# Could new powerful laser pointers distrupt professional sports **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251 "2011-12-24T04:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/41 "2011-12-29T17:29:30Z")
Kiss has several youtube videos where they call out jerks blinding them with lasers. skip to 1:15 for the confrontation. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_9tkosgEbps/hqdefault.jpg "Paul Stanley vs Laser Pointer Guy, Portland OR 2009") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9tkosgEbps) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/42 "2011-12-29T17:52:35Z")
> [@danielpower](#): > > Over 5mw lasers are forbidden in the United States > [@Una\_Persson](#): > > What is the motivation for a person to post something both patently untrue and clearly without having read the thread? I often wonder. The quoted sentence itself is patently untrue, but in the context of the OP (ie., discussing laser pointers specifically) it’s kinda-sorta correct: 21 CFR 1040.11(b) restricts Class IIIa laser devices (laser pointers) to output of less than 5mw. ETA: Ooh, great user name/post combo, myself! EETA: No, I don’t know why lasers fall under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (food and drugs) either. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/43 "2011-12-29T18:57:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The quoted sentence itself is patently untrue, but in the context of the OP (ie., discussing laser pointers specifically) it’s kinda-sorta correct: 21 CFR 1040.11(b) restricts Class IIIa laser devices (laser pointers) to output of less than 5mw. But the statement said nothing about laser Class, and laser pointers are pretty much what one says they are. Class IIIb lasers are often used as “pointers” for astronomical purposes, as well as industrial purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/44 "2011-12-29T21:50:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Kiss has several youtube videos where they call out jerks blinding them with lasers. Or possibly pretend to do so, in order to sound macho and discourage other jerks from attempting this. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/45 "2011-12-29T22:56:56Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > But the statement said nothing about laser Class, and laser pointers are pretty much what one says they are. Class IIIb lasers are often used as “pointers” for astronomical purposes, as well as industrial purposes. Well, yeah, but the point is that there’s a grain of accuracy to the post. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/46 "2012-01-02T14:54:29Z")
I just heard on the radio that idiots blinding policemen, pilots, bus drivers, train drivers etc with lasers is a huge problem here in Sweden. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/47 "2012-01-02T15:34:10Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > I’ve never heard a good explaination as to how air traffic, other than right at point of landing or take off, is endangered by a laser pointer. Sure, I can shine a laser that may shine on the windows of an aircraft, but since it’s going to be over my head, all that is going to happen is bit of a green glow appears on the window or the ceiling. More likely, I’m going to light up a spot on the bottom of the fuselage or the wings. What am I missing? A few months ago a pilot who contributes to a mailing list I belong to for aircraft owners was “lased” in his single engine 4 seat plane. This is his first hand description… “…there was this bright flash in the cockpit. My first thought was an electrical short and grabbed the emergency checklists… Then another flash. I swore it was coming from the dash … Then another flash, and another… I look to the wing and then it lights up like a Xmas tree… I looked at the ground and could just make out a city shining through breaks in the clouds then, FLASH, a green laser hit me right in the eyes. I couldn’t see a thing for about 10-15 seconds. There was a little panic as I was the only pilot out of the 4 on board…” The rest of the story is his eyesight recovered within a minute. He called air traffic control sheepishly to tell them not sure they’d care. ATC was very interested, had him describe as closely as he could where it was coming from, and law enforcement was sent to the area immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/48 "2012-01-02T18:21:24Z")
I find it just a little hard to believe that someone could repeatedly hit the cockpit windows of a plane that was presumably hard to spot at all given the cloud cover. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/49 "2012-01-02T18:51:04Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I find it just a little hard to believe that someone could repeatedly hit the cockpit windows of a plane that was presumably hard to spot at all given the cloud cover. I understand your skepticism. The author of the post I quoted says he was skeptical as well until it happened to him. I trimmed his full story way down from the original 6 or 7 paragraphs. He was flying over Franklinton, LA early last November after a Saints game (looking at the Saint’s schedule I’d guess it was the 11/6 game against Tampa Bay). Maybe someone in the area can find the police report to confirm his story. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/50 "2012-01-02T19:29:23Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Sure, but the key thing is we wanted to test a powerful handheld/battery-operated laser, and at the time I bought it, mine was the most powerful handheld version at 1W (they released a 1.5W and 2.0W version the month after I bought mine, grrrr!) Are they waterproof? Can they be mounted on sharks? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/51 "2012-01-02T19:54:42Z")
I am surprised that no one has brought up Arthur Clarke’s Slight Case of Sunstroke (aka The Stroke of the Sun), a surprisingly relevant short story from the '50s. You can read it [here](http://www.archive.org/stream/Galaxy_Magazine_Volume_16_Number_5_/IA_Galaxy_Magazine_Volume_16_Number_5_#page/n71/mode/2up). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/52 "2012-01-02T19:59:43Z")
Interested Dopers should read [this thread](http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/349414-l-sers-attacks-aircraft.html) on Pprune. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/53 "2012-01-02T20:32:18Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Interested Dopers should read [this thread](http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/349414-l-sers-attacks-aircraft.html) on Pprune. No, that’s about l@sers, not lasers. (Any idea what that’s all about?) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/54 "2012-01-02T20:57:32Z")
It’s about lasers. They use that term to prevent casual searches. ---
**Author:** ![YoDoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e68b1a/32.png) [@YoDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoDoc)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/55 "2012-01-02T21:53:15Z")
FWIW, my buddy had one on deployment in Iraq. We lit up a white FLIR blimp from about 3 miles. ---
**Author:** ![YoDoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e68b1a/32.png) [@YoDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoDoc)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/56 "2012-01-02T22:02:54Z")
> [@YoDoc](#): > > FWIW, my buddy had one on deployment in Iraq. We lit up a white FLIR blimp from about 3 miles. Missed the edit window. A FLIR blimp is about the size of a 4-seat aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251/57 "2012-01-02T22:16:12Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > Are they waterproof? Can they be mounted on sharks? I think they could be waterproof, but the water would greatly attenuate the beam such that it would be ineffective after a few inches. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-new-powerful-laser-pointers-distrupt-professional-sports/607251.md?page=2)