how many MWs does it take to see all of beem like you see in pictures?

[mike47517]

how many MWs does it take to see all of beem like you see in pictures? my friend has a green laser im not sure how many MWs it was but it was really cool lol now i want one and i was just wondering what kind of power i would need to be able to see the beem completly like you see in the pictures and stuff. oh and i want one with the star constelation thing too. ok thats it any links, replies, etc... would be highly appreciated thank you

 

[Fenzir]

To see the entire beam during the night? 5-10mw will do you well.

DON'T BE TRICKED! Cameras do not capture the beam as well as your eye will.

I can vouch for a seller on ebay with an american flag background. The laser is $10 and puts out about 20mw with 1mw of IR, which is pretty good! I bought 6 total green lasers from the seller, each did 15-25mw and had no more than 3mw of IR. [IR is invisible light, but can still damage the human eye! The less IR in a green laser, the better for viewing! However, high amounts of IR will assist in burning things, but you need about 50mw to burn thin black plastics]

Here is the FIRST green laser I bought, I still have it and use it more than any other laser I have.

None of my friends ever had their laser break from usage, but one had found out that it is not waterproof the hard way.

5mw 2 in 1 Green Laser Pointer Visible Beam FastUSAShip | eBay

I am not affiliated with the seller in any way what so ever.

I'd advise this laser to anybody for their first green laser!

ON A SIDE NOTE: Cameras see the 405nm wavelength, or violet laser a LOT better than the human eye! In a picture you could see a solid beam from 50mw of 405nm, or violet but in real life you can hardly see it!

 

[mike47517]

Thanks alot. oh and im not worried about pictures so much i just want the one you can best see in person. i think that link is my friends exact laser but im not sure. pretty much what im looking for is the most visible green laser (with a star constelation thingy) oh and i dont want one that can burn things. so are there any that u can see the beem better but pretty much do the same thing as the one you refered to? thanks

 

[Fenzir]

You can see the beam on that one at night or inside during the day with dim lighting and easily see the beam during the night inside. :yh: You can use it to point out stars.

If you want to see the beam during the day outside, you are going to need massive amounts of power.

EDIT: Also, in the thread title you asked how much power would be needed to see all of the beam. Except for fluctuations in humidity and air pollution (fog or smog), the beam of a 5mw green laser will go as "far" as a beam from a 1000mw green laser!

 

[mike47517]

oh ok so u pretty much see the same beam from 5mw to 100mw?

 

[Fenzir]

oh ok so u pretty much see the same beam from 5mw to 100mw?

:thinking:
hmm...

I believe you may have a misunderstanding of termonology. (EDIT: Sorry, I just read your post wrong , still here is some brief information! )

mw is the power of the laser. 5mw of green (532nm) is relatively low powered. It will not burn, but it will be very visible to the human eye compared to 5mw of violet (405nm)

nm is wavelength, or in other words the color of the laser. 405 is purple, 445 is blue, 532 is green so on and so fourth. Some colors cost less than others because of their wide use in products.

Back to your question, you will see the beam of a 5mw green (532nm) laser and any power higher. The higher the power of the same wavelength the more visible! (so 100mw of green will be a lot brighter than 5mw of green, but 5mw is still enough to see the beam)

PLEASE NOTE: At high powers of lasers, PLEASE USE EYE PROTECTION! One flash of a laser into your eye could permanently give you a blindspot! 5mw isn't too bad if you accidently glaze over a mirror and get yourself in the eye. But don't stare into the beam on purpose! 100mw of green into your eye will be pretty bad, it will hurt your iris, and possibly permanently damage your retina .

But, if you DO decide to buy higher powered lasers, it is always nice to have a 5mw green in your collection. Most people have not seen a green laser, and although it will be boring to somebody who has an extensive knowledge of lasers, sometime it's nice to take a break from high powered lasers. Just the other day, I was playing with my first red laser (2mw) and was having some wild fun just pointing it around the house at night!

That being said, higher powers of other colors will more or less visible than others.

However, every human sees colors slightly differently than every other person.

For instance, 50mw of a red laser (650nm) will be LESS VISIBLE than the beam of a 5mw green laser!

For reference: The red lasers many people had in 2000 are 1-2mw of 650nm!

I hope this helped, mike!

EDIT: Although it's not too accurate, you can use this as a reference for brightness of different wavelengths!
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/efficacy.html

 

[Bluefan]

Also, pictures can be decieving. Take a long exposure and even a 1mW pointer looks like it has a strong solid beam you'd expect from hundrerds of milliwats. Add smoke and it works even better.

 

[mike47517]

:thinking:
hmm...

I believe you may have a misunderstanding of termonology. (EDIT: Sorry, I just read your post wrong , still here is some brief information! )

mw is the power of the laser. 5mw of green (532nm) is relatively low powered. It will not burn, but it will be very visible to the human eye compared to 5mw of violet (405nm)

nm is wavelength, or in other words the color of the laser. 405 is purple, 445 is blue, 532 is green so on and so fourth. Some colors cost less than others because of their wide use in products.

Back to your question, you will see the beam of a 5mw green (532nm) laser and any power higher. The higher the power of the same wavelength the more visible! (so 100mw of green will be a lot brighter than 5mw of green, but 5mw is still enough to see the beam)

PLEASE NOTE: At high powers of lasers, PLEASE USE EYE PROTECTION! One flash of a laser into your eye could permanently give you a blindspot! 5mw isn't too bad if you accidently glaze over a mirror and get yourself in the eye. But don't stare into the beam on purpose! 100mw of green into your eye will be pretty bad, it will hurt your iris, and possibly permanently damage your retina .

But, if you DO decide to buy higher powered lasers, it is always nice to have a 5mw green in your collection. Most people have not seen a green laser, and although it will be boring to somebody who has an extensive knowledge of lasers, sometime it's nice to take a break from high powered lasers. Just the other day, I was playing with my first red laser (2mw) and was having some wild fun just pointing it around the house at night!

That being said, higher powers of other colors will more or less visible than others.

However, every human sees colors slightly differently than every other person.

For instance, 50mw of a red laser (650nm) will be LESS VISIBLE than the beam of a 5mw green laser!

For reference: The red lasers many people had in 2000 are 1-2mw of 650nm!

I hope this helped, mike!

EDIT: Although it's not too accurate, you can use this as a reference for brightness of different wavelengths!
Luminous Efficacy

okok i gotcha and its ok thanks alot thats what i wanted to know.

 

[mike47517]

oh and thanks bluefan

 

[Dawinzi]

This Tool will give you a idea. Remember, mW is the Power and the nm is the Lights wavelength.

http://rohanhill.com/tools/Relative...5&nm2=532&mw2=100&useRaleigh=on&ChromaCompat=

 

[LtKernelPanic]

Also, pictures can be decieving. Take a long exposure and even a 1mW pointer looks like it has a strong solid beam you'd expect from hundrerds of milliwats. Add smoke and it works even better.

This. With the right exposure settings you can make a 1mw look like it's putting out 10W.


As Fenzir said if you want something you can see in a dark room or outside at night a 5mw green is all you need. If you want something that's visible in a normally lit room you'll need something that's at least 50mw or more. FWIW one of my green's beam is barely visible in a room with 160w of overhead light and with its current battery it's outputting 25mw according to my LPM. On the other hand my 130mw green is blindingly bright in the same room.

Speaking of bliningly.... REMEMBER EYE SAFETY! With lasers under 5mw your blink reflex and natural reflex of turning away is enough to prevent premanent eye damage but with high powered lasers the damage is done before those reflexes kick in. I say this because tonight even has a "seasoned" laser hobbyist I managed to take a shot just to the right of my right eye when I bent down to pick up something off the floor and didn't pay attention to where the beam from my 473nm labby was. It only puts out about 6mw so a direct hit wouldn't have caused any permanent damage but had it been say my 100mw argon laser it would have been a totally different story.


That now