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Posted: 9/17/2012 9:27:40 PM EDT
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This may be a pretty silly question or discussion,
But is the PEQ-15's visible red laser (5mw) beam suppose to be visible? I have access to a unit with the 5mw VIS and 45mw IR laser but I don't see a bold bright red beam not even in the dark...I see the red dot but no beam. Can the beam only be seen through video recording? Reason why I am asking is because I was watching "Act of Valor" the movie, and yes I am aware it's a movie so it might be special effects. But the red beam is clearly visible. There is also a video on Youtube that shows Marines playing around with PEQ-15's and it looks like a light saber. Even when I use the PEQ-15 with the PVS-14 there is no beam that emits out the PEQ-15. Is there another more powerful unit or whats the deal? Again, this may seem like a silly question but I am curious. 
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Light itself is normally invisible as it travels through a vacuum, it only becomes visible when it strikes some particle (ANYTHING, really), at which point it reflects off of that and light particles scatter in different directions, some of which may end up traveling into your eye. This is for any light striking anything. Now, for lasers, the photons of light all travel in one direction and theoretically do not scatter or reflect until they hit a solid object. In practice, though, some photons will reflect off the molecules of the air we breathe. This is called Raleigh Scattering, and it is why the sky is blue. In order for you to actually SEE the laser beam, one of two things needs to happen: the intensity of the beam needs to be high enough that plenty of photons strike air molecules to the point that you actually see them (which is what you see in those Lightsabre vids under NV because those IR laser are POWERFUL!) or there is something else in the air that is causing the light to scatter and reflect, such as smoke, dust, fog, etc. (and this is what you see in Act of Valor).
So, long story short: light is invisible until it finds something to reflect off of, and even then you only see the photons of light that reflect directly into your eyes (because it can scatter in all directions or only a few directions). If you see it as a beam in the air, it's either reflecting off of minuscule non-air particles, or the beam is sufficiently powerful enough to scatter on nothing more than the air itself. You will not see any scattering in space. Sorry, science fiction 
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Quoted:
This may be a pretty silly question or discussion, But is the PEQ-15's visible red laser (5mw) beam suppose to be visible? yes, it's simply red light I have access to a unit with the 5mw VIS and 45mw IR laser but I don't see a bold bright red beam not even in the dark...I see the red dot but no beam. Can the beam only be seen through video recording? no, you can also see it in dust, smoke and fog. it's basically the same with any other light. for instance, you can see the pattern of your headlight beam easier on a dusty road Reason why I am asking is because I was watching "Act of Valor" the movie, and yes I am aware it's a movie so it might be special effects. But the red beam is clearly visible. There is also a video on Youtube that shows Marines playing around with PEQ-15's and it looks like a light saber. Even when I use the PEQ-15 with the PVS-14 there is no beam that emits out the PEQ-15. Is there another more powerful unit or whats the deal? it's a video camera not your eyeball. red light is easier to see in a video recording. also, like you said... it's a movie Again, this may seem like a silly question but I am curious. be careful about being curious. that's how we ended up with gay people and weird regional foods. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
This may be a pretty silly question or discussion, But is the PEQ-15's visible red laser (5mw) beam suppose to be visible? yes, it's simply red light I have access to a unit with the 5mw VIS and 45mw IR laser but I don't see a bold bright red beam not even in the dark...I see the red dot but no beam. Can the beam only be seen through video recording? no, you can also see it in dust, smoke and fog. it's basically the same with any other light. for instance, you can see the pattern of your headlight beam easier on a dusty road Reason why I am asking is because I was watching "Act of Valor" the movie, and yes I am aware it's a movie so it might be special effects. But the red beam is clearly visible. There is also a video on Youtube that shows Marines playing around with PEQ-15's and it looks like a light saber. Even when I use the PEQ-15 with the PVS-14 there is no beam that emits out the PEQ-15. Is there another more powerful unit or whats the deal? it's a video camera not your eyeball. red light is easier to see in a video recording. also, like you said... it's a movie Again, this may seem like a silly question but I am curious. be careful about being curious. that's how we ended up with gay people and weird regional foods. 
Second funniest thing I've read today. (1 being "5 things you didn't know about Michelle Obama, #6: she once ripped the arms off a droid because of a game" |
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