Interesting Facts about Green Laser Pointers

It's been a while since I posted some info on green laser pointers, so here's some things you might find interesting about it:

• Green laser pointers are up to 60-70 times more powerful than red laser pointers. This is partly because the wavelength of the light (532 nm) makes the light green, which is naturally brighter than red light.
• The maximum range of green laser pointers in the dark is anywhere from 12,000-25,000 feet. It depends on the make of the laser, the power output (the maximum required by the FDA is 5 mw, but you can get OEM green lasers for much more power, in some cases up to 30 or 40 mw), and the quality of the laser. Some companies offer military grade green laser pointers. These kinds will surely have a range of 20,000 plus feet!
• Most green laser pointers will have an operating time of more than 3000 hrs. That leaves plenty of time for star gazing and for astonomy enthusiasts to use their laser! Usually the green lasers will require 2 AAA bateries, so they're easy to replace.
  

Green Laser Pointers- Different Power Types

Like anything else, green laser pointers come in a variety of options. The biggest variance between different types of green laser pointers is usually the power. First of all, the power is always measured in megawatts (mw). As you shop around, you will see most green laser pointers hovering at 5 mw. This is the most common power wattage, and the highest allowed by the FDA. Lasers over 5 mw need to be registered with the FDA. OEM green laser pointers are often at higher powers, and are legal in most countries. These come in 10, 15, and 20 mw. Some of the most powerful green laser pointers are at 40 mw and up to 120 mw. These lasers are used in the U.S. military and for commercial and industrial use.

You may purhase powerful OEM green laser pointers from many places, and it is not illegal. However, you have use them for personal use (like star gazing or physics labs) and not for street use. On no occasion are you to shine green laser pointers at aircraft. To be safe, purchase 5 mw lasers that are fine tuned as close as possible to this power outage. These laser often have a range of five miles and are clearly visible through the air.

Green Laser Pointer Common Specs

Green laser pointers are DPSS lasers (diode pumped solid state frequency-doubled). They are much more complicated and intricate than the common red laser pointer. Laser diodes at the green laser pointer's wavelength (532 nm) are not commonly available to manufacturers, so this technology is implemented to get the same effect. The light in a green laser pointer is developed in an indirect way. What basically happens is the laser light is created by a 808 nm diode, which by further processes is lengthed to the wavelength of 1064 nm. That wavelength is essentially cut in two by another process to give the desired green light of 532 nm. It so happens that this wavelength is the brightest light to the human eye. That is why the light from the green laser pointer is visible through the air and can be directed many miles away.