How strong of a laser do you need to reach the moon?
about 5 milliwatts
The typical red laser pointer is about 5 milliwatts, and a good one has a tight enough beam to actually hit the Moon—though it’d be spread out over a large fraction of the surface when it got there. The atmosphere would distort the beam a bit, and absorb some of it, but most of the light would make it.
How far can green laser pointer go?
Green YAG laser pointers at the same power, is in comperison visible up to 4–5km away.
How far will a laser pointer reach?
In total darkness we can see a <5mW 650nm laser around 500 – 1km away when it shines on a white surface. The divergence will make that projected dot 1km away a large dot that reach 20–30m in diameter, and very faint. Green YAG laser pointers at the same power, is in comperison visible up to 4–5km away.
Which color laser pointer is most powerful?
green lasers
As a general rule, green lasers are 532nm are 5-7X brighter than any other laser color, at the same power. Whether blue, red, purple/violet, or a light color like yellow, green is the best at strength for visibility.
What would happen if a red laser pointer hit the Moon?
The typical red laser pointer is about 5 milliwatts, and a good one has a tight enough beam to actually hit the Moon—though it’d be spread out over a large fraction of the surface when it got there. The atmosphere would distort the beam a bit, and absorb some of it, but most of the light would make it.
How many milliwatt does a laser pointer have?
Most laser pointers on the market are designed to have a five-milliwatt beam. There are certain legal limits for these laser pointers in certain places. In the United States, laser pointers are supposed to stay under the 5mW limit in order to be sold. There are actually many laser points that exceed this limit, though.
Can lasers be used to turn the Moon into a rocket?
Laser Pointer. This flow of material effectively turns the entire surface of the Moon into a rocket engine—and a surprisingly efficient one, too. Using lasers to blast off surface material like this is called laser ablation, and it turns out to be a promising method for spacecraft propulsion. The Moon is massive,…
Can airplanes see laser pointers?
There are some photos and evidence of airplanes seeing laser pointer dots at a distance of at least twelve miles in the sky. Knowing that lasers have the potential to reach this far up in the air is interesting.