Ravers blinded by laser
More than two dozen people in Moscow were partially blinded by lasers at a rave. Apparently, rain forced the Aquamarine Open Air Festival into tents where the lasers meant to be pointed at the sky were, er, pointed at the crowd. From New Scientist:
"They all have retinal burns, scarring is visible on them. Loss of vision in individual cases is as high as 80%, and regaining it is already impossible," (daily newspaper) Kommersant quoted a treating ophthalmologist as saying....Lasers blind ravers (New Scientist)
"I immediately had a spot like when you stare into the sun," attendee Dmitry told Kommersant.
"After three days I decided to go to the hospital. They examined me, asked if I had been at Open Air, and then put me straight in the hospital. I didn't even get to go home and get my stuff," he said.
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Yikes - I'm seeing the Health & Safety Executive in a whole new light.
Wow - that's rough. Poor people. I smell a lawsuit or two. Or, it being Russia, an assassination.
"Do not look into laser with remaining eye."
Horrifying story...
Having used Class 3A tunneling and leveling lasers and read the warnings, I even worry about the damned scanners in the store checkout lanes even though they are "Class 2: Low-power visible lasers". Your blink reflex is supposed to protect your vision from these. I wonder what happens to 40 hours/week checkers vision over a career.
I didn't know that blinding weapons were banned, but it makes sense. That would be an ugly, ugly war...
This is a great tragedy IMO.
I'm actually amazed this didn't happen 10-15 years ago in SF back in the day. I'm sure there was a Gathering or Basics or Funky Techno Tribe that had spraying milspec lasers 5ft over the heads of us ravers...
This reminds me of a song called by the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars "Aging Ravers personal hell"
Well, I guess these wild kids finally saw the light.
(sorry. Don't maim me.)
That is why you should wear sunglasses at night.
Would it help? I'm not sure.
Sure it's sad, unfair and irresponsible.
If they just listened to heavy metal instead... *shrugs*
Yikes, this gives "interactive media" a whole new twist. Wowzer.
The secondary tragedy is that now & for the rest of the day
"blinded by the light, wrapped up like douche,
another roner in the night"
will be playing in my head nonstop.
Way back in the day at an indoor Led Zeppelin concert, they created an amazing effect by aiming a laser at a spinning disco ball hanging in the middle of the arena. Made beams bounce all over the place, including one straight into my eye. Seemed pretty bright at the time, but I got over it. As cool as it looked, I've always wondered at the wisdom of performing that effect and what kind of damage it could have caused.
blinding weapons are banned, for use. They still sell them. Just ask China.
The inexpensive Chinese lasers usually don't have IR filters. That's what fries the eyes. Glasses to filter IR are $20-$30 a pair. If you're going to a concert, a good investment.
was the dj spinning manfred mann's 'blinded by the light'?
If they just listened to heavy metal instead... *shrugs*
...then they could be burned to death by faulty pyrotechnics.
@9: the lyrics are actually "Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night" but Manford Mann sang it as "Revved up like a deuce". If you are going to sing it all day you might as well sing it right.
@#4 "I wonder what happens to 40 hours/week checkers vision over a career."
Show me one of those and I show you a checker who doesn't even look at the scanner anymore.
Ever since you got hit by that laser at that Blue Oyster Cult show you've been acting like a real pussy!
#19,
I'm curious...what does this mean? "Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night." What is a 'deuce'?
I always heard that word as "douche", and was even more mystified.
One possible interpretation of the lyrics can be found at http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=964
"Springsteen's original line makes a lot more sense - a deuce is a 1932 Ford hotrod."
Found it, thanks. Yeah, The Boss was trying Dylan's schtick: Get a strong chorus to repeat between long bursts of slapdash surrealistic lyrics and hope nobody really understands it.
More information about the lyrics at http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_148.html.
Held up like a loofah by the foreman of the night...
I was up way to late a week ago and after Voyager and DS9 they have at 2am they have on 7Days a show about this guy who is sent back in time 7 days by the US government to prevent horrific events. And of course, the episode was about a laser attack blinding large numbers of people at a rave. Life imitates bad sci-fi tv.
@#2: "I smell a lawsuit or two."
That's just scorched retina fumes.
Wait...
They still have raves?
Other than that, how was the concert?
That's horrifying. I would expect to have decreased hearing after a concert and maybe a few bruises and scratches from the mosh pit, but that's taking bodily harm to a whole new level. O_o;
Shoop da woop
I think I spend too much time on imagechan
#21 Hey, man, those are Tak's chicks.
Lasers aren't inherently dangerous - it's just that any bright light, sufficiently focussed, can burn your skin or retina. The thing about lasers is that the power levels are misleading: they can produce very bright lights with very little power (by applying it over a very small area). A regular lamp becomes dangerous somewhere up in the kilowatt range, while a laser can do it with milliwatts. You can easily build handheld units with that level of brightness, although the batteries won't last very long.
Supermarket scanners use far less power than that. You would have to stare directly at them for several minutes, uninterrupted, to cause any damage. They're listed as class 2 because you could do that, but your supervisor would want to know why you were staring at the scanner instead of doing your job.
These things designed to illuminate the clouds, on the other hand, are ridiculously overpowered and should never be used in a confined space.
I read this story a couple hours ago and have been singing "woke up like a douche" to my cat since then. I returned to share this lovely fact with you, my fellow readers. Imagine my glee to find myself in such good company. Heartwarming!
It's not like the Russians haven't intentionally pointed high powered lasers at people before...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Juan_de_Fuca_laser_incident
..a sophisticated heat beam which we called a "laser."
Wow, a non-humorous application for one of my old shirt designs.
http://www.cafepress.com/lasersafety
The splatter alone from those lasers could do permanent damage. Imagine looking up at the stage and catching a blast right through your cornea? Whatever nitwit decided to fire these into the crowd ought to be named publicly, then prosecuted. They were either flying on drugs or secretly despise rave kids.
I can't blame anyone for the latter, but that's still no excuse to maim complete strangers just for trying to have fun.
is Moscow. You no understand.
They could still name the person publicly, then let the problem "take care of itself."
"Melon Baller Mauling" is a headline that springs to mind. Dark, yet festive.
Wow, lasers and mondgreens in the same story! Who could ask for more?
In Soviet Russia, lasers blind you!
Waitaminute...