Fiber-Optic Light Burns

Fiber-optic light sources—used in devices such as endoscopes, retractors, and headlamps—-are often referred to as cold light sources. This can be misleading. There are two main sources of burns from fiber-optic lights  

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In LIBS analysis, a pulsed laser is focused on the gem surface. The laser energy ablates a small amount of gem material which burns in a short-lived plasma. As the plasma cools, excited electrons decay into lower-energy orbitals, releasing energy in the form of photons in the ultraviolet-visible-infrared range. This light is collected by optic fiber, diffracted, and recorded as a spectrum, generally between 200 and 1000 nm. 

The low refractive index of THV (typically 1.355) is utilized in light tubes and communication optical fiber applications where high flexibility is required. Its optical clarity and impact resistance make it suitable for laminated safety glass for vehicles and for windows and doors in psychiatric and correctional institutions. An additional advantage is that the film does nol burn or support combustion, which may be a major concern in some applications [69]. 

The optical setup of the Stark experiment is comparable to a hole-burning setup described in [16]. The fiber setup for laser excitation and fluorescence collection has been described in previous chapters. Since the fiber did not preserve the polarization, the orientation of the exciting laser light with respect to the electric field was not known. 

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