What Qualifies A Laser Pointer As A Burning Laser?

by | Oct 1, 2019 | burning lasers

There are literally hundreds of different types of lasers and laser pointers available online today. So if you’re in the market for a high power unit you may be asking yourself, “what qualifies a laser pointer as a burning laser?” Here we’ll look at the different types of hand held lasers and what determines if a laser can burn, so keep reading.

1. Output Power (mW or W)

best burning laser pointers

best burning laser pointers

This is the most important factor (not the beam color) when it comes to determining whether or not an individual laser is a burning unit. Now, today lasers can go from less than 5mW all the way up to 5,000mW or 5W. So that means knowing where the burning threshold is and that threshold is at a minimum of 100mW as a general rule. That means that any laser below 100mW will be hard-pressed to burn anything and will flat out not be able to. Any laser above 100mW will be considered a burning unit, BUT, not all are created equal. The higher the mW power the greater the burning ability, so if a 100mW can just pop a black balloon and light a match, it will not be able to cut through the electrical tape. You’ll need 500mW or above to really get the max burning ability, and always the higher the power the better for distance and burning.

2. Laser Style vs. Burning Ability

So now that we know we need a minimum of 100mW and the higher the power the better for burning ability, we’ll need to look at the different types of lasers. As a rule, AAA battery-powered pen or keychain lasers are almost never considered burning lasers. Many of them are low in power around 5mW and that means they’ll be visible and useful but won’t be able to light a match or pop a balloon. Larger units that use rechargeable batteries make up almost all of the lasers classified as burning. So be sure to check out the body and battery of any individual unit. If its a pen running on AAA batteries it more than likely will not be a high-power burning laser.

3. False Power Claims & Burning

Nowadays there are literally tons of Chinese companies and manufacturers offering lasers supposedly up to 10,000mW or even higher. To put it simply these are flat-out lies. There is no real regulation when it comes to product claims in China and that means that many will claim that the laser in question is incredibly high. Now, we’ve been in business here at BigLasers.com since 2005 and have seen the technology change over the years. Nowhere outside of strict military contracts are hand-held lasers available over 5,000mW or 5W. The technology simply is not available to the general public and that is something to really keep in mind when it comes to buying a laser.

Furthermore, the cheapest lasers out there do not use IR (infrared) filters meaning that their power readings are not only false but also inaccurate. Because the units with no filter will emit both visible and invisible light, it gives a higher power reading than is actually visible. By using IR filters we ensure that the beam is inherently safer and also you get accurate power readings. From us 100mW green laser light at 532nm is actually 100mW of green laser light, with no invisible light to skew the readings.

So if you’re in the market for the best burning laser pointers available online today, look no further than nearly 15 years of expertise in all things lasers. Call us today if you have questions: 1-877-256-6513

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