more on Re: Aviators Beware: Lasers About

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 07:53:21 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Re: Aviators Beware: Lasers About



[Note:  This comment comes from reader David Reed.  David makes some
good points here.  One fallout of this incident very could be that
getting your hands on any sort of laser is going to get a good deal
more difficult.  A lot more difficult then say getting your hands on an
assault rifle.  :-(   DLH]

> From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
> Date: January 10, 2005 6:38:52 AM PST
> To: dewayne () warpspeed com
> Cc: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: Re: Aviators Beware: Lasers About
>
> OK, brand me as someone who doesn't trust "planted news stories" from
> government sources, especially about new threats that need to be
> regulated.
>
> But has anyone done the calculation of the risk posed by these "laser
> attacks" from the ground?
>
> There's no doubt in my mind that the risk falls off with distance, and
> that the size of the pilot's lens-pupil light gathering region
> relative to the beam diameter at distance is pretty small.  And the
> probability that a ground-based attacker can hit a pilot's eyeballs
> through a cockpit windshield at 200 mph dot-product with the
> attacker's off-landing-axis vector is pretty small, too.
>
> So I suspect that even the brilliant lasers used in laser light shows
> are hardly critical risks.
>
> Assuming my skepticism is grounded, cui bono?   Who benefits from
> generating these scary stories?   Of course the credulous newscasters
> get another reason for people to stay glued to Fox News.   And the
> "leakers" get street cred with the news guys for when they need to
> leak a more immediate attempt to call for jackbooted repression....
> but ignoring my paranoia here, what bill is before Congress that will
> be supported by this?


Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net>
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