The impact of blue laser pointers under the guidance of the U.S. Air Force
The following statement is from the U.S. Air Force blue laser pointer Injury Guidebook. It is a guide that can be read to a pilot, or any person who has been exposed to laser light. We have changed one word which was ambiguous (from “injuries” to “exposures” in sentence 4).
Tags
Wavelength
laser pointer event
If you have been involved in a laser incident, then naturally you are concerned about what effect the laser might have had on your eyes and vision. If you can read 20/20 and there is no distortion on the Amsler grid test, then it is unlikely that the laser did any significant damage. In fact, it may have done none at all.
Laser exposures can have a wide range of effects including flash blindness, dazzle, dark spots, hazy vision, floaters, burns, retinal bleeding, etc. Of special interest are the hazards posed by visible lasers from glare and flash blindness, and from very high power laser pointer that could cause serious thermal injuries. Luckily, the part of the eye responsible for most of our central vision is about the size of a pinhead. It is possible, that this area could be damaged by a laser, but only if a person happened to be looking directly at the light. A laser injury even a few millimeters away from this area, will probably not significantly affect the central vision. The central vision is what you use to read, watch TV, and drive.
2022-02-11 10:11:53
Your Answer: