Odd ball but hopefully fun Friday discussion topic

[Walt Langhans]

Everyone know not to put there finger in the laser beam. Well at least I hope so, and if they didn't they should now :D

But what do you think would happen if you did?

Granted it would be way out of focus, and it would depend on the wattage and how long it was there, but I'm guessing a bad burn? Maybe a hole?

Which leads me to the next question, do you think you could get your finger cut off? I figure a 40watt could get thru the skin and what not, but probably not the bone. But could 150watt or higher cut thru the bone?

Yeah I know, this is a little morbid but I was actually thinking about practical medical applications. We all know laser are used in all kinds of medical procedures and I was wondering what it would take to have a beam strong enough to do amputations. It could theoretically could be very quick and cauterize the wound in the process. Granted focus would be an issue, and I think something like this would best be used in emergency situations and / or in the field, so having a small enough portable power supply would be an issue, and the of course the tube needed. Yup lots of issues but maybe someday in the future.

Thoughts?

[Mike Troncalli]

Get a hot dog, stick a chicken bone in the middle of it and run some tests... Then you have a much better idea of what can happen...

[Braden Todd]

Call Mythbusters!! I'll donate my kern for some testing. Maybe grab a pig and slice off your own bacon!

On the medical side, hopefully it wouldn't need to be two passes with a refocus in there to get through!

[Kees Soeters]

make it a party-gag.. The one that holds his hand in the beam is the winner:D
No, I had it once while I was building my laser ( no cap protection installed yet..) . I wanted to pick up something and accidentally hit the (invisible) beam for a microsecond: A hot solderingiron feels better! It is burnt instantly!

Kees

[Walt Langhans]

I love Myth-busters and watch it regularly. Adam loves lasers, and they have a Trotec. And yeah I was already considering the pig :D

@ Kess... yeah I thought it wasn't going to feel good, lol

[Brian Leavitt]

Do a Google search for "laser tattoo -removal". You will, unfortunately, get several hits for people lasering themselves.

[David Somers]

Seems like I saw some photos a year or so back on this forum of a fingernail "engraved" with ruler markings from someone who was engraving a homemade ruler and let their attention wanted. It deeply scored the nail but didnt go through if I remember correctly. Not sure what power the tube was.

This suggests all kinds of Halloween uses for a laser.
At Crater Lake we used to do a fairly elaborate haunted house for the kids that lived in the park. For a few years we did a zombie factory. One section featured a table where we removed body parts to use in assembling a new zombie. Someone lay on the table with their leg bent at the knee and going through a hole in the table. A fake leg from the knee down sat below his bent leg and the Doctor was busy with a hand saw hacking off the bottom part of the leg. Lots of screams of course, from the victim and the kids. We probably scarred them for life!!! Bwahahaha!

Take a laser pointer and make that the tool the doctor uses to cut the leg. Some fake smoke in the air might help make the beam more visible. Voila! A high tech torture device! More deeply scarred children sent forth into the world!! Bwahahahaha!!!!

<grin>

[Joe Hillmann]

There are videos of people using co2 lasers to give them self tatoos, They come out looking like bad burns and end up as misshapen scars. Here is a link to someone who actually appears to have got good results. http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Tattoo/ And in the comments section he shows what it looks like 7 years later.

I've touched the beam out of my Yag laser once. I thought it was done running but it turned out it was running in an area where I didn't have anything to engrave on. It was just an instant of pain but no burns. I was later informed if a black person of someone with darker skin it would have been much more likely to cause burns.

[Lee DeRaud]

Random thoughts...
The surgery scene from 'Prometheus': while the idea of a surgical laser is a neat concept, depth control is a problem. (That's still my main issue with 'Star Wars' light sabers.)
And of course 'Goldfinger': "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" I still wonder how many wedding-cake figures were sacrificed re-enacting that scene...should be some on YouTube.

Probably need a whole thread on "movie lasers".

[Clark Pace]

I know a guy that engraved his finger nail

[Walt Langhans]

I still wonder how many wedding-cake figures were sacrificed re-enacting that scene...should be some on YouTube.

First thing I wanted to do with my laser! Sill haven't gotten around to it :(

On a side note, go to youtube and search for "James Bond Theme by Moby" and give it a listen all the way through. You'll get why I want you to listen to it after you do :D

[Lee DeRaud]

First thing I wanted to do with my laser! Sill haven't gotten around to it :(

On a side note, go to youtube and search for "James Bond Theme by Moby" and give it a listen all the way through. You'll get why I want you to listen to it after you do :DYup. I knew I'd heard it (I have his 'I Like To Score' album), but for some reason it was stuck in my head as a Crystal Method cut, not Moby.

[Walt Langhans]

Yup. I knew I'd heard it (I have his 'I Like To Score' album), but for some reason it was stuck in my head as a Crystal Method cut, not Moby.

Dang Lee! Moby and Crystal Method!!! You've got good taste sir!

[Rich Harman]

I once got careless while adjusting the third mirror. I was using thermal paper which I would move into position with my left hand, with my right I would hit the "laser" button. I had done this many times.

Then on one occasion the laser grazed my forearm. It burned a trough about 3/4" long and about 1/16" deep. Didn't hurt much, just a sting. No blood at all. That was two years ago, there is still a faint scar visible. That was with 80W for about 1/10 of a second.

[Kev Williams]

"Why you should leave the door shut" (even tho I still don't ;) )

One of my customers dropped off a single SS tube, about 1.5" in diameter. The text runs down the length, not 'around'.
Normally I do these in the rotary, but for just one, I thought I'd just do it by adjusting the focus on lines 1 and 4 to
compensate for the radius.

--Cermark, slow speed, full power---

I was watching it, door wide open... it did lines 2 and 3, then the table raised to do line 1, worked great.

Then it moved down to do line 4. About 5 sweeps into line 4 I felt a rush of heat on my face. And then I smelled burning hair...

I was a good 2 feet from the part, only 40 watts, yet the reflected beam singed my mustache...

That was my lesson learned the way!

[David Somers]

Dang Kev!

If you had been smiling I wonder if it would have removed plaque from your teeth? Or would you have just had your teeth engraved with the text from the SS tube? Hmmmmm. Lots of possibilities here. Lets be quiet about this or that Dave Sheldrake guy will run with the idea! <grin>