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what would damage  the eyes more 5mw green of






A mw is a mw is a mw.. 5 mw of X is the same as 5 mw of A. But in regards to the eye I recall someone wrote that cells in the human eye absorb the green quicker than red.
 
I would say IR since you'll have a hard time finding out it's even hitting your eye because you won't be able to see it.
 
I think IR, because when the green hit your eye your pupils will shrink, getting in less light, but with IR they stay normal, and let in more of the beam.
 
Not only your pupils, but you will have the reflex of closing your eyes if you are concious.Btw, I don't think the reason green apears brighter has anything to do with it being absorbed better.
 
Re: what would damage  the eyes more 5mw gree

kake is exactly right. With visible light you at least have a pupil reaction and a blink reflex. IR triggers neither of these and is thus exponentially more dangerous.
 
what would damage the eyes more 5mw green or 5mw IR
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Neither, "technically" speaking.

The FDA considers 5mw, as in a class 3a laser, unable to cause damage to the human eye, although they HIGHLY caution you do not test it.

As far as if IR or 532nm will cause more damage at a much higher power level, IR is the answer. Green will make you flinch, and possibly avoid a little more damage. IR, you will feel a pop/crunch and pain and never see a thing.

Both need to stay away from your eyeballs.
 
unable to cause damage to the human eye
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That's plain BS ::) You can get super screwed with a 5mW....some people are even stupid enough to try it.
 
Retinal scotomas are all you are gonna get with 5mw, unless you are unblinkable. ;D

Quote from Wikipedia....

Van Norren et al. (1998)[9] could not find a single example in the medical literature of a <1 mW class II laser causing eyesight damage. Mainster et al. (2003)[10] provide one case, an 11 year old child who temporarily damaged her eyesight by holding an approximately 5 mW red laser pointer close to the eye and staring into the beam for 10 seconds, she experienced scotoma but fully recovered after 3 months. Luttrulla & Hallisey (1999) describe a similar case, a 34 year old male who stared into the beam of a class IIIa red laser for 30 to 60 seconds, causing temporary central scotoma and visual field loss. His eyesight fully recovered within 2 days, at the time of his eye exam. An intravenous fundus flourescein angiogram, a technique used by ophthalmologists to visualise the retina of the eye in fine detail, identified subtle discoloration of the fovea.

Thus, it appears that a brief 0.25 second exposure to a <5 mW laser does not pose a threat to eye health. Apart from an aggressive act, briefly (0.25 second) shining a <5mW laser at another persons eye from a distance of several metres, will not affect their vision. On the other hand there is a potential for injury if a person deliberately stares into a beam of a class IIIa laser for few seconds or more at close range. Even if injury occurs, most people will fully recover their vision. With regard to green lasers, the safe exposure time may be less. These conclusions must be qualified with recent theoretical observations that certain prescription medications may interact with some wavelengths of laser light, causing increased sensitivity (phototoxicity).

The best course of action is to inform the victim of a laser pointer "attack" that medical science presently expresses the belief that brief exposure to a <5 mW laser, although annoying, cannot harm eyesight. Claims of injury from laser pointers, in particular if the claim is embellished with descriptions of eye pain, headaches and nausea, are likely to be false, mis-informed, or based more on concern than physical effects.
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No matter who's right or wrong, don't look in any laser. No matter the nm, mw or time. It's stupid.
Not even in a uncollimated laser diode.
 
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