• Question: Why are some laser pens illegal

    Asked by charliegamble1998 to James, Marcus, Martin, Rob, Suzanne on 19 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Suzanne McEndoo

      Suzanne McEndoo answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      I think some of them are powerful enough and of the right wavelength that they could harm people, particularly the eyes.

    • Photo: James Boone

      James Boone answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      A laser is already a highly focussed beam of light. If a powerful enough laser beam is shone into your eye, it can severely damage the cells in the back of the eye, potentially causing permanent blindness.

    • Photo: Robert Thompson

      Robert Thompson answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      Yeah answers seem good. There are also some powerful enough to mess up things on planes, so these aren’t allowed either

    • Photo: Martin Zaltz Austwick

      Martin Zaltz Austwick answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      Yep, it’s very easy to cause damage to people’s eyes with a laser

    • Photo: Marcus Gallagher-Jones

      Marcus Gallagher-Jones answered on 20 Mar 2012:

      Pretty much what the other guys have said. Powerful ones can blind people so there has to be some level of regulation over who uses them so nobody gets hurt.

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