strength).


    It is OK if you accidentally get beamlets in your eyes; for example, if you are walking through the starfield. If the exposure is short -- if you are not staring -- you'll be fine. Even if you should stare for a couple of seconds you'll be fine.

    The safety issue with lasers is that the coherent light can be focused by the eye down onto a very small spot on the retina. It is kind of like using a magnifying glass in the sun to burn a leaf. The leaf is fine in the regular non-magnified sun, but if you hold the focused sun dot on the leaf long enough, it starts to smoke. With the low power of a Class 3R laser we are not talking about smoke of course. But the general principle applies that you don't want a laser dot to be on your retina in the same spot, building up heat. That's why if you are moving through the beamlets, and/or if you blink and turn away, the retinal dots don't stay in the same exact spot on the retina. They can't build up heat. Again, that's why we say "Don't stare into the beam".

    I would not recommend putting a laser star projector where a child could intercept the beamlets. They may stare into the beams since they don't know any better. It would be fine in a child's room on the ceiling. If you have a curious child I would keep it out of their reach, or only have it on when you are in the room as well.

    You don't need to be afraid of the device -- even around children -- but you do need to take some common sense steps. It sounds like you already have, by researching any potential issues with the laser.

    (Thanks to Rebekah C. who asked this question August 2 2020)

  • REFLECTED LASER LIGHT
  • I am a calligrapher and use a laser level so I can write on straight lines. I am looking for an hour or two at lines of red Class IIIa laser light on paper. Could this harm my eyes over time?
       
    No, this is not a problem.

    First, the laser power already is low. You have a Class IIIa (also called 3R) laser which has a maximum output of 5 milliwatts. This is considered safe for momentary (less than 0.25 seconds) unintentional viewing of the direct beam going into your eyes. As long as you do not override your blink reflex or aversion response, and look directly into the laser beam for many seconds, you will be fine.

    Second, the laser’s already low power is being spread out in two ways: 1) By being made into a line instead of a dot and 2) By hitting the paper and thus diffusing in many directions. Note that you can see the laser line from many different angles and positions. This indicates the beam power is spreading throughout the room. Your pupil is intercepting just a small part of all that diffused light.

    Even though you are looking at the diffused line for an hour or two, this does not “build up” damage.

    For visible-light lasers, the primary eye injury mechanism is thermal. Visible light goes through the clear lens where it is absorbed on the retina. If the power is too strong, and the light stays in one area long enough, heat cannot be carried off by blood vessels, and the retina will start to burn.

    Thermal damage does not accumulate over time. It is like being in a house for many hours which is at a comfortable 72° F (22.2° C). This does not “build up” so you are overheated or start to burn — you remain comfortable.

    (Note that blue light can cause photochemical damage which would require a separate analysis. In this case, the laser level light is red so the only damage mechanism is thermal.)

    What power would it take to be a potential hazard? A 499 milliwatt laser — the most powerful Class 3B laser — is a diffuse reflection hazard if you aim the visible-light laser “dot” at a piece of white paper, and your eye is within 5 inches (12 cm) of the dot and you stare at it for more than 10 minutes. Keep in mind the laser beam is not going directly in your eye. The light is bouncing off a piece of paper or other non-reflective surface that spreads out the light in all directions.

    It is primarily Class IV (4) lasers — 500 milliwatts or more — that can realistically be diffuse reflection hazards. For example, if you look at the dot from a 1000 milliwatt (1 watt) visible laser, and your eye is within 1.5 feet (44 cm) of the paper, and you stare at it for more than a minute, this could potentially cause a retinal burn. If you look at the dot from a 10,000 mW (10 W) visible laser within 1.8 feet (60 cm) for more than 10 seconds, this could potentially cause a retinal burn.

    In summary, looking at a diffuse line of red light from a Class IIIa (3R) laser, even for a number of hours, will not cause any eye injury or damage.

    (Thanks to Eugene from Ukraine, who asked this question February 7 2017)
  • I used a laser pico projector when tracing images for up to 6 hours at a time. Now my right eye is having problems. Could this be from over-exposure to the laser pico projector light?
       
    According to three experts consulted by LaserPointerSafety.com, the exposure was not potentially hazardous.

    Although the person looked at the light at close range — the projector was less than a meter from the tracing paper, and the person’s eye was less than 1/2 meter from the paper — and for a long time (up to 6 hours), the reflected laser light from the paper was not strong enough to cause eye damage.

    The exposure was insufficient to cause photochemical damage, where ultraviolet or blue light exposure causes “sunburn” of the cornea and lens. And it definitely could not cause thermal damage, where concentrated laser light like from a beam goes through the transparent cornea and lens, and is absorbed by the retina.

    The experts suggested other causes, particularly age-related macular degeneration which can occur over a short period of time.

    More information is on the Laser pico projectors page; scroll down to the “Case study” section.

    (Thanks to B.H. who asked this question August 28 2017)
  • SAFE TO WATCH VIDEOS OF LASERS?
  • I was watching a video of a laser beam that was aimed right at the camera. Can laser light hurt my eyes through a TV or phone screen?
    No, if you see laser light as you watch TV or videos on a screen, your eyes cannot be hurt. There is no actual laser light emitted by the screen — just a video picture of what the laser light looked like to the camera sensor.

    However, a direct beam into the camera lens
    might damage the camera sensor.

    (Thanks to Carla F. who asked this question December 3 2019.)
  • SAFE AND LEGAL USE IN THE NIGHT SKY
  • Aircraft can look like stars. What is the best way to point out stars in the night sky?
       
    A slow-moving, far-away aircraft can look like a star. If you are doing astronomy pointing at a "star talk", use the laser pointer to circle unknown or faint objects. Don't point directly at them unless you are sure it is a star (i.e., Orion's belt or the Big Dipper handle). For more information on star pointing applications, see this page.
  • In the U.S. it is illegal to aim at the flight path of an aircraft. Given that just about anywhere in the sky there could be a flight path, is this a problem for legal laser use?
    The U.S. law signed by President Obama in Feb. 2012 makes it illegal to knowingly aim laser pointer beams at an aircraft, or at the flight path of such an aircraft.

    Fortunately for amateur astronomers or other legitimate outdoor users, there is little chance of having the flight path clause invoked by prosecutors, for the following reasons:

    • The cases that are brought for trial are ones where a person deliberately aimed at an aircraft. Someone on the aircraft saw beams coming near or at the aircraft. They then either called police, or they were the police.

    • In most prosecuted cases, there are multiple beam illuminations involved -- e.g., a laser is tracking the aircraft and illuminates it multiple times. It is rare for any single-illumination incidents to be identified or prosecuted.

    • Usually the person prosecuted has some sort of antisocial characteristic such as a criminal record, being on probation or in a gang, being hostile with arresting officers, possessing drugs at the time of arrest, etc.

    There are only a few prosecuted cases involving a claimed or actual astronomy use.

    In an abstract sense, any laser beam in the sky is probably touching some aircraft's flight path. But this has not been the type of case that worries safety experts, or the type of case that prosecutors bring to trial.
  • Can I aim a laser pointer at a drone?
    Not in the United States, because drones (unmanned aircraft systems) are considered aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. Since it is illegal to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft, or the flight path of an aircraft, in U.S. airspace, then it is also illegal to aim at a drone.

    We do not know whether it is illegal in other countries to aim a laser pointer at a drone. We suspect it might be, for two reasons. First, countries outside the U.S. often adopt aviation policies similar to the FAA. Second, the laser light can be hazardous to the drone operator's view.

    The light from a laser pointer could block the view of the operator's camera. It could also possibly damage the camera sensor — especially since camera sensors can be more sensitive to laser damage than the human eye.
  • Is a laser flashlight a "laser" in California?
    The beam from a "laser excited phosphor" flashlight is not coherent so the beam is not a laser beam. However, the light does start out as coherent laser light. This is then aimed at a phosphor. The glow from the phosphor is what is emitted from the "laser flashlight".

    Whether a laser flashlight is a laser — especially in the context of "Did a suspect aim a laser at an aircraft?" — depends on California's legal definition of a laser.

