Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

LPF Donation via Stripe | LPF Donation - Other Methods

Links below open in new window

ArcticMyst Security by Avery

WHAT is the best color for burning capability???






Joined
Aug 25, 2007
Messages
2,007
Points
63
Technically the lower the wavelength, the more energy density, so it should burn better for the same power output... In theory a 100mW bluray is stronger than a 100mW red, though in reality there isn't much difference. For the most part output power means a lot more about burning capability than anything else. 100mW = 100mW regardless of color.
Another thing is different colored objects absorb different colors of light. A red object for example absorbs every color except for red, since it reflects red light, it appears to our eyes as red. For red objects, a red laser will not be able to burn them very well, since most of the light is reflected away, not absorbed by the object. Black objects absorb all colors, so all colored lasers will burn black objects just as effectively. White objects reflect all colors, so no lasers will be able to burn them very well, although bluray seems to be absorbed, so bluray is better at burning white objects than other colors.

As far as visibility goes, the human eye sees green much brighter than any other color, so green lasers will look much brighter at lower powers. Bluray is on the very verge of being invisible to the human eye, so even very high powered blurays aren't very visible.

These are all very silly questions which you can answer for yourself by taking a highschool physics class or reading the forum before posting, that's why we made fun of you, not because of your english, but because these are dumb questions that we answer every day because people seem to think it's easier to ask a question than to answer it themselves by simply reading.

The part in red is incorrect. Everything else is good, but this is incorrect. As you said, 100mW is 100mW is 100mW. 100mW of 405nm light is exactly the same power as 100mW of 650nm. Yes, a single photon with wavelength 405nm has more energy than a single photon with wavelength 650nm. But since 100mW is 100mW, no matter the color, there are fewer 405nm photons emitted than there are 650nm photons emitted to get the same total power.

For violet vs. red: More energy per photon, but same total power, therefore, fewer photons. When you're looking at total power, individual photon energy doesn't come into it EXCEPT in determining how many photons you're getting out. Total power is total power, regardless of individual photon energy.

Of course wavelength and energy per photon DO come into play when deciding how the light is absorbed by different materials, as you also mention.

ETA: Ah, I just saw another point of view that you may be referencing: lower wavelength light can theoretically be focused to a smaller dot, therefore giving you a higher energy density than a higher wavelength laser, and allowing you to burn better. I don't even take this into account though, because human eyes are not sensitive enough to sizes that small to make any difference at all in how a laser is focused: we can no even approach focusing to a small enough dot that the theoretical limits come into play. An optical storage drive can, but human eyes with an Aixiz housing can't.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
601
Points
0
By price, you can get more power for you money in IR, But it is nice to see where the laser is going. Red is a good burner all around along with Blu-ray. Green stings skin really good and is very bright. so its preference
 
Joined
May 22, 2007
Messages
351
Points
0
IR and red are more "forgiving" with organic material (wood, paper, etc.) than green or blu-ray. I saw a video on here of someone pointing a 3W IR laser (I think it was 808nm) at their thumb with no ill effects. But my 215mW blu-ray stings my thumb in a second or two with a collimated, not max focused beam.

To an extent, a mW is a mW. But you also need to take into account the surfaces you will direct your laser's beam at.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
325
Points
0
I did a search..

FireMyLaser,
This topic is has been made so many times before, and is a great example of why we should have mods who can lock/delete unnecessary threads that clutter the forums.

I did a search for "best color for burning". I do remember seeing it on the old form.

Why did i end up back on this thread?
 
Last edited:

Switch

0
Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
3,327
Points
0
The part in red is incorrect. Everything else is good, but this is incorrect. As you said, 100mW is 100mW is 100mW. 100mW of 405nm light is exactly the same power as 100mW of 650nm. Yes, a single photon with wavelength 405nm has more energy than a single photon with wavelength 650nm. But since 100mW is 100mW, no matter the color, there are fewer 405nm photons emitted than there are 650nm photons emitted to get the same total power.

For violet vs. red: More energy per photon, but same total power, therefore, fewer photons. When you're looking at total power, individual photon energy doesn't come into it EXCEPT in determining how many photons you're getting out. Total power is total power, regardless of individual photon energy.

Of course wavelength and energy per photon DO come into play when deciding how the light is absorbed by different materials, as you also mention.

ETA: Ah, I just saw another point of view that you may be referencing: lower wavelength light can theoretically be focused to a smaller dot, therefore giving you a higher energy density than a higher wavelength laser, and allowing you to burn better. I don't even take this into account though, because human eyes are not sensitive enough to sizes that small to make any difference at all in how a laser is focused: we can no even approach focusing to a small enough dot that the theoretical limits come into play. An optical storage drive can, but human eyes with an Aixiz housing can't.

Well the part in red didn't really sound like science....like for instance what is a laser's strength, what do you measure it in? Since a 100mW bluray is "stronger" than a 100mW red laser I'd guess that the physical measure of "strength" is different from that of power or energy.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,724
Points
0
The part in red is incorrect. Everything else is good, but this is incorrect.
...

Thanks pullbangdead for clarifying that, I knew there was something about how I phrased that that didn't make sense. 100mW really does equal 100mW regardless of wavelength.

10,600nm

Burns just about anything.

Also known as "heat"... I've heard good things about "heat", and I've been told it's quite good at burning. Do you have that in a 5.6mm diode though? Can you press it into a module for me?

But seriously, I don't suppose there are any lasers at that wavelength, are there?
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2007
Messages
2,007
Points
63
Thanks pullbangdead for clarifying that, I knew there was something about how I phrased that that didn't make sense. 100mW really does equal 100mW regardless of wavelength.



Also known as "heat"... I've heard good things about "heat", and I've been told it's quite good at burning. Do you have that in a 5.6mm diode though? Can you press it into a module for me?

But seriously, I don't suppose there are any lasers at that wavelength, are there?

NP.

And as far as 10600nm, aka 10.6um, CO2 lasers are pretty common at that wavelength. It would be tough for a diode though.
 

Switch

0
Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
3,327
Points
0
Also known as "heat"... I've heard good things about "heat", and I've been told it's quite good at burning. Do you have that in a 5.6mm diode though? Can you press it into a module for me?

More like blackbody radiation. It's being emitted by any matter with a temperature.Well not exactly 10.6um , but a wider range like 8 - 14um or something like that. And can be a way of transfering heat between two objects not in contact and in a vacuum.

Btw, doesn't it get reflected by polished gold or aluminum? :undecided:
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2009
Messages
374
Points
0
This thread has reminded me I need to watch Pulp Fiction again. It would defy the laws of physics (I think) but I'd like a laser with a black beam. Of course that would not be laser
as I'm thinking a device that would completely bypass other light sources. It would look like a laser beam but be black and visible during the day.

Objects hit by it would... I have no idea.
 

HIMNL9

0
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
5,318
Points
0
It would defy the laws of physics (I think) but I'd like a laser with a black beam.

LOL ! ..... it remember me a very old comics where a mad scentist invented "black light lamp", a lamp that, instead generate light, was absorbing it, causing a darkening where you turn it on ..... :crackup:

..... if only the laws of the phisic was so easy to break ..... :eg:
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
878
Points
0
that would be possible!
Get a black hole and attrack all of the photons to it... and also all the room.
 




Top