Cheap HeNe Laser - WHERE ARE YOU!?!

[Photonz]

check this out: JDS Uniphase JDSU 1145P 3600 HeNe 35mW 633nm Laser Working | eBay
just found it on ebay
though it definitely cannot be legit.. but you might get .5mW out of it

 

[Laik]

Shipping is 107 us dollars to get it shipped to Australia via UPS, which is the only carrier the seller uses and i don't think it comes with a PS, but thanks anyway! :beer: I will have to keep lurking on ebay.

 

[Photonz]

i found this one:beer: Vintage Educational Laser System Class 2 Helium Neon Laser | eBay

 

[Things]

If an item ever says it ships by UPS, just check with the seller first before writing it off. Sometimes I've found eBay will automatically select UPS if the seller doesn't specify what they use for overseas shipments.

 

[norbyx]

check this out: JDS Uniphase JDSU 1145P 3600 HeNe 35mW 633nm Laser Working | eBay
just found it on ebay
though it definitely cannot be legit.. but you might get .5mW out of it

That looks like an amazing deal... only problem would be the power supply for it. As I have seen, it needs 3.8KV at 6.5mA not easy to find and certainly not cheap....

 

[Laik]

Yeah, i will have to leave gas lasers until later on because i am only starting out in the hobby and i need to build a LOT more lasers. It's kind of hard when you're not allowed to get a job (15 remember). Feel free to derail this or keep posting hene stuff, it's up to you guys.

Have a good one :beer:

 

[Photonz]

Did you know... HeNe lasers use a glass tube filled with Helium and Neon and light or heat (dont remember which) is sent through the tube to excite the He and Ne atoms. When atoms are excited their electrons jump up to new orbit levels. However, the electrons must go back down to their respective orbits (whatever goes up must come down) and when they come down to their normal orbits/paths they release the excess energy as light. This light is reflected and stuff to produce the laser beam.

 

[norbyx]

Many instructional videos posted on how a gas laser works, and it is fascinating, you almost got it right. Many light sources use the same principle, the particular thing about a laser is that it produces coherent light.... And it's the only light in doing this.

 

[Roam]

Did you know... HeNe lasers use a glass tube filled with Helium and Neon and light or heat (dont remember which) is sent through the tube to excite the He and Ne atoms. When atoms are excited their electrons jump up to new orbit levels. However, the electrons must go back down to their respective orbits (whatever goes up must come down) and when they come down to their normal orbits/paths they release the excess energy as light. This light is reflected and stuff to produce the laser beam.

once you run a current through it, it's "collisions of the second kind" that excites all these excited states, it is one of them (helium metastable) that lives a long time before it decays.