How much more mW does incense/fog add to a laser ?

[zachlr]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

Actually, wouldn't it cut down on the power of the laser at its destination? As you know, you cannot see light, just what it reflects off of. When you add smoke or fog, you see the beam because it is reflecting off of those particles. Thats why it looks brighter. Every time it hits one, that amount of light will not get to the destination because it is reflected in the opposite direction.

 

[pseudolobster]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

Wattage is a measurement of power - energy over time. It's how much work that amount of light can do, and as others have pointed out that has little to do with perceived brightness. A 75 megawatt radio transmitter just looks like a big antenna; You wouldn't suspect it's giving off a billion times more energy than one of your lasers, but it is. You just can't see it. By putting something in the way of your laser you're not changing it's power or anything about it, you're just putting something in its way that it can reflect off so more photons make their way into your eyes and you can see it better.

Besides, the initial brightness has to do with the levels of particulate matter in "clean" air... To see the beam at all it has to be reflecting off *something*, ie dust. The powers of lasers we're using aren't capable of producing visible scattering of the air itself, what you're seeing when you see the beam to begin with is due to moisture, pollutants, dust, etc... to compare that unknown variable to the unknown density of the smoke or fog, the specific refractive properties of the smoke or fog, is impossible and meaningless.. there's too many variables... You're basically asking something like "if I put some water in this glass how full would it be?"

 

[Switch]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

There's like 7 replies in this thread saying "fog doesn't add power to the laser" , not counting mine.

 

[john_lawson]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

how much more visability would it add hmmm gobbs ;D

 

[randomlugia]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

Be careful next time, Switch! You shouldn't go pointing your lasers around in the fog, who knows what will happen next time!

 

[Ace82]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

Wes, I understand what you mean, but let me explain why your question makes no sence.  


If you have your 50mW laser in the fog, and you can see a nice beam, It may appear somewhere near 100 watts of green with no fog, but that depends on allot of things, as mentioned above, the thickness of the fog and clarity of the air and such.  But, if you take a 200mW laser in the same density of fog, then it might look like 1,000 watts of green with no fog, but that's a very stupid way of thinking about it.  Basically, to answer your question, it all depends on your perception.  Have you compared a 50mW laser to a 200mW laser at the same time in the same foggy conditions?  If so, you would see that 50mW in the fog looks like 50mW in the fog, and 200mW in the fog will look like 200mW in the fog And I refuse to say that fog decreases the actual mW of power in the fog like everybody else, because everybody knows you can run faster in a pool of water then you can on dry land.   :

 

[daguin]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

Be careful next time, Switch! You shouldn't go pointing your lasers around in the fog, who knows what will happen next time!  

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6569118GZ3dhNgj

Be afraid! Be very afraid!

 

[Xplorer877]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

mW has very little to do with "perceived" brightness.

Peace,
dave

what he said.

 

[Switch]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

[quote author=randomlugia link=1226362652/20#20 date=1226684915]Be careful next time, Switch! You shouldn't go pointing your lasers around in the fog, who knows what will happen next time!  

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6569118GZ3dhNgj

Be afraid!  Be very afraid!   [/quote]

Veoh is no longer available in ROMANIA.

meh...what was it? I'm so lazy to look up a proxy list and try 10 of them until one works.

 

[daguin]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

[quote author=daguin link=1226362652/20#22 date=1226686862][quote author=randomlugia link=1226362652/20#20 date=1226684915]Be careful next time, Switch! You shouldn't go pointing your lasers around in the fog, who knows what will happen next time!  

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6569118GZ3dhNgj
Be afraid!  Be very afraid!   [/quote]

Veoh is no longer available in ROMANIA.

meh...what was it? I'm so lazy to look up a proxy list and try 10 of them until one works. [/quote]


No worries.  It was a "free association" joke.  

It is a "trailer" for a very old movie called "The Crawling Eye"  These huge "eyes" with their "nerves" hanging out and being used as hand/arms was killing people on a mountain.  These crawling eyes hid in a cloud/fog bank on the mountain.  You've just got to appreciate the "special effects" of 1958.

Here try this link

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/crawleye/

Things I Learned From This Movie:

* Mountains cause girls to faint.
* Men shouldn't offer other men help with unpacking.
* Villagers have something to say about everything.
* Clouds that are stationary and radioactive are bad news.
* Forboding music does not belong in a scene involving empty beds.
* Do not open a rucksack that is just lying around on a mountainside, odds are there's a head in it.
* Zombies created by freezing aliens melt away when killed.
* Never leave the darn kid's toy behind, you know not to leave the darn toy behind, of course the kid will run back to get it.
* The British Airforce hates clouds.

Peace,
dave

 

[Switch]

Re: How much more mW does incense/fog add to a las

I bet they wished they had lasers in the movie They could blind the eyes and shine it through the radioactive fog, making all sorts of pretty coloured fluorescent beams with a blu-ray. Too bad it's black&white. ;D Besides....who know how much more mW RADIOACTIVE FOG adds to a laser's output :