My First Green

Trinity · Aug 19, 2009

A few questions about my first green laser.

Yesterday I bought my first, kinda "serious" laser, a green laser pointer. I got it for 20 Euro from a Chinese salesman I bumped into. It looks nice. It has a rotating head that projects nice patterns and when you remove it, you get a nice, very bright dot. I tried it last night outside and it outputs a nice visible beam.
I have a couple questions if anyone could answer or speculate.
The sticker on the laser says that the wavelength is 532+-10 and that the output power is <50mW. So what does that mean? Is it really something like, 5mW or 49mW?
Any estimations on that or thoughts about it in general are much appreciated

Now I want to measure how much the dot broadens in proportion with the distance. I think I will use Google earth for distance and a measuring tape for the dot

this is exciting

Thank you for reading

P.S.
Do I need special eye protection when I am operating this one?

93shad · Aug 21, 2009

does it say <50 on the sticker.. mine is rated at 164mw Average verified and ithas a <150mW sticker

Trinity · Aug 21, 2009

The sticker does say <50mW. I suppose that's what you get for 20 euro

I tried focusing the beam with a glass lens, and tried to burn something but with no luck. I guess it is just plain beautiful and not capable of anything else

93shad · Aug 22, 2009

yeah usualy only 30mW are the highest power for pointing, if u can c the beam then its higher than hat

bobhaha · Aug 22, 2009

Thats right, if you look down the pen when pointing at some thing (away from you) and you can see a beam it probably over 25mw. btw the 532 is the wavelength of the light emmitted denoted by nm meaning nano meters. the +-10 means it could be within 10 nm opersite side of the wavelength (from 522nm to 542nm). The small the wavelength the higher energy the light eg 405nm is in the violet spectrum (high energy) and 660 in in the red spectrum (low energy).

If you live close to one of the members here or are able to ship the laser you can get the output tested for you. Ask around see what people say!

randomlugia · Aug 23, 2009

93shad said:
yeah usualy only 30mW are the highest power for pointing, if u can c the beam then its higher than hat

That's one the most ridicules things I have ever heard. Do you own a 5mW green laser? You can easily see the beam at night. And my 15mW is visible in a dimly lit room.

Also, the beam of a DPSS green laser is never "+-10nm". A DPSS uses special crystals to convert the light from IR to a specific wavelength of green, giving you 532nm every time.

Trinity · Aug 23, 2009

I live in Greece so I think i am not close to anyone

Moreover, I don't think it is worth the trouble testing the output of this one.
By the way, yes, in the dark I can see the beam as well as when I shoot it up the night sky

randomlugia · Aug 23, 2009

Try pointing it at a piece of black electrical tape. If it smokes, it's 30mW or higher. Anything that doesn't smoke electrical tape should be safe for your eyes indoors.

themandalorian · Aug 23, 2009

There's cases of even 10mw damaging peoples eyes. As long as you aren't pointing it at something reflective you're fine, best bet would be to use it outside only. Going blind is very realy from lasers

Trinity · Aug 26, 2009

randomlugia said:
Try pointing it at a piece of black electrical tape. If it smokes, it's 30mW or higher. Anything that doesn't smoke electrical tape should be safe for your eyes indoors.

No, nothing happened, I even tried focusing the beam with a lens on a black thin piece of paper with still no results. So I guess the laser is something like 5 mW.
That's rather disappointing but hey, it does not need to burn to be nice...although that would certainly be a plus

Maybe just a few reflections catch my eye but just for a moment, and of course I never look directly into the beam (that 'd be silly and I am not 10 yo anymore

)

I think this covers all my questions
I wanna thank everyone who took the time to reply, I really appreciate it.

Take care and may your lasers never break

bobhaha · Aug 26, 2009

lol happy to help!

scion · Aug 26, 2009

Go out and have some fun just be safe!!

Something fun to try, target practice.
Try to shine it at something reflective from far away. its fun to see how far you can actually point your laser.

Get a pair of high power binoculars or a small telescope and zoom in on a street sign that has reflective paint and see if you can reach it. you may think its great, you may not, but certainly may impress some friends.

Have fun!

randomlugia · Aug 27, 2009

Trinity- Paper takes a lot of power to burn. You need to use electrical tape. I wouldn't go around assuming it's 5mW if you don't really know...

nikokapo · Aug 27, 2009

You can't burn tape with 50mW, so the >30mW rule is not correct.

For that you'd need at least 80mW of green (or green+IR). Doesn't matter if your pointer is 30mW, you should be VERY careful when using it indoors, don't think that because it's low power it can't damage your eyes for life.

scion · Aug 28, 2009

nikokapo said:
You can't burn tape with 50mW, so the >30mW rule is not correct.

For that you'd need at least 80mW of green (or green+IR). Doesn't matter if your pointer is 30mW, you should be VERY careful when using it indoors, don't think that because it's low power it can't damage your eyes for life.

x2!!!

My First Green

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