Red vs green lasers in measuring equipment
The color of light
Light consists of waves with different lengths. We call the length of a wave wavelength. Visible light has a wavelength between 380 and 750 nanometers. In addition, the color violet has the shortest wavelength and red the longest wavelength. You could draw a single wave between these two extremes with all the colors of the rainbow in between. The height in the wave indicates how easy the light is visible to the human eye. The higher the spot in the wave, the better the light is visible to the human eye.
Red versus green
Red light goes with a wavelength of about 630 nanometers towards the end of the wave. Green light is close to the peak at around 530 nanometers. Green is therefore perceived better than red. To be precise, our retina green looks 12 times better and therefore it seems 6 times lighter than red. But when producing a green laser, more KTP crystals are required, which is therefore more expensive. This makes green lasers more expensive than the red variants.
Indoors and outdoors
If you have bright lights inside, your laser line is harder to see. You can use colored laser glasses or a laser receiver to see the line better. The laser glasses increase the visibility of the beam and the receiver increases the range. Outdoors, you always need a receiver because of outside light interference. Both red and green laser lines are suitable for outdoor use.
Conclusion
You opt for a green laser if you:
- You want a visible beam.
- You want to pay extra for it.
You choose a red laser if you:
- You can work just fine with a red laser.
- Prefer not to pay extra.
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