    This topic is discussed in great detail on this page.
  • SELLING LASER POINTERS
  • I have a product kit which includes a laser pointer(100mW-400mW). Not for consumers, for Business-to-Business. Can I sell them in Europe and the rest of the world?
    This answer will be for all lasers and pointers. In the U.S. there is not a distinction between selling to businesses or to consumers. I do not know if other countries make such a distinction.

    In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines a "laser pointer" as a laser that the manufacturer or seller calls a "pointer" or which is sold for pointing purposes. Such a laser is required to be emit less than 5 mW. It is possible to sell higher-powered handheld lasers, but they cannot be "pointers" or for pointing, and they must have all the safety features of their class (3B or 4) such as keyswitches or similar, emission indicators, etc. FDA tries to discourage these so you may have to work to get such a laser approved.

    I am not as familiar with European laws. Some countries are very strict such as the U.K. and Sweden. They may restrict your product if the laser inside is a pointer (small, handheld, a momentary on/off button, etc.).

    I'm sure there are countries outside the U.S. and Europe which have no laser regulations -- or no effective enforcement -- where your product could be legally sold. Whether it is a good idea to sell kits with 100-400 mW lasers is a different situation.

    In the U.K. and all European countries except Switzerland, I believe the limit on laser pointers is 1 mW (not 5 mW like in the U.S.). In Switzerland the limit is Class 1 or 0.39 mW.

    If you do want U.S. certification, there are companies that can help such as Laser Compliance Inc., Phoenix Laser Safety, and Rockwell Laser Industries. All can be found via Google.

    One final note about your kit. In the U.S. the laser importation form, FDA Form 2877 “Declaration for Imported Electronic Products Subject to Radiation Control Standards,” allows for unfinished laser products to be imported. But FDA recognizes a difference between "true" unfinished lasers (for example, lasers that will go into an OEM product) and people trying to get around the law by importing everything but the power cord and labels. Keep this in mind as you design your kit.

    (Thanks to E.A. who asked this question December 12 2019)
  • LIMITING A LASER POINTER DIODE
  • Hello. I wonder if it is safe to stare directly into a low power laser pointer beam.
     
    I have a red laser pointer with max power 200 mW, but I have reduced its power (by connecting it to a MasTech HY3002 power supply and limiting both voltage (to 1.8 V, normally driven by 3V) and current (below power supply least significant digit) so the spot is barely visible on a white paper. The output power is  likely below 1 mW (measured by a thermocouple-based power meter, designed for CO2 lasers). I wonder if it is safe to stare directly into such an downpowered beam. The visible laser beam is used to properly align a high-power (70 W) CO2 laser beam.
         
    From the start I want to clearly define your phrase "stare directly into". I assume you mean that the beam will go directly from the laser into a person's eye. 

    I mention this because you said the purpose is to align a 70W CO2 laser. I personally would not stare at a device where there is a 70W laser at the other end, even if not energized. Maybe if the AC power plug is out, but then again how does the low-power laser beam get energized?

    If you mean "stare directly at" the dot from a laser beam then that is safe. Looking down on a work surface at the dot from a less-than-1 mW laser is safe. I don't know exactly how long that is safe for, but I'm pretty sure it would be safe for an 8-hour exposure. That's because it is not the direct beam into the eye, but a diffuse exposure where the dot is on a surface that diffuses the light more or less uniformly.

    For staring directly into a laser beam so it goes directly into a person's eye, there are a couple of considerations. First, how long is the longest "stare" into the laser beam? A few seconds, or minutes, or hours? 

    Below is a table of selected Maximum Permissible Exposure values for various times. Note that the MPE levels listed are in milliwatts per square centimeter. This is power over an area (irradiance). It is NOT the power in milliwatts coming out of the laser.

    Table of selected Eye MPE values

    For example, the Class 2 limit for a laser is just under 1 milliwatt. This is safe for momentary exposure in the human eye. That time is taken to be 0.25 seconds or less, meaning that a person exposed to a Class 2 laser should blink, turn away, etc. within 0.25 seconds and there is not expected to be any visually detectable injury. From the table, the MPE for a 0.25 second exposure is 2.54 milliwatts per square centimeter. 

