Some tips for choosing a laser pointer from Wallis Lucy's blog

Some people are high power laser pointer enthusiasts, they have everything from the main product to the place where they get it (maybe they made it themselves). If you have never seen a laser pointer, you may not have read this article, but as you know, most of the lasers used in laser pointers are red or green. This is because it depends on the color of the laser diode that generates the light. As red, green, and blue (RGB: the three primary colors of light) three light-emitting diodes are widely used in various fields, it is doubtful whether there is a blue laser pointer, it does exist. However, there are not many products as blue laser pointers, because the diode itself was invented late and its use value is not great.

Laser pointers classified by color

Red: The structure of the red light laser pointer is the simplest. The reason why it is simple is that the red light laser pointer is basically just a diode with a battery as the energy source. And there are laser diodes that generate this wavelength. The red laser pointer first appeared in the 1980s. It is a large and heavy device worth hundreds of dollars; it is very small and very cheap.

Green: Some green laser work in pulse or quasi-continuous mode to reduce cooling problems and extend battery life. The announced green laser, which does not require frequency doubling, has higher efficiency. Even low-power green light can be seen at night due to the Rayleigh scattering of atmospheric molecules. This laser pointer is often used by astronomy enthusiasts to point stars and constellations. The green laser pointer can have a variety of output powers. The 5mW green laser is the safest to use and is also visible under dim lighting, so no stronger power is needed for pointing purposes.

Blue: blue laser pointer are both rare and expensive because they are not yet widely used. Most of the laser wavelengths used are 450 nm and 460 nm, but some 405 nm lasers are also sold in blue. However, this 405nm is closer to purple than blue as the color. Originally, the visibility of blue itself is not as good as that of red, but 405nm is particularly poor, so it is not a recommended color.

This article mainly introduces the main laser pointers and selection considerations, but I personally think that visibility is very important, so I recommend green. However, because of the high price, if you exceed your budget, you can use the red one, which is very functional. Of course, you pay for what you pay for. If you don't need to replace the laser pointer frequently, you can consider choosing.