mW needed for specific application

I'm looking to cut red nylon twine (about the diameter of thin spagetti) from a distance of about 10 inches. The twine is supporting a light weight (~1 lb) and I'd like to cut the twine in about 10 seconds.

How many mW's would be needed to achive this goal?

Since no one else responded, I'll take a stab at it. Cut through nylon twine in 10 seconds? I'm guessing for a green laser it would be somewhere near 1 watt.
Whatever the power output would end up being, it's probably not cost effective.
You would spend close to a grand, if not more, to cut some twine.

Hope that helps,

Tim

It also depend from the color of the thing ..... if it's black, probably a 200mW of BR is enough for cut it also in less time, if correctly focused .....

Thanks for the replies. For this project, time is varible, but I'd say no more than 30 seconds. With that info, any hope 200mW would accomplish this?

is it stable ?

I mean, if you have a moving collimated spot that try to cut a moving whire, it's hard ..... if the wire and the laser are stable, i think a 200mW BR can easily cut a red nylon wire in 30 seconds and less, overall if it hold a weight (nylon tend to melt and elongate when you heat it, anyway) ..... a GGW BR diode is enough, for get 200mW stable and safe with a good driver (just keep it heatsinked)

an 8X is ofcourse better and more quick, but also more high in cost .....

Oh, by the way, i suppose it's an operation that you don't do in a public place, with peoples around that can be hit from the beam, right ? .....