cjarmst
02-15-2006, 08:38 AM
Well if you're like me you've not only been fascinated by sabers since you were a small kiddo, but also lasers in general.
I can remember having a big he-ne laser way back in college and really freaking some people out back in the day before the $2 laser pointer came around. Ok, no more nostalgia, on to present day.
The technology for small portable lasers has taken quantom leaps since the late 80s.. I now have a pen sized 90 mw DPSS green laser that runs on 2 lithium AAAs that I tote around with me and the thing is absolutely amazing. Because the 532nm wavelength is amongst the most visible to the human eye, these green lasers that are hitting the market are many times brighter (at 5mw) than their red counterparts you buy for $2. Bear in mind, mine is 90 mw so looking at the dot a few feet away is somewhat akin to trying to look at a welding light without a mask. At over 20 MILES, getting hit with the dot will cause flash blindness, and at your average person to person range getting hit, even by a specular reflection is likely to cause retinal damage. Being stupid enough to stare directly at the beam would likely cause instant blindness. It is strong enough to pop baloons, light matches, and burn holes right through black electrical tape.. aka THIS IS NO TOY. The beam itself is highly visible, and pointing it around at night, even if its perfectly clear is like looking at a real lightsaber..
So of course I couldn't resist lighting up my saber with it :)
I used a small double concave lens with a focal length of approx -7 to diverge the beam out. At about 11 feet it throws almost the same size dot as my hilt with the 3w green luxeon, but it is brighter.
I've been playing around with the diffuser that Strydur sells here and its mezmorizing.. it lights the blade to the same intensity as the luxeon, but its the purest green, and the entire blade dances and sparkles.. any of you who have ever played with a laser knows the phenomenon I am referring to due to the nature of true monochromatic light. I'll try to get some pics and maybe even a video up of the laser actually lighting the diffuser blade, but for now, here are a couple with just the dot shining beside the lit luxeon blade.
thanks!
chris
The laser
http://home.comcast.net/~chrisnalicia/Saber/DSC00105.JPG
The dot next to my saber
http://home.comcast.net/~chrisnalicia/Saber/DSC00107.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~chrisnalicia/Saber/DSC00108.JPG
I can remember having a big he-ne laser way back in college and really freaking some people out back in the day before the $2 laser pointer came around. Ok, no more nostalgia, on to present day.
The technology for small portable lasers has taken quantom leaps since the late 80s.. I now have a pen sized 90 mw DPSS green laser that runs on 2 lithium AAAs that I tote around with me and the thing is absolutely amazing. Because the 532nm wavelength is amongst the most visible to the human eye, these green lasers that are hitting the market are many times brighter (at 5mw) than their red counterparts you buy for $2. Bear in mind, mine is 90 mw so looking at the dot a few feet away is somewhat akin to trying to look at a welding light without a mask. At over 20 MILES, getting hit with the dot will cause flash blindness, and at your average person to person range getting hit, even by a specular reflection is likely to cause retinal damage. Being stupid enough to stare directly at the beam would likely cause instant blindness. It is strong enough to pop baloons, light matches, and burn holes right through black electrical tape.. aka THIS IS NO TOY. The beam itself is highly visible, and pointing it around at night, even if its perfectly clear is like looking at a real lightsaber..
So of course I couldn't resist lighting up my saber with it :)
I used a small double concave lens with a focal length of approx -7 to diverge the beam out. At about 11 feet it throws almost the same size dot as my hilt with the 3w green luxeon, but it is brighter.
I've been playing around with the diffuser that Strydur sells here and its mezmorizing.. it lights the blade to the same intensity as the luxeon, but its the purest green, and the entire blade dances and sparkles.. any of you who have ever played with a laser knows the phenomenon I am referring to due to the nature of true monochromatic light. I'll try to get some pics and maybe even a video up of the laser actually lighting the diffuser blade, but for now, here are a couple with just the dot shining beside the lit luxeon blade.
thanks!
chris
The laser
http://home.comcast.net/~chrisnalicia/Saber/DSC00105.JPG
The dot next to my saber
http://home.comcast.net/~chrisnalicia/Saber/DSC00107.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~chrisnalicia/Saber/DSC00108.JPG