Question

A high school website directs parents to not allow student access to blue laser pointers or allow the students to bring them to school. It includes a video describing the danger inherent in the misuse of all laser pointers particularly the blue laser pointer. Why would they claim that blue laser pointers are more of a concern than red laser pointers?

Answer 1

A Blue laser wavelength is 445nm. It power is more than 500mW which can be dangerous for the human eye from more than 200 meters away. Red lasers on the other hand lack the power and distance.

Answer 2

Primarily because of the higher energy of blue light than the red light.

Step-by-step explanation:

Light is formed of photons, each one exhibiting an energy equivalent to E = hf, here h refers to the Planck Constant, and f is the frequency of the light. The frequency of blue light is 650 Hz, while the frequency of red light is about 450 Hz. The higher energy signifies higher energy, thus, blue light is more energetic in comparison to red light, and hence, can result in more destruction than red light.