--- Patrick Wiggins <paw@trilobyte.net> wrote:
The difference between a 12 and a 14 is the 14 is safe for looking at the Sun while the 12 is not. I would recommend you NOT use a #12 to view the Sun.
For years, #13 was recommended as the proper shade. I wonder why the shift to #14 in recent years? I recall that the change came at about the same time that eyepeice-mounted "solar" filters fell into disfavor. BTW, if you own one of those, DESTROY IT WITH A HAMMER and throw the pieces away! I had one crack on me as a youth, and could have suffered serious permanent eye damage. Luckily, I heard stress fractures "pop" just before the filter failed completely, and got my eye away before my retina was severly burned. As it was, there was minor damage that I still can detect decades later. And that was with only 3 inches of aperture. Chuck __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com