Argon laser

[Diachi]

you need to know that Beryllium Oxide Isopressed ceramic in your laser tube is only toxic if you grind it to a fine dust and get it into your lungs or under your skin.

Beryllium metal is just plain toxic, period.


If you were to break a tube, you power down, flood it with water and put it in a plastic bag while wearing gloves. Tape the bag closed and if you a mere individual and not at work, it just goes in the regular trash.

think about it, if it were not somewhat very safe would you be blowing a fan over it ?

the stuff is harder then most rock, you'd have to hold it to a abrasive wheel to make the 1-1.5 micron toxic dust that can get into your lungs.

steve

Steve

I didn't know it was *that* hard! Have you ever broken a BeO tube ? I imagine they take quite a beating if that's how hard they are though.



@GooeyGus: Of course, you would know fine well about how gas lasers get bigger over time ( Lucky Bugger! )! With the amount of gas laser stuff that you have accumulated you'll be catching up on Steve soon.


Regards,

Adam

[QUAZAR]

I didn't know it was *that* hard! Have you ever broken a BeO tube ? I imagine they take quite a beating if that's how hard they are though.

I dropped an ALC68 and it landed on its endplate.

Damage was extensive and terminal.

IIRC, I managed to slavage the optics and holders, and the magnetic coils. Everything else went in a skip, after the nice insurance man had taken a look at it. He didnt hang about either when he saw the warning label.

[mixedgas]

[QUOTE=Diachi;108757]I didn't know it was *that* hard! Have you ever broken a BeO tube ? Yes, when they were dead, to make them fit in the trashcan. Some are segmented and fragile, lexels and SP glass ones, but the short fat ones in 60X and omnichrome are 1.1" diameter with a .065 bore. Its a rock. The only place you can crack one is where the endbells are brazed on, unless you hit it with a sledge hammer. Iced over magnets of improperly stored or shipped water cooled lasers do a good job of cracking some ceramic tubes, but often they survive freezing if its a one piece gain segment.



@GooeyGus: Of course, you would know fine well about how gas lasers get bigger over time ( Lucky Bugger! )! With the amount of gas laser stuff that you have accumulated you'll be catching up on Steve soon.


When he hits being trusted with teh keys to a 3 million dollar show facility at a amusement park with 3 one seventy ones doing 40 watts of argon and 7 of krypton, and then later a 17 watt white light, he can talk.

When he hits a coherence length upwards of kilometers, locked to a iodine resonance, GG can talk....

When he gets one to stay single frequency for 72 hours, unattended, iodine locked with NO dropouts and only two modehops, he can talk...
(btw that gets done with 4 opamps and a solar cell)

Size doesnt matter so much, its what you DO with the laser that counts.

Just kidding GG, I know how hard it can be to uncrate a laser and hook it up without help, and belive me, even I make phone calls to the factory some times.

Steve

[Laserman532]

"Have you ever broken a BeO tube?" Now thats some funny stuff right there, I for one have "water bagged" my fair share of BEO tubes may be more than my fair share

[djmatt]

Thankfully not!!
Is it that easy to break them?
Now Ive broken many HID bulbs in my time.. And with metal halide bulbs,they sound like a bomb going off when they break


djmatt

[Xytrell]

Glass enclosing gasses at 70-90 PSI will do that! Ever been injured by one?

[steve-o]

Originally Posted by allthatwhichisO NOT RUN IT WITHOUT A FAN!!! It will burn up.

That's what this is for:

How long are you running it without a fan? The thermal switch is an emergency cut-off device. When it trips, it has usually already exceeded the safe thermal limits of the tube and has taken quite a few hours off of the lifespan of the tube. You really need a fan unless you are running it under 30-45 seconds.

[djmatt]

Thank God I havent beem hurt too bad!! Mostly its burns form the pieces of the arc tube. The best one I remimber was a 1000 watt MH, it sounded like a shotgun!! It left dents in the reflector I think I have a pic of it somewere.


djmatt

[heroic]

Thankfully not!!
Is it that easy to break them?

BeO is very hard, quite strong, but very brittle as a result of its extreme hardness. Kinda like glass.

I've used BeO in microwave applications. Until it gets broken, you can treat it like any other hard, brittle ceramic- it closely resembles alumina and quartz in many respects.

[djmatt]

Wow!! Well thats good to know.


djmatt