“These laser beams are now so powerful they can shine up to five kilometres.”
Well, no, actually. They are “so powerful” that they can shine for infinity. As can the least powerful laser, if there’s nothing in the way. I suppose, in a way, I should be grateful that the police journalists people are stupid about physics and not just biology.
(And don’t get me started on the “XXXX can be used for ill, therefore let’s ban it”-type idiocy. Grrr.)
There’s stupid and stupid
That, Bob, was a joke. The blacked-out phone number was the NSW speaking clock.
OK so there’s more stupid too. Harrumph.
heh :)
Why are people shining lights at airplanes anyway? From a MacDonald’s, no less?
They’re chavs , perhaps?
Whenever I read “laser”, I hear in my head Dr Evil from Austin Powers with the “laser” in finger-quotes.
Mate of mine suggests an appropriate counter measure (as there seems to be a ‘cluster’ (pun intended – see later) of such incidents in Sydney just recently). He says that passenger airliners should be equipped with appropriately modified LGBs . As long as the perp keeps the laser shining, end of problem.
Slight possibility of collateral damage I guess, but that’s the Price of Freedom™ these days.
Were they really lasers?
Source
Bloody physicists. They should do some real work instead of messing around with over-sized, expensive toys.
I’ll just, um, step away from the confocal microscope and go play with the NMR machine. Or, the eh, X-Ray set. Um.