Yes, the nontrivial differences are that my headband is around a thousand
times closer and puts out a hundred times as much energy.
We're not talking about a precision instrument here. How big a circle would
be illuminated at 5000 feet? If it spreads even 0.01 degree it's over a foot
in diameter. 5 mW spread over a couple square feet?

The energy of your diode in the cabin is spread out quickly. (and I
don't know whether the laser in question is 5 mW)

Take an ordinary pocket laser ("cat toy") and aim it at the ground on
a sunny day and you will =still= see the spot. Place it far enough
away so the spot is faint, and focus it with a magnifying glass and it
will be as bright as ever. To do this, the brighness of the light is
rivaling that of the sun (at that point), and winning.

That's bright. You can't cook with it partly because it's all one
wavelength and partly because it only hits one spot. But without
trying an experiment on my eyeballs, I can see how it could
temporarily blind you and may even cause permanent damage (especially
as your pupils probably won't contract).

Jose
--
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