Bluefan
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- Aug 15, 2009
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I see this a lot when people post for the first time: "how many MW does my laser have?" A laser doesn't have MW's or nm's, it has an output power and a wavelength. So if you're wondering what power you laser is, ask this:
What is the output power of <some laser>
Instead of this:
How many MW does <some laser> have?
And you will get a reply saying it's something like 100mW for example.
The same goes for the wavelength, ask this:
What is the wavelength of <some laser>
Instead of this:
How many nm's does <some laser> have?
In case if most green pointers the wavelength will be 532nm. Current in ampere (A) or amp for short and voltage in volt (V) goes the same.
Also note the difference between 1mW (one milliwatt) and 1MW (one megawatt). It's the difference between 0.001W and 1,000,000W. Unless you run a huge goverment project, you laser will have an output power in the milliwatt range instead of the megawatt range.
So please, refer to quantities by their name, and use the appropriate unit in combination with a numerical value or something like that, but please don't use units like they are quantities.
The background info:
Physical quantity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Units of measurement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
International System of Units - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SI prefix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What is the output power of <some laser>
Instead of this:
How many MW does <some laser> have?
And you will get a reply saying it's something like 100mW for example.
The same goes for the wavelength, ask this:
What is the wavelength of <some laser>
Instead of this:
How many nm's does <some laser> have?
In case if most green pointers the wavelength will be 532nm. Current in ampere (A) or amp for short and voltage in volt (V) goes the same.
Also note the difference between 1mW (one milliwatt) and 1MW (one megawatt). It's the difference between 0.001W and 1,000,000W. Unless you run a huge goverment project, you laser will have an output power in the milliwatt range instead of the megawatt range.
So please, refer to quantities by their name, and use the appropriate unit in combination with a numerical value or something like that, but please don't use units like they are quantities.
The background info:
Physical quantity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Units of measurement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
International System of Units - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SI prefix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia