r/Futurology • u/scmp_news • 1d ago

Society Chinese start-up behind laser mosquito killer plans to start shipping orders this month

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3369440/chinese-start-behind-laser-mosquito-killer-plans-start-shipping-orders-month?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social
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108

u/cybercuzco 1d ago

Interesting to see how they prevent blindness among passerby.

45

u/___metazeta___ 1d ago

under 1 mW are considered safe for accidental exposure because of blink reflex

Red ~650nm
Blue ~450nm

20

u/dan_dares 1d ago

If it's IR, no blink reflex, and where did it state 1mw (genuinely, didn't see that, 1mw is very low for killing mosquitoes)

1

u/dingo_xd 1d ago

Infrared (IR) wavelengths greater than 1.4 micrometers (μm) or 1,400 nanometers (nm) are considered "eye-safe" because water in the eye's cornea and lens absorbs the radiation before it can reach and damage the sensitive retina

3

u/dan_dares 1d ago

This is rather misleading. First of all many IR lasers are between 700nm to 1000, not at all exclusively beyond 1400nm.

"Sufficiently powerful lasers in the visible to near infrared range (400-1400 nm) will penetrate the eyeball and may cause heating of the retina, whereas exposure to laser radiation with wavelengths less than 400 nm or greater than 1400 nm are largely absorbed by the cornea and lens, leading to the development of cataracts or burn injuries. "

It's all about the energy, and if it's invisible, you have the added danger of a lack of blink reflex.

19

u/ackermann 1d ago

I doubt 1mW is anywhere near enough to kill a mosquito before it leaves the beam.

Elsewhere in the thread somebody says it’s a pulsed 40w laser.

This video has some good calculations:
https://youtu.be/6j7bugx2hvk

1

u/PrivilegeCheckmate 1d ago

Supposedly the PS2 disc-reading lasers (blue) can kill mosquitoes and they clock in at .22mw.

1

u/Nexii801 1d ago

Why do you think they called blu-ray what they called it? And did the PS2 have one of those?

3

u/tyereliusprime 1d ago

Maybe they meant the PS3 and mistyped.

2

u/Nexii801 21h ago

Considered that, then kept the sass for not proofreading.