12-30-2004, 10:54 PM | #1 (permalink) | |
disconnected
Location: ignoreland
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What the hell are these lasers?
This is some bizarre stuff. Does anyone have any clue what these could be? I'm hoping against terror activity... I remember kids in middle school playing with their little annoying laser pointers, perhaps this is the same thing, except instead of at the lunch ladies they are pointing them at pilots...
crazy cockpit/laser story Quote:
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12-30-2004, 11:02 PM | #3 (permalink) |
Life's short, gotta hurry...
Location: land of pit vipers
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This really sounds like some punk kids having fun. If it is, they should be aware that this is a federal offense. If it is terrorism......
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12-30-2004, 11:18 PM | #4 (permalink) |
WaterDog
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i'm just curious to find out what kind of laser they would be... if it was green and they managed to get it in the cockpit of a plane for more than a glimpse, your looking at atleast $500+.... telescope with lazer attached and properly aligned.... most likely a large laser device which wouldn't be normally on the market... like one of those 4inch wide and 2 feet long box laser things.... due to the lack of market and production of them and knowing that the person is in cleveland should give the FBI a decent chance of getting a lead... the user would also have to have telescoping skills and the ability to align the telescope and laser up.... soo either machining skills or major duck-tape ablilty... i would most likely see this as a stupid prank and nothing serious...
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...AquaFox... |
12-30-2004, 11:37 PM | #5 (permalink) |
Professor of Drinkology
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My $150 just-for-fun red laser spreads to the size of a Volkswagon van in 150yds. I can't image what's required to keep a nice tight beam focused on a fast moving target the size of a shoebox (cockpit window) from a distance of 8000ft+.
That's crazy.
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Blah. |
12-30-2004, 11:47 PM | #7 (permalink) |
Warrior Smith
Location: missouri
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seems needlessly high tech to be terrorists to me- if you can hit it with a laser, then you can bring it down with a .50 cal aimed at the same place- and those are availabe for purchase to anyone with a few grand to spend, with no waiting period ......
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12-30-2004, 11:47 PM | #8 (permalink) | |
disconnected
Location: ignoreland
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Quote:
Would these be strong enough to get into a cockpit of an airliner? Last edited by anleja; 12-30-2004 at 11:51 PM.. |
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12-31-2004, 12:25 AM | #10 (permalink) |
Shade
Location: Belgium
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Found a site a while ago. On it, a guy sold class II lasers at about $200-$300, they were all green, could punch through a plastic cup from across the room, or light something in the night sky.
It took a couple of weeks to get orders through, because he had them manufactured in China I believe. At any rate, this article made me think of that rightaway... Prolly a jokester who wanted to try out one of these things? highly dangerous tho edit: oh, and they were actually the size of a regular flashlight, and I imagine just as heavy
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12-31-2004, 12:38 AM | #12 (permalink) |
Junkie
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History Channel had something on Modern Marvels about non-lethal weapons like a laser that could be used in CQB that shone green light in the face of the enemy. The high intensity beam was disabling when the person tried to look at it. Maybe the same thing?
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12-31-2004, 01:55 AM | #13 (permalink) | |
Upright
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Seriously though, it would probably take a bit of work to build something capable of shining into an airplane cockpit, and being noticeable, from far away, as well as being able to keep it steady and track fast enough to do that to a plane that is travelling at a couple hundred mph. |
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12-31-2004, 01:56 AM | #14 (permalink) | |
Psycho
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12-31-2004, 06:01 AM | #16 (permalink) |
Tilted
Location: Maryland
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Tom Clancy wrote about this in one of his books. Two Japanese AWAC were shot with one of these lasers on final approuch, blinding the pilot and causing a crash. In the same book, a Boeing 747 is crashed into the Capitol building. Sound familiar?
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12-31-2004, 06:54 AM | #17 (permalink) |
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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The Rio Hotel in Las Vegas used to have a very powerful green laser on the top of it's building and would shoot out across the desert sky for miles away from Las Vegas.
They stopped after a pilot was "blinded" for a moment by the laser.
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12-31-2004, 08:11 AM | #20 (permalink) | |
cookie
Location: in the backwoods
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I thought it was pretty silly at first when I heard about this a few weeks ago, too. This article changed my mind.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2111036 Quote:
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12-31-2004, 08:32 AM | #21 (permalink) | |
WaterDog
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the last big laser i seen was at a demonstration, they had a red ballon inside a clear ballon, and they showed how aiming the laser at the ballons would make only the red ballon inside pop due to the colors
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12-31-2004, 10:43 AM | #22 (permalink) |
Custom User Title
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My son is a commercial airline pilot and this concerns the hell out of me.
Wouldn't take much to temporarily blind a pilot. Just a momentary flash at night could blind boths pilots long enough to cause them to not be able to see their controls. A plane is probably no more vulnerable than when on approach. Very easy to track at that time. Nice straight glide slope, consistant speed, pilots very busy. The worst possible time in flight for that to happen. |
12-31-2004, 10:50 AM | #23 (permalink) | ||
Getting Medieval on your ass
Location: 13th century Europe
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Quote:
edit - this is from the laser's webpage: Quote:
Last edited by Coppertop; 12-31-2004 at 10:53 AM.. |
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12-31-2004, 10:59 AM | #24 (permalink) |
Junkie
Location: NJ
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I suspect it's mostly commercial type stuff for store openings and the like. From some articles it seems that this has happened sporadically for a couple of years and the growing use of them for attention getting visuals would coincide with the concerns. I'm leaning away from them being a terrorist attempt to down a plane since it's a far from likely way to succeed.
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12-31-2004, 01:05 PM | #25 (permalink) |
Junkie
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For someone to do this on purpose, would require unthinkable accuracy. I can't even imagine what kind of person could do this with eyesight alone, even guided by a telescope or some other magnifying device. Maybe our pilots need to stop taking drugs or something... what do I know?
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12-31-2004, 01:31 PM | #26 (permalink) |
Junkie
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Nah where there is smoke there's fire. I could see possibly doing this as a plane landed with a lot of practice and a good spotter. I wonder if there is any way the co-pilot could avert their eyes until they landed just to prevent both pilots from being blinded.
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01-09-2005, 04:42 PM | #28 (permalink) |
Crazy
Location: geff il
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i heard this laser was bought on ebay.. and the guy said it was his 9 yr old girl.. later fessed up to the cops that it was he himself playing with hs new toy.. this info came from the radio i belive it was fox and friends in the morning on my xm.. they said it is capable of shooting 20 miles... i ahve to admit i would have no reaosn for having one but it would be great fun to paly with for a little while.. i live and the country and it would be fun to play with the manny amish folk around here... hehe
anyway this got chalked up as joke gone bad.....
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01-09-2005, 04:52 PM | #29 (permalink) | |
disconnected
Location: ignoreland
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01-10-2005, 08:44 PM | #31 (permalink) |
Born-Again New Guy
Location: Unfound.
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My first thought when I heard about these things wasn't about where they came from or who was using them, but rather what they were doing. I wonder if somebody's bouncing the lasers off of the cockpit windows and listening in on the conversation or something...
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01-10-2005, 08:53 PM | #32 (permalink) | |
Chilled to Perfection
Location: Dallas, TX
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Quote:
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01-10-2005, 09:19 PM | #33 (permalink) | |
Custom User Title
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Interesting story at Wired.com. A detection device is on the way.
story here Quote:
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hell, lasers |
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