angie brennan
03-23-2013, 2:11 PM
Hey everybody, this is my first post ever!
And now a little disclaimer: I'm not asking for safety advice so much as looking for pointers to literature which might help answer my question below!
We have a 5th Gen hobby laser from Full Spectrum, and the most curious part of the design is that the glass laser tube is fully in view through the acrylic window, in the lasering chamber, and not in its own hidden compartment. When the laser is firing, the tube itself lights up purple-lish (plasma). I am concerned because I have never seen a laser with its tube in full view during normal operation. Again, keep in mind it is still behind the acrylic window on top, but totally visible through the window.
Does anybody have any information on this light emitted throughout the length of the tube itself, and whether we might be exposing ourselves to radiation other than the usual evils of CO2, which might be escaping through the acrylic window? For example, maybe ultraviolet? Just to be clear, I am not talking about the laser light leaving the normal aperture, I'm talking about looking at the tube itself, which glows during operation. Just the fact that it's glowing into the visible spectrum got me thinking that maybe there's so other junk in there too!
I always use properly rated CO2 laser glasses as an extra precaution, but if the tube itself is emitting other evil wavelengths...
Anyway, I am considering covering the glass tube with a spiral winding of black electrical tape, or even some wide diameter black heat-shrink tubing.
I tried Google all morning with no luck. There is lots of literature on protecting your eyes from the usual suspects (infrared), but I couldn't find any literature describing what possibly harmful wavelengths, if any, might be emitted from the rest of the tube along with the visible plasma.
Any pointers/thoughts would be very much appreciated! And with that, I finish my first post ever here the Creek!
PS the tube is one of these typical Chinese-made glass tubes
258010
And now a little disclaimer: I'm not asking for safety advice so much as looking for pointers to literature which might help answer my question below!
We have a 5th Gen hobby laser from Full Spectrum, and the most curious part of the design is that the glass laser tube is fully in view through the acrylic window, in the lasering chamber, and not in its own hidden compartment. When the laser is firing, the tube itself lights up purple-lish (plasma). I am concerned because I have never seen a laser with its tube in full view during normal operation. Again, keep in mind it is still behind the acrylic window on top, but totally visible through the window.
Does anybody have any information on this light emitted throughout the length of the tube itself, and whether we might be exposing ourselves to radiation other than the usual evils of CO2, which might be escaping through the acrylic window? For example, maybe ultraviolet? Just to be clear, I am not talking about the laser light leaving the normal aperture, I'm talking about looking at the tube itself, which glows during operation. Just the fact that it's glowing into the visible spectrum got me thinking that maybe there's so other junk in there too!
I always use properly rated CO2 laser glasses as an extra precaution, but if the tube itself is emitting other evil wavelengths...
Anyway, I am considering covering the glass tube with a spiral winding of black electrical tape, or even some wide diameter black heat-shrink tubing.
I tried Google all morning with no luck. There is lots of literature on protecting your eyes from the usual suspects (infrared), but I couldn't find any literature describing what possibly harmful wavelengths, if any, might be emitted from the rest of the tube along with the visible plasma.
Any pointers/thoughts would be very much appreciated! And with that, I finish my first post ever here the Creek!
PS the tube is one of these typical Chinese-made glass tubes
258010