    I can't tell you right off what the power of a laser that is safe for a 1 second or a 10 second exposure is. However, consider the Class 2 laser. The power is 1 mW, the MPE is 2.54 mW/cm². Assume the ratio of 1:2.54. That would mean for a 1 second exposure, the laser output power would be 0.71 mW (1.80 / 2.54); for a 10 second exposure it would be 0.40 mW (1.01 / 2.54).

    If you had a laser pointer diode with a maximum output power of 1 mW, and you limited the voltage and current so the light became significantly dimmer, I might be comfortable with allowing a person to look directly into the beam for a few seconds. That's because if anything goes wrong with the circuit, the maximum power output is 1 mW. If the light suddenly gets brighter, the person can blink, turn away, etc.

    I'm not at all comfortable with your setup. You are starting with a 200 mW diode. If anything goes wrong, a person could get 200 mW in their eyes which may cause injury before they can react to blink, turn away, etc.

    Now, you could put the 200 mW diode through a neutral density filter of OD 2 (100 times attenuation) so the output is around 2 mW, THEN limit the voltage and current. Or simply use an OD 3 filter (1000 times attenuation) so the beam is 0.2 mW. I do not know if the dot from that laser would be visible on white paper in a normally lit indoor room.

    Also, a thermocouple-based power meter is NOT valid for such low powers. These work by measuring the heat generated by the laser beam. A beam with power this low does not generate any appreciable heat. It is hard to tell the laser heat from normal atmospheric fluctuations.

    You need a silicon-based power meter. Coherent sells a handheld wand-style power meter called the Laser Check, for about $400. I have seen less expensive ones on eBay. They may be fine for hobbyist purposes, but I personally would not trust them with my vision.

    (Thanks to an anonymous person who asked this question September 18 2020)
  • LASER POINTER TECHNOLOGY
  • How is a laser pointer different from other lasers?
    Surprisingly, there is no generally accepted definition of a laser "pointer".

    In the U.S., the federal FDA/CDRH indicates that pointers are "hand-held lasers that are promoted for pointing out objects or locations" with output power less than 5 milliwatts. According to FDA, promotion of lasers above 5 milliwatts "for pointing and amusement" violates FDA requirements and U.S. law.

    (Some may consider this to be a loophole. If a hand-held laser is not promoted for pointing or amusement purposes, then it can legally be sold.)

    Starting in 2010, FDA/CDRH appeared to be closing the loophole by defining handheld portable lasers as "surveying, leveling and alignment" (SLA) lasers. Since FDA/CDRH has authority over SLA lasers, the agency may use this new regulatory interpretation to limit the sale of handheld portable lasers over 5 milliwatts. For more information, see the page FDA authority over laser pointers and handheld lasers.

    In New South Wales (Australia), a pointer is a Schedule 1 Prohibited Weapon: "A laser pointer, or any other similar article, consists of a hand-held, battery-operated device with a power output of more than 1 milliwatt, designed or adapted to emit a laser beam and that may be used for the purposes of aiming, targeting or pointing."

    In Victoria (Australia), a pointer is also a prohibited weapon. It is defined as: "A hand-held, battery-operated article designed or adapted to emit a laser beam with an accessible emission limit of greater than 1 mW."

    If one wants to own a laser with greater power, it is easy enough to do so. There is the inconvenience of having to run off of mains (AC) power, but then again AC outlets are everywhere, including automobiles (using a low-cost inverter like the one shown below).

    car inverter power adapter

    Also, if an evil person wanted to do harm with a laser beam, it would be easy for them to use a regular laser. A ban or restriction on pointers would have no effect on them.

    More information on existing and suggested definitions of “laser pointer” is on the page “If you are writing a laser law…”.

  • What is the maximum allowed power?
       
    There is no "maximum" power in the U.S. and many other countries. A person can buy a laser of whatever power they want, even tens of watts.

    For use by the general public as a laser "pointer", the maximum is supposed to be 5 milliwatts (U.S.) or 1 milliwatt (U.K.). Obviously, much more powerful handheld lasers are available. As long as they are not advertised for pointing or beam-display purposes, sale of lasers above 5 mW is legal in the U.S. Also, it can be difficult or low priority for law enforcement to track down illegally-marked or distributed lasers.

    For more information, see the Rules for U.S. consumers page.
  • What should I do if I have an "illegal" pointer or high-powered laser?
       

    Safety considerations


    From a safety standpoint, what you should do depends on the laser's power. There is no need for a laser over 5 milliwatts for most indoor pointing purposes. For outdoor daytime use, a higher power such as 50 milliwatts would be necessary so the laser “dot” is visible on a surface. For astronomy pointing purposes, you can see the beam of a green lasers in the 4 to 20 mW range.

    Even for most experimenters and enthusiasts, there is usually no need for above 50 mW (exceptions: popping/burning experiments or home laser shows).

    If you have a laser in this "extra caution range" of roughly 5 to 20-50 mW, you can discard the laser if you want, or use it with added care. Be especially careful not to annoy or injure bystanders. It is one thing if you are hurt, it is another thing to involve someone else.

    If the laser is above 20-50 milliwatts, hazards are increased. Except for mature and careful experimenters, we recommend that you safely discard the laser.

    LaserPointerSafety.com does not recommend that the general public own or use Class 4 lasers, which are 500 milliwatts and above (above 1/2 watt). If you must have a high-powered laser for some reason, be sure to read and always follow the safety warnings.

    There is good information on the page Don't aim at head and eyes; be sure to download and read the appropriate PDF flyer for your laser's power level. There is also information about the hazards and safe usage tips for Class 2 (up to 1 mW), Class 3R or IIIa (1-5 mW), Class 3B (5-500 mw) and Class 4 (500 mW and up) visible lasers.

    Legal considerations


    From a legal standpoint, to find out more about whether you can keep an illegally labeled or manufactured laser, see the Rules for U.S. consumers page.
  • Are high-power laser pointers required to have specific features?
       
    In the United States, lasers above 5 mW (Classes 3B and 4) must have proper labeling, an emission indicator, and an interlock with a key or pin that prevents emission if the pin/key is removed. Note that this means the laser can remain continuously on as long as the pin/key is inserted and the switch or button is turned on (there does not have to be a momentary pushbutton that turns off when pressure is released). Also, lasers above 5 mW cannot be marketed as "laser pointers" or for purposes of surveying, alignment or pointing.

    There may be some confusion between the original U.S. laser laws, 21 CFR 1040.10 and 1040.11, and CDRH's Laser Notice #50, which was first issued in 2001 and was updated in 2007. Laser Notice #50 allows U.S. marketing of laser products certified using international standard IEC 60825-1. This removes the requirement for a shutter, and for an emission delay circuit. Also, warning labels can follow IEC instead of CDRH, if desired. This harmonizes U.S. law with international standards.
  • What is the maximum power needed for laser pointing?
       
    50 milliwatts is probably the maximum needed power for almost any laser pointing use.

    For seeing the laser "dot" on a wall or surface indoors or in dim light, 5 milliwatts of green is fine. The most demanding general-use pointing application is for pointing out objects in bright sunlight such as a daytime city architecture tour, and for pointing out stars at night when it is necessary to see the beam in mid-air. For these uses, 5-25 mW should be fine, with a maximum of 50 mW for tough situations (high ambient light brightness, showing stars to a large group).

    The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority states that 20 mW is the limit: “It is not known that laser pointers that are stronger than approx. 20 milliwatts can be used for anything useful. The effect of laser pointers used to point out constellations and like at night, should not exceed a maximum of 20 milliwatts. The reason is that the beam can destroy the night vision of the spectators so that they can no longer perceive weak starlight.” (For Norway’s regulations, see the International laws page, then click on the item “NORWAY: Possession and use regulated.”)

    A 2010 study, “Green Laser Pointers for Visual Astronomy: How Much Power Is Enough?”, had 23 observers adjust the power of a 532 nm green laser beam “propagating skyward through the atmosphere in a heavily light-polluted urban setting.” The lowest power where the beam could clearly be seen was between 1.4 and 5.6 milliwatts. The average of all powers chosen was 2.4 milliwatts. The authors concluded that “Green laser pointers with output powers below 5 mW (laser classes American National Standards Institute 3a or International Electrotechnical Commission 3R) appear to be sufficient for use in educational nighttime outdoors activities, providing enough bright beams at reasonable safety levels.”

