Ravers Blinded By Laser Light Show Outside Moscow
Attendees at a July 5 music festival outside Moscow received more than a dose of sound as more than 30 people suffered injuries to their eyes from a laser show.
The festival (really a rave) was an outdoor event with DJ music and a laser light show. Due to poor weather, a canopy was erected over the dance floor, and the laser show, which should have pointed the lights up into the sky, instead was directed horizontally across the dance area and into the ravers' eyes. A recipe for disaster?
About 20 people are in treatment now due to significant loss of sight. And the treatment, according to a spokeswoman from Moscow Ophthalmological Hospital 'involves a lot of needles.' (Yikes.)
But just how does a laser damage eyesight? Can one of those pocket laser pointers really ruin your retina? Apparently, pocket lasers are set to only one-tenth the damage threshold, but can cause temporary 'flash blindness.' More powerful lasers (Class 4 and above) can cause damage, sometimes without a person even realizing it at the time. It is unclear what types of lasers were in use at the rave, but we wouldn't be surprised if they were just a bit more powerful than average normal pen-mounted laser.
Ravers at the event reportedly tried to capture video on their cell phones, but even that didn't work when the laser light overwhelmed the phones' cameras. No word on if the eyesight damage is permanent or how long it will last. [Source: CNN]
Filed under: Computers
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Patrick Murphy @ Jul 16th 2008 9:12AM
Yes, the lasers were more powerful than a laser pen(!). The video shows that they were pulsed lasers -- look at the pattern on the back wall; it is composed of dots.
Pulsed lasers emit their light in short, powerful bursts. They are fine for sky or overhead use, but NEVER should be used for audience scanning. Whoever decided to re-aim the lasers from the sky as planned, into the audience, was completely and dangerously wrong.
Audience scanning is safe and legal when done appropriately. Note that you cannot extrapolate from a laser pen held close to a person, to a laser show where the laser is many meters away and is constantly in motion.
A Class 4 (most powerful) laser's light is supposed to be Class 1 (safe for exposure) by the time it reaches the closest audience member. Some shows may be over this limit, but not by the orders of magnitude which created the Moscow injuries. That takes exceptional ineptitude such as using a pulsed laser on a crowd.
-- Patrick Murphy, International Laser Display Assn.
Jiggy @ Jul 16th 2008 11:02AM
Not thats something to see lol !
frank1946 @ Jul 16th 2008 11:42AM
Kids are stupid......................until they lose something !
edgarnew @ Jul 16th 2008 11:52AM
Well, Now they will Be Blind Deaf and Brain Dead by age Thirty!
Janie @ Jul 16th 2008 5:38PM
The danger of laser damage is far greater than one would normally believe. Law enforcement, when using hand held lasers for traffic, speed, control,have lost and had severe damage to the lap area, when they placed the laser gun down to pull over a speeder. Of great concern, remote controls, are very overlooked, can posibly cause damage to the body, if you routinely walk in front of a remote clicker, frequently...............Beware, there is danger.
Father Pimpus Littletickle @ Jul 16th 2008 11:01AM
What's the matter with you? Cops were getting testicular cancer from RADAR guns, not laser guns. The radiation given off from radar guns is what caused the cancer...lol It amazes me how seriously these people who know nothing speak about things...lol