How wide is a laser on the Moon?

The laser beam width expands from 7 mm on Earth to several km at the Moon's surface (a few km), and so in the best conditions, only one photon of light will return to the telescope every few seconds. By timing the flight of these single photons, ranges to the Moon can now be measured with a precision approaching 1 cm.

How powerful is a laser to 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.

Can you shoot a laser at the moon?

One of the experiments taken into space on Apollo 11 was called the Lunar Laser Retro-Reflector, and it still works even today (though perhaps not as well as it did), just like it did in a 2010 episode of "The Big Bang Theory.

What happens if you point a laser at the moon?

The laser pointer on the moon is basically the same. Each photon travels to the moon at the speed of light, but the image of a dot that they form on the surface moves 20 times faster. No physical laws are broken, because nothing physical is actually traveling faster than light. It's just an image.

Can you bounce a laser off a mirror on the moon?

That's one precise laser shot. For the first time, scientists have successfully bounced a laser off a mirror that's attached to a spacecraft whirling around the moon. Bouncing lasers off mirrors on the lunar surface is an old trick. Astronauts walking on the moon first left reflectors behind in 1969.

Shining The World's Most Powerful Laser At The Moon!

Can telescopes see the American flag on the moon?

Yes, the flag is still on the moon, but you can't see it using a telescope. I found some statistics on the size of lunar equipment in a Press Kit for the Apollo 16 mission. The flag is 125 cm (4 feet) long, and you would need an optical wavelength telescope around 200 meters