    If you like to pop balloons, ignite matches, or put the laser through textured glass for a private light show in your home, you may want a more powerful laser. But this is no longer a POINTER application.
  • What laser color is best?
       
    A green laser is the most visible. The eye sees green better (more efficiently) than other colors. A 5 mW green laser will appear much brighter than a 5 mW red or blue laser.

    Note that in terms of eye injury hazards, the color does not matter. More milliwatts means a greater potential eye hazard, no matter what the beam color. (This is for visible lasers; for infrared or ultraviolet lasers, the primary injury area is the cornea and not the retina.)

    For more information on the apparent visibility of different colors, see the page Basic principles of hazards, item #5, about green lasers being more of a visual hazard than an equivalent red or blue laser.
  • I want to make my own laser to burn things. Is this dangerous?
       
    Yes, you need to know about the potential dangers before deciding to build such a laser. These include obvious hazards such as too much visible light, and non-obvious hazards, such as the possibility of too much invisible (infrared) light. For much more information, visit the DVD flashlight hack safety warning page.
  • What is a "military grade" laser?
    In some news stories, sometimes an authority such as police or military will state that a “military grade” or “military strength” laser was used.

    This is an imprecise term with no established meaning. The military does not grade or rate lasers except by the standard Class 1, Class 2 etc. classification system used for all types of lasers.

    The authority is probably trying to say simply that the laser was stronger than a laser pointer. In the U.S., lasers sold as pointers cannot be over 5 mW; in many other countries the limit for consumer lasers is 1 mW.

    Lasers more powerful than this are readily available to consumers. Usually they are obtained from small-scale Internet sellers, or are purchased when on an overseas vacation.

    The imprecise term “military grade” does NOT mean the laser was used by, or obtained from the military. It does NOT mean the laser has any special capability that “civilian lasers” wouldn’t also have.

    In rough terms, it may mean a laser at the higher end of Class 3B (a few hundred milliwatts) or Class 4 (anything above 500 milliwatts, which is the same as 1/2 watt). These lasers can cause eye injury for short exposures, and can be a skin burn hazard at relatively close ranges. It is important to note that laser light spreads out, so a “military grade” laser beam that is a significant eye hazard at close range, could be relatively safe or totally safe hundreds or thousands of feet away.

    Finally, in cases where the laser is not found, it would be difficult to know how powerful the laser is. While some rough estimates can be done, it would not be wise to state with certainty that a particular power or Class of laser was used — at least not without having the laser or having some additional information such as measurements of the beam power or irradiance.

    Thanks to G.L. for asking this question, August 13 2018.
  • What is a "commercial grade" or "industrial grade" laser?
    “Commercial grade” or “industrial grade” are imprecise terms, probably intended to mean lasers with more power than laser pointers (1-5 mW).

    There is no widespread use of these terms. There is no generally accepted definition.

    See the answer above about “military grade”. Everything said about “military grade” also applies to the term “commercial grade” or “industrial grade”.

    Here is a list of some news stories using “commercial grade”.
  • CONTROL MEASURES
  • Is a laser pointer ban effective?
       
    Banning or severely restricting laser pointers seems like a simple, attractive solution to misuse such as pointing at aircraft. However, there are a number of problems:

    • It is hard to effectively define laser pointers. To give one example, if "battery powered" lasers are banned, it still is relatively easy to find AC outlets in public spaces, or to use a low-cost inverter to run a laser off a car's 12-volt power socket.

    • It is hard to enforce. In a world with Internet sales by mail, and easy world travel, it becomes difficult to check every package or person at Customs to see if they have a laser pointer.

    • It does not stop someone who really wants a laser. It is easy to get new or used lasers, either by themselves or built into equipment. DVD and Blu-Ray players, and some video projectors, contain powerful laser diodes. If hobbyists can get these, so can anyone with evil intent. Said another way, "When laser pointers are outlawed, only outlaws will have laser pointers."

    • It stops legitimate use of laser pointers by teachers, business people, astronomy educators and others who find a laser ideal for pointing out objects.

    • "It is like banning the kitchen knife because we have people using the knives incorrectly," according to Professor Hans Bachor, president of the Australian Optical Society, as quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

    It is unclear whether a laser pointer ban significantly reduces laser incidents. For example, Australia banned laser pointers above 1 milliwatt in 2008, yet the number of aircraft illuminated by lasers rose significantly over the next four years. While the subsequent three years did show a reduction, the rate was still about 3.5 times that of the pre-ban illuminations.

    Pic 2016-06-22 at 11.58.31 AM


    Anyone who wants to deliberately use a laser for bad purposes can easily do so, ban or no ban. For example, on a per capita basis, Australia's rate is 2.8 times the U.S. rate despite the ban. While there may be other factors, this is an indication that bans may not work. (We have a list of aviation-related laser pointer incidents in Australia.)

    In 2013, it was reported that Australia's bans had the effect of making online pointers more unsafe. Sellers illegally understated the power of lasers, so they could be imported. 95% of pointers tested were above the Australian limit of 1 mW, and 78% of those tested were also above the US limit of 5 mW. Persons interested in whether bans work should read the article "Ban on laser pointers has been a 'detriment' to safety.

    We have additional information on the page Tax handheld lasers and pointers?

    For an interesting perspective, see this online debate about banning laser pointers. Note that there are some inaccuracies or misconceptions in the material so do not rely completely on the arguments and data in this online debate.

    The Economist magazine printed an article "The Case for the Defence" on October 30 2013, stating "But no aeroplane accident has ever been convincingly attributed to a laser pointer, and numerous fail-safes make such an accident highly unlikely. Also, high-powered laser pointers are fun and useful—especially for stargazers. It would be a shame to see them banned because of a few foolish people. One hopes that politicians will see the value in these sorts of products. One does, at least: earlier this month the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, vetoed a bill that would have banned even low-powered laser pointers in his state."

  • How does laser misuse compare with knife misuse?
       
    Laser misuse pales next to knife misuse. In 2010 there were 130,000 assaults yearly with knives and cutting instruments. Compare this with with the 7,703 FAA-reported laser illuminations in 2016. Also, compare the over 2 million serious knife injuries each year with the handful of eye injuries reportedly caused by handheld lasers.

    Certainly laser illuminations and injuries should be reduced as much as possible, especially with regard to aiming at aircraft. But the above data helps to give some perspective on the relative risk of these two handheld devices. Statistically, a person is much more likely to be injured by or assaulted with a knife or blade, than to be injured by a pointer or to be on an aircraft illuminated by a laser.

    (For detailed statistics on deaths and injuries caused by knives, see the "Knives" section of the Risks of pointers and other items webpage.)
  • REGULATION
  • I am upset and want to pass a law against lasers. Where do I start?
       
    Any law restricting laser equipment or usage needs to be carefully considered. It should effectively address the problem without infringing on rights of legitimate users. This page has some suggestions. In addition, check out the list of selected international and U.S. laser laws. You can read both well-written statutes, and poorly-worded ones.

    You may want to have SAE G-10T take a look at your proposed law, to help provide suggestions for improvement.

  • What is the SAE G10T and why should I care?
       
    The SAE G10T Laser Hazards Subcommittee studies laser uses in airspace. Members include laser safety experts, pilots, military safety officers, and laser users for industry, military, research, and displays. They write reports such as ARP5293, “Safety Considerations for Lasers Projected in the Navigable Airspace.” Their recommendations are often adopted by aviation authorities such as the U.S. FAA.

    The G10T subcommittee is one of the few groups monitoring laser/aircraft incidents. If they called for restrictions or a ban on laser pointers, their recommendations would carry great weight.

    More information is on this website's page SAE G10T Laser Hazards Subcommittee.
  • WEBSITE SPONSORSHIP
  • How can I support LaserPointerSafety.com?
       
    This website is a one-person operation that takes a significant amount of time. We welcome assistance from sponsors and supporters. For more information, see our Sponsorship opportunities page.
  • Why is ILDA helping sponsor this website?
       
    The International Laser Display Association represents manufacturers of laser shows and projectors. While many ILDA members own and enjoy laser pointers, the pointers are not needed in creating shows.

    ILDA does not have an official position on laser pointers, or on laser misuse. ILDA as a sponsor has provided some resources for this website, as a public service. One reason is that, if the general public sees pointers as dangerous, this could have an indirect negative impact on laser show productions.