5mW Green Laser Pointers

Gable, the grandson of “Gone With the Wind” star, was sentenced to 10 days in jail and three years probation Thursday for aiming a laser pointer at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter last July, TMZ reports.

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In December, Gable, 23, pleaded guilty to one felony count of discharge of a laser at an occupied aircraft. The 10-day sentence is in accordance with expectations at the time of his pleading.

Also read: Love Child of Clark Gable, Loretta Young Dies at 76

Gable was also expected to be sentenced to 200 hours on a CalTrans crew. It is not known whether that was part of his sentence. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to TheWrap’s request for comment.

The D.A.’s Office said that Gable pointed a 52-milliwatt laser light at the helicopter as it flew 800 feet above Hollywood Boulevard, obstructing the vision of the officers in the chopper. Police arrested Gable and Maximilain Anderson, the driver of the car Gable was in, but declined to file charges against Anderson due to insufficient evidence.

Two other felony counts of discharge of a laser, as well as one count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, were dropped in exchange for Gable’s December guilty plea.

Q. Are laser pointers safe? My cat really goes crazy when I get his out to play.

A. As with so many other things, I have to give an answer and a caveat. For many cats, laser pointers are wonderful for getting in a good workout. For indoor cats, especially, pretty much anything that gets a cat moving is a good thing. But for some cats, these toys have been blamed for the development of compulsive behaviors such as excessive grooming.

SEE ALSO: Why Does My Cat… Stare at Me?

The worry most people have regarding safety is about the laser itself. Of course you shouldn’t shine the light into your pet’s eyes (or your own) on purpose, but you don’t have to worry if the beam hits an eye for a split-second in play. The potential problem with these toys comes because the cat can never “win” the game. Even if a cat catches the dot there’s nothing there. The cat gets all worked up with no resolution – every time. Even in the wild, a hunting cat will catch the prey now and then. But there’s no catching that alluring, fast-moving red dot!

SEE ALSO: How Do I Keep My Cat Off the Kitchen Counter?

Though most cats will wind down from their hunting high with no harm done, some will redirect their frustration in ways that can hurt themselves or others. There’s an easy way out of the problem, however. After you’ve used the laser pointer to exhaust your cat (up and down stairs can be fun – StairMaster for cats!), switch toys to something that can be caught and “killed,” such as a toy on the end of a fishing pole or a stuffed mouse. Your cat can then wind down with the satisfaction of having won the game, with “dead prey” to show for his hunting prowess.

A MAN has surrendered his passport after allegedly shining a high-powered laser at a police helicopter.

The PolAir 2 helicopter was monitoring New Year’s Eve crowds in Sydney about 9.30pm when it was targeted by a laser on four occasions.

The crew was able to use its onboard cameras to identify a suspect among the revellers and kept him under surveillance while directing public order and riot squad officers to his location.

Police arrested a 27-year-old man and allegedly found the high-powered laser pointer in his pocket.

The Taiwanese national was interviewed via an interpreter before being charged with threatening the safety of aircraft and the possession of a laser pointer in a public place.

He was forced to surrender his passport and has been bailed to appear at North Sydney Local Court on January 24.

The helicopter landed safely at Bankstown airport later in the night.

Game on, microbeads. This micron-sized game of Tetris, developed by students from VU University Amsterdam, is being played using a light-trapping device called optical tweezers rigged up to a computer game. The microscopic glass spheres are in the clutches of a highly- focused laser beam that keeps the beads in position while moving new Tetris pieces.

“Optical tweezers enable manipulation on the sub-micrometre scale as if you’re handling real tweezers,” says physicist Joost van Mameren, one of the creators of the video. “The focus of this beam acts as an attraction point for small particles: they get sucked into the focus and cannot escape.”

At the end of the clip, the laser is turned off and the Tetris beads quickly drift out of position.

When optical tweezers are not puzzling over Tetris, researchers use the tool to manipulate bacteria, pry open DNA’s double helix, and test the mechanics of nature’s smallest structures.

For more fun with photons, read our full-length feature covering nine fabulous light spin-offs.

If you enjoyed this video, see how you can manipulate molecules with your iPad or play a game of Pong with a laser gadget.

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How Your Laser Pointer Works, At Least In Theory
The next time you’re annoying people from afar with your laser pointer, you’ll have a greater appreciation for its bright and focused beam after watching One Minute Physics break down the theoretical science behind how it works.

