Looking For Help

I am new to this hole laser stuff but i am have a couple of questions. when looking for a laser what does mw and nm mean and i want a lazer strong enogh to pop boloons,light matches and fireworks. so what mw and what nm(if means color what coolest/ cheepest) would i need

ps i would like it durable

cya60 said:

I am new to this hole laser stuff but i am have a couple of questions. when looking for a laser what does mw and nm mean and i want a lazer strong enogh to pop boloons,light matches and fireworks. so what mw and what nm(if means color what coolest/ cheepest) would i need

ps i would like it durable

Click to expand...

mw=milliwatts
nm=the wavelength///Color
To light fireworks and stuff you'll need about 150+mw of power. The color doesn't really matter. Red lasers are cheaper per mw though.
I'd recommend checking out O-Like or rayfoss if you want a cheap burning laser or optotronics if you want something higher quality.

Go to o-like . com and get the red 200mW laser.

mW = milliwatt (1/1000th of a watt)
nm = nanometer (wavelength) 532nm green is the most common that is most visible to the human eye.

Start here: Basic FAQ's... Read before posting!

It answers ALL those types of questions, and saves you and everyone else a lot of time. As has been said many times, these questions have already been answered, if you'll read first.


See also:
The forum on Companies
A Guide To Buying Your First Green Laser

Welcome to LPF!

mW=milliwatt (1000 of a watt)
nm=nanometer (a measure of wavelength)
650nm=red/532nm=green/405nm=blu-ray
and a lot of others.
These are the ones you will most often come across in laser pointers.(other nm's are big $$$$)

405nm burns the best but is expensive. Around $1-$1.50 a mW.
Red is the cheapest way to go for burning power. Around .25 cent mW.
To pop balloons you need at least 50mW of red or green or 25mW of Blu-ray.
To light matches you need at least 200mW of red or 50-75mW of Blu-ray.
I don't recommend 532nm, (green) for burning, to a beginner, because of the danger of the brightness and the IR (infrared) leakage. (you must buy goggles to use inside, with all nm's)
But it falls in the middle between 650nm and 405nm
However, if you want the most blindingly bright beam to play with outside, 532nm is the way to go.
As for durability, don't buy off of e-bay, most everthing on there is junk. Go with someone on this forum in the B/S/T section. Or, O-like, rayfoss, etc.(look under company's review section to find some good ones.)
But the ones built by expert builders on this forum will be your best bet. Most e-bay seller's will ignore you if you have a problem. (most, not all)
O-like & Rayfoss are very respected here.

EDIT: I see others have beat me to it, but being as I typed it already, I'll post.LOL

WELCOME to LPF-btw-can I ask your age and location-if you don't mind?-also-best to try to get as many answers as you can on your own here via search and at Sam's laser FAQ--we are here to help after that- IMO -safety(eye protection) and using lasers in a way that will not get you(or us) into any trouble are very important..HZ

Sams...... excellent resource.

Sam's Laser FAQ: Welcome Page

roosl said:

mW = milliwatt (1/1000th of a watt)
nm = nanometer (wavelength) 532nm green is the most visible to the human eye.

Start here: Basic FAQ's... Read before posting!

It answers ALL those types of questions, and saves you and everyone else a lot of time. As has been said many times, these questions have already been answered, if you'll read first.


See also:
The forum on Companies
A Guide To Buying Your First Green Laser

Welcome to LPF!

Click to expand...

Actually, 550nm is most visible