- Joined
- Jun 5, 2012
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On ebay I so often see green laser pointers for just $5 that are rated at high power levels like 100mW. Are they REALLY 100mW? I can't believe that a $5 laser would be able to put out that much power. I mean if I put in front of a properly callibrated laser power meter intended for measuring 532nm lasers, would it really read out as 100mW, or maybe something lower like 20mW? I know there are hacks that you can do to boost 5mW lasers to 20mW, but I've never heard of a hack that claims you can get full 100mW out of it. I'm guessing these people just buy 5mW laser pointers, hack them according to some online instructions, and then resell them on ebay. But are they really 100mW? I would like to know, because if it is possible for a cheap laser pointer to be "upgraded" to 100mW, why are official 100mW green science-lab lasers often around $1000 or more?