5mw -- beam visible on a clear night?

[LaySir]

Can anyone tell me if a 5mw greenie is powerful enough to produce a visible beam on a clear night?

Thanks!

 

[JBTexas]

For my 5mw green (LaserGlow Lyra);

INDOORS;
The beam is fairly visible at a *low* angle of incidence.

It is VERY visible if I go into a hallway next to my bathroom, and bounce the beam off of a mirror in the bathroom back-at-me.

At a 90 degree angle of incidence, looking at the beam perpendicular, it is "somewhat" / "barely" visible.

But my cat can see it really well. For some reason my cat IGNORES the green spot from my 5mw green, and USUALLY ignores the red spot from my <5mw red (probably ~ 3mw red)... SOMETIMES he plays with the red spot from ~ 3mw red... BUT he loves to "swat" the GREEN 5mw beam and try to knock the beam out of the air... he seems to be able to see it really well even at 90 degrees... better than I can. (maybe the beam just seems more interesting to him, and he is an older wiser cat, 13 yrs, he has learned that he can't catch laserspots).

OUTDOORS;
The beam from my 5mw green is BARELY visible at 90 degrees, and then only SOMETIMES. For me, visibility of lasers in general seems to be better INDOORS. At a low angle of incidence, 5mw green outdoors = "fairly" visible.

I live in an area where is it currently VERY dry and hot (100+ degrees fahrenheit DAILY since early spring), BUT there is a LOT of dust.

 

[lasersbee]

The clearer the night air is.... the less you will see the beam...
When you see a Laser Beam it is because the light is being
bounced off the particles suspended in the air...


Jerry

 

[JBTexas]

Yep; and around here, houses and apartments act as "dust traps", no matter WHAT you do.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

spam reported

 

[savingbirds]

The foggier/dustier the night, the more visible the beam, but the beam will have a lot shorter viewing path. On a clear night, the beam will be visible for a long distance, but due to the lower particles in the air, it will be less visible.

 

[Jaxz]

I lived in City area Singapore, and my country is also a very humid country. I used to owned a Wicked Core series, and nope, my 5mw isn't very visible at Singapore night. Depends on your environment, for Singapore, need around 30mw (true green) and above for some visible beam.

 

[Mo13]

Since I live in the very humid Florida, my 5mW Greenie's beam is always very visible at night, even from a 90 degree angle.

 

[Newb2Lasers]

For me

Night Yes, Day No