LASER POWER EXPLAINED
 

The light output from large lasers is measured in watts. Smaller lasers are measured in milliwatts, or 1/1000 of a watt.

• Commonly-available laser pointers are typically from 1 to 5 milliwatts (mW).
• Lumalaser sells lasers going up to 350 mW. Our best sellers are in the 20 to 50 mW range.
• A big indoor show, such as in a hotel ballroom, may use 2 to 5 watts (2000 to 5000 mW).
• An outdoor show in a stadium may shoot beams from 10 to 60 watts (10,000 to 60,000 mW).

All of these lasers produce less light output than a 100 watt light bulb. But remember --  the bulb's light (and heat) spread throughout a room, while the laser's  light is concentrated into a single beam. Even a 5 mW laser pointer can make a dot that can be seen on a lit 100 watt light bulb. So the laser is putting more visible light on the area of the dot, than the light bulb is.

Basically, this means you have to compare laser wattage with other lasers. It is not useful to compare laser wattage with other types of lighting.

Beam color

Raw power is important, but is not the whole story. The laser's wavelength significantly affects how bright it appears.

This chart shows the eye's sensitivity to different wavelengths (colors). There are two curves, one for daytime vision and one for night vision.

As you can see, the maximum sensitivity for both curves is in the green. Blue and red light of the same power appear less than half as bright to the eye.

That's why Lumalaser recommends using green lasers in applications where visibility is especially important.

For additional information, including a chart of laser colors, see the Color and visibility section of the 4.9 mW Exposed page.

Beam quality: Divergence

One important factor most people don't think about is how tight the beam is. A laser with a tighter beam (lower divergence) appears brighter than one with a larger, "fluffier" beam (higher divergence).

Lumalaser uses high quality laser diodes, with low beam divergence. This gives you tight, bright beams.

ADDITIONAL FACTORS

Raw power, beam color and beam quality are the three most important laser-related factors of brightness.

There are other factors you can control, such as the amount of ambient light, the amount of smoke or fog in the air, and the location of the projector. These are explained in more detail, in the How to maximize brightness section of the 4.9 mw Explained page.

Call or write to get the best info

To get the best results, simply call or write to us. Tell us about your location, and we can recommend the best laser for your particular application.

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