A noob question about .....

[rudy]

burning through water, to be specific, saltwater.
I have a pest in my reef tank that I need to get rid of, there are many of them and the tank is 36" deep, so reaching them is impossible. They are dark brown in color.
I've ordered the parts to build a burning laser 150ma.
My questions are:
What affect will the water have on the effectiveness of the lasers burn power on the target?
Can I just point and shoot from the surface? Will the light refract? scatter?
Should shoot through a tube to eliminate any water problems? Prolly be safer for the fish
What could I use at the end of said tube, glass or acrylic?
Would it be better to put the diode at the end of the tube closer to the target?
Thanks
Rudy

 

[spyrorocks]

Hmm...

The light will reflect some off the surface if it is clear water. I doubt that you will cause any physical non-retinal damage to anything in the water unless you have quite a bit of power because the water would simply cool whatever your trying to toast.

 

[rudy]

So if I were able to place the diode within an inch of the target, could I damage it with a 150ma burner?
Thanks

 

[Razako]

You aren't going to burn anything underwater with a 150mw burner. You would need quite a few watts to do that.

 

[Chad]

The water will dissipate the light fairly quickly... and it'll keep whatever you're trying to burn cool.

Get a longer net. Or a knife.

EDIT: And, it's mW not ma. mW is milliwatt, ma is milliamp.

 

[rudy]

Im sorry, I meant 150mw if that makes any difference.
Do you think that the water would cool it too fast?

 

[Chad]

Yes, it would. As I said... knife. ;D

 

[rudy]

The water will dissipate the light fairly quickly... and it'll keep whatever you're trying to burn cool.

Get a longer net. Or a knife.

EDIT: And, it's mW not ma. mW is milliwatt, ma is milliamp.  

Got it.

Thanks

 

[rudy]

So throw a number at me, what mW might it take to burn something under water @ 1"?

 

[Razako]

So throw a number at me, what mW might it take to burn something under water @ 1"?

5000mw and above might be able to heat something up underwater.

 

[rudy]

[quote author=rudy link=1207676000/0#8 date=1207677024]So throw a number at me, what mW might it take to burn something under water @ 1"?

5000mw and above might be able to heat something up underwater.[/quote]
Hmm, that'll burn the wallet too.
Well, I'm getting the parts in tomorrow(I'm a pro at reverse research, buy now, ask quaestion later )
So I gotta try. All else failing, I'll be able to pop a balloon.
What material will the best to burn through? glass or acrylic?

 

[rhildinger]

Aiptasia problem?

Try Joe's juice

 

[rudy]

Majano.
Tried Joe's, didn't work.

 

[Ace82]

You need a spear twice as long as a man.