I am just getting into serious lights, but have been working with handheld lasers for many years. As such, I am both a member on LPF and PL. I have dabbled in lights before, but only zoomies and once an Ebay HID special which was fun until the lipo battery died on me for some unknown reason.
-You should be warned that I am a lumen freak, though I can also appreciate the importance of a proper beam profile.
-I have wondered why bright lasers have never been taken into consideration when talking about metaphorical throw kings.
-I have come to the forum seeking both information about lights, and a place where I actually share my hobby with those around me. I hope to learn more so I can make informed decisions, and possibly dabble into modding lights.
-Although I am by all means a giant noob here, I hope I can make a meaningful contribution, and I can't wait to get started.
This is most certainly true, which is why this method only works with a few caveats. Most lasers have such a narrow beam that the point of illumination on distant objects is actually hidden behind the visibility of the beam at night. Also, most lasers have a very low luminous output. For this method to work, one must use a very powerful green laser with an adjustable focus. I have a 1.6 watt green laser at 520nm. In the case of lasers, the wattage refers to the actual power possessed by the light, not the power input, kind of like lumens without taking wavelength into account. 520nm light is about 600 lumens per watt, meaning this laser has about 1000 lumens of total light output. Of course, this is all in an area of only a few mm in diameter. But by changing the focus of the beam, you can increase the divergence, or spread of the beam, enough to illuminate large objects many miles away with that light. Of course, this is all theoretical, and I have yet to perform in-depth tests.
And there lies the real problem. There is no denying that one. This is why I would never claim that a laser is a practical flashlight. That does not mean they do not work if the sole goal is to illuminate distant objects with visible light. I would imagine that this is really a matter of opinion as to what a flashlight really is. I just thought I would throw this wacky, theoretical idea of using a laser as a light out there as I have not seen it discussed before.
Welcome to BLF Electromagnetic_beam! I’ve always been interested in lasers, and beyond the simple ones we have in the house that the dogs like to chase, I’ve always been afraid of the higher powered lasers. Modding flashlights is a lot of fun, though at times frustrating. If you need help, there are a lot of experts here.
Personally, my advice would be to stay FAR away. This is the most dangerous, expensive, and impractical rabbit hole in all of portable lighting. As for me, it is far too late to turn back. Here's a photo on drive of the green laser I mentioned earlier. It was taken outside on a rainy day, but the rain is not responsible for the primary visibility, and only causes the bright spots you see in the beam. All the rest is scattering from dust naturally in the air.
Always good to hear. Considering that I am obsessed with high lumen lights, I might very well find myself here. I am currently debating with myself as to whether or not I should purchase the DX80.
Monochromatic light isn’t the only reason lasers are unusable for lighting things, lasers also have speckle.
Even if you diverge the beam enough to light up an object, no matter how many lumens you get the laser will have an uneven shape and speckle.
Of course you can spend a few hundred dollars on a speckle reducer from edmund optics or whatever, but then you lose the advantage of a laser, which is the low divergence beam.
It’s like comparing a jet powered car to a koenigsegg.
One is a completely different technology from the other and excels in a specific area (eg top speed or laser beam distance) while the other is different and more usable for certain applications.
yes, the diode is severely multimode, and yes the speckle may be apparent to an observer at the sight of termination, but at the end of the day, it can't be argued against that a laser can send light further than any other source. I guess I should have mentioned earlier that I was in no way suggesting that a laser is a replacement for a flashlight. It is totally impractical, dangerous, and ineffective for all other flashlight related uses. I must emphasize I only brought this up as a matter of "in theory", and I often take an interst to such ideas.
I don’t think anyone has ever argued that a laser isn’t the kind of throw.
The point is that a laser isn’t a flashlight, so until a white full-spectrum laser is invented, nobody here really cares.
??
I’m just explaining the answer to his question.
“I have wondered why bright lasers have never been taken into consideration when talking about metaphorical throw kings.”
I didnt care about that part that’s answering his question. It’s the last part telling him until a full white spectrum laser is invented no one here cares. It’s not the first time by far you’ve come off as asshole on many threads
It’s true…
Why do you think nobody compares their flashlights to a laser :person_facepalming: they are completely different technologies and I explained why they are so different and have different purposes.
Don’t take words so seriously, maybe you had a bad day or something.
I never said that people don’t care about lasers. I’ve done alot of research on lasers and think they’re cool.
I meant that nobody cares to compare them to regular flashlights.
This will continue to be the case until a full spectrum white laser actually exists.
Chill out, everyone. I am not offended. This is just how forums work. Sometimes, the answer to a question may come across as rude, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. I had no idea an intro thread could become so heated. That being said, I can completely understand Enderman's pov. The only reason I am intrigued by this idea is that I have worked with lasers for so long and saw a possible "Bridge" between the two hobbies. Still, I spoke without any evidence of this being a practical or even useful idea. I knew people may have strong opinions on this idea considering this is, after all, a flashlight forum, and I have no problem with that.
I think the laser-phosphor flashlights which are about to be released will definitely make a strong bridge between flashlight and laser
A lot of people here own lasers too, not just flashlights.
I am intrigued by these laser-pumped lights, but I had always figured they would not throw further than any throwy led. I had always assumed that no properties of the source were kept by the light produced by the phosphor and that lasers were only being used as a pump because they CAN be more efficient than the standard blue-violet leds used to pump phosphor in most emitters. What makes you think they will throw further?
GaN lasers can concentrate a lot more blue light on a small area than the blue-emitting stuff behind LEDs, leading to higher intensity.
There are already some upcoming flashlights such as the Acebeam W10 and WL20 which have far more throw than any similar sized LED flashlight thanks to the laser+phosphor combination.
The problem that comes with this is that with enough power, the blue laser can burn through a regular phosphor.
I’m working on a new design that involves single crystal phosphors as opposed to regular LED powder phosphor.
The use of single crystals allows much higher power lasers to be focused without burning the phosphor, and should theoretically allow for intensities higher than arc lamps, which are currently the most intense light sources that exist.
:+1: