might buy this

Minion · Post by **Minion** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:51 am

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/8122/
any potential hazards from LED?

CodeZTM · Post by **CodeZTM** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:07 pm

Wow. I didn't know that they had these invented? Hmm. Well, I'm sure somebody or another will scream "CANCER", but I really don't see any harm. If the batteries leak or get that residue in the water, it might cause a problem. But that would never happen! I mean, we all know that companies are looking out for the well being of the consumer, and not in it solely for profit.

Org Profile · Post by **808-buma** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 6:10 pm

wow, and i thought that the usb-powered nerf rocket launcher was a waste of money...

but it might be good for those 'house of horror' things at Halloween...

guy07 · Post by **guy07** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:07 pm

should be safe, get it, that shits pimpin'!

Willen · Post by **Willen** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 9:41 am

I think it would depend on how the water is separated from the electronics, but as long as there is some type of physical barrier, there should be no harmful effects.

Of course, if the water does make contact with either the LEDs, the circuitry, or the batteries, then that would be bad. If there is harmful substances in the LED package material (usually plastic) it could leach out into the water. Lead-based solder if used in the circuitry is definitely not good. The supplied batteries are alkalines, which use potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte. I'm no chemist, so I'm not sure how harmful ingesting small amounts of potassium hydroxide is (it is used in food preparation) but seeing as it is a caustic (pH 12 to 14 = nasty!), I'm not sure I'd like doing so even considering that it would be diluted by water.

Nessephanie · Post by **Nessephanie** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 3:38 pm

They're actually perfectly safe.

A friend of mine who has all his schooling for being an electrician and crap made some himself. I asked the same thing and he went into a whole explaination of why they're safe, but I can't remember...but they are.

Willen · Post by **Willen** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:59 am

I forgot to mention that for the batteries, as long as they aren't leaking, they are safe. Of course, tap water + electronics = bad for the electronics. So for it to work properly, the device would have to be sealed against water intrusion. My only question is how well, and for how long...

Org Profile · Post by **808-buma** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:12 pm

Willen wrote:My only question is how well, and for how long...

probably just long enough for the novelty to wear off and it gets chucked into the bin... Then it just melts down into a large mass of goo and eats through to the earths core

godix · Post by **godix** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:47 pm

808-buma wrote:probably just long enough for the novelty to wear off and it gets chucked into the bin... Then it just melts down into a large mass of goo and eats through to the earths core

I originally thought this was rather stupid but now that you mention it can eat through to the earths core I might pick one of these up myself.

Kitsuner · Post by **Kitsuner** » Sat May 03, 2008 3:11 am

How many LEDs would it take to power a weaponized laser cannon?