While the explanation touches on complicated Bose–Einstein statistics, it basically comes down to excited photons bouncing back and forth between mirrors, who then excite other photons, who then excite other photons, etc.

When enough of them are excited and released through a tiny opening, PEW PEW, the results are an intense and focused beam that we refer to as a laser. So now in addition to annoying your friends with a blinding dot of light, you can also annoy them with an explanation of how it came to be

As any cat owner knows, the natural enemy of the domesticated feline is the laser pointer. My cat has been known to chase one around the house for hours before pretending to be not interested in it any more, only to pounce again a few moments later. The armchair zoologist in me would assume that this is some kind of hunting instinct left over from before the cat was domesticated. But do we see the same rabid determination in the large cats of the wild?

Well, since I don’t have any big cats to conduct this experiment with personally, I’ll instead provide this video from Big Cat Rescue. They’re an educational, non-breeding wildlife sanctuary for large cats, and one of their handlers decided to record their residents’ reactions to a little laser pointer fun. It ranges from intense interest to attacking the cage, so I’m going to say results are inconclusive (but awesome):

Cute Babies!!

Cristiano Ronaldo feels persecuted in international competitions

In the latest news, whining Real Madrid and Portugal star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has spoken against the unfair treatment he receives while away on international duty.

Cristiano Ronaldo feels that he is being physically assaulted. The question of verbal abuse is an act of the past when rivals tried to destabilize him with chants and insults.

According to the player, the Line has been crossed, reaching physical altercations, something that he is not willing to consent anymore.

He is now looking to approach European footballs governing body, UEFA to take matters in their own hands and do something about the treatment he has received.

Ronaldo wants either Real Madrid or the Portuguese FA to raise the question after Euro 2012’s first leg play-off match in Bosnia.

It is not the first time that a fan has tried to damage the eyes of a player with a laser pointer. But in Bosnia there were no limits.

There was not a single fan who could be attributed to such hindrance of play, however, when a group of individuals have such a weapon, it becomes a different question altogether.

Ronaldo was clearly annoyed with the laser pointers and reiterated that the intention of rival fans was to blind him. Pointers with different power and intensity can have a deadly affect and the former Manchester United winger is well in his right to complain

The response from Bosnian fans comes after the Portugal captain responded to chants with a raised middle finger.

Nevertheless, the reaction does not justify actions of fans, and Ronaldo is beginning to get sick and tired of his situation. It is not the first time this season that he has been treated in such a manner

The bad behaviour form rival fans started for the 26-year old in earlier international matches, the fixture against Cyprus being the highlight. Ronaldo reacted badly then and heckling by fans has escalated since then.

“Messi? The fans who sing these things to me are abnormal. I know it is not the whole stadium and it isn’t something that worries me. Anyway, those people who like football like to see Cristiano Ronaldo play.”

Real Madrid ace’s only response has been to UEFA, a plea to find a way so that such instruments are not allowed to proliferate stadiums.

The Red laser pointer nearly “kill” the poor kitty.

A 45-year-old North Texas man has been indicted after officials say he pointed a green laser at a commercial aircraft.

Sammy Don Ladymon Jr., who is free on bond, has been charged in a federal indictment of interfering with an aircraft. He also faced a similar state charge, which was dropped in favor of the federal charge.

The indictment says Ladymon “interfered with persons engaged in the authorized operation of an aircraft” — read that as pointed the laser at the pilots. It also says he did so with “a reckless disregard for the safety of human life” — read that as putting the passengers on board in danger.

In a jailhouse interview with NBC 5 in the summer, Ladymon said he was an amateur astronomer who bought the laser to point at stars. He said he occasionally pointed it at aircraft that he said were buzzing his home and harassing him.

The FBI caught Ladymon red-handed when one of their search aircraft flew over Ladymon’s home.

“A swarm of vehicles came down the street and said, ‘Freeze, FBI,’” Ladymon said. “And I went, ‘Ah-hah, now we know whose helicopter it is.’”

If he’s found guilty, Ladymon faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and Garland police.

Ladymon’s trail will begin Dec. 19.

The FAA said North Texas is approach 100 laser strikes this year after a laser incident over Lancaster on Monday night. Last year, Dallas/Fort Worth only had 34 incidents.