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What do the numbers mean?

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I often see, when exploring this site waiting for my diode to arrive, comments like "4mW 42nm yellow" or, in the advertizement that just apeared, 200mW 499nm"

I have a rought idea, but nothing specific. Could someone please clarify what these two numbers are, what the abreviation next to them means, and what aproxomate values correspond to?

Thanks.
 





if it ends in mW or W it is how strong it is, if it ends in nm it is the colour. (wavelength)
 
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200mW and 532nm..... would mean that the power of
that Laser is rated at 200 MilliWatts or 0.200 Watts.
The color of that Laser is Green at a wavelength of 532
nanometers....

Jerry
 
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Ok, so the nm is the frequency (color) of the laser, and the W/mW is the power levels? Thanks. How is the power of a laser measured? Range, effect, output?

Thanks.
 
power is measure with an LPM. lasersbee company sells some of the best hobbyist meters out there. Range is basically infinite, it is light after all. Effect and output, what do you mean??
 
Power is measured with a thermophile head connected to a callibrated powermeter which converts the lasers heat (i think :thinking:) into a power level in mW,

just an FYI

405nm = UV/Blu-ray (goes up to around 800mw's)

445nm=blue (goes up to 2w's in power)

473nm is a beatiful light blue but really expensive, around 15mw's of it will set you back a few hundred :D

532 is green as Jerry (laserbee) stated, green is the most visible wavelenght to the human eyes (goes up to 700-800mW max in portables)

589 is yellow/orange which is really expensive like 473nm, 50-60mW max in portables

635nm is bright, light coloured red (250mW max in portables)

650-660nm is a darker red which comes in a max of 300-350mW if you have a freak diode and a 650 g-1 lens from Jayrob

808nm and higher is invisible Infrared

Hope that answered your question :D

wavelength is measured by the distance between the top and bottom of a "wave" of light, a 405nm laser would have a shorter wave then a 532nm laser for example, nm = nanometers
 
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Never mind. That question was a little garbled. Does anyone have a reliable link for an LPM?

Thats a very clear explanation of nm. Thanks you.
 
Power is measured with a thermophile head connected to a callibrated powermeter which converts the lasers heat (i think :thinking:) into a power level in mW,

just an FYI

405nm = UV/Blu-ray (goes up to around 800mw's)

445nm=blue (goes up to 2w's in power)

473nm is a beatiful light blue but really expensive, around 15mw's of it will set you back a few hundred :D

532 is green as Jerry (laserbee) stated, green is the most visible wavelenght to the human eyes (goes up to 700-800mW max in portables)

589 is yellow/orange which is really expensive like 473nm, 50-60mW max in portables

635nm is bright, light coloured red (250mW max in portables)

650-660nm is a darker red which comes in a max of 300-350mW if you have a freak diode and a 650 g-1 lens from Jayrob

808nm and higher is invisible Infrared

Hope that answered your question :D

wavelength is measured by the distance between the top and bottom of a "wave" of light, a 405nm laser would have a shorter wave then a 532nm laser for example, nm = nanometers

Aryntha has a 561nm portable. It per mW is brighter to the eye than 532nm.

589nm is available in much higher than 60mw in portables as well.

actually all your powers listed can be exceeded.. It just depends on your budget.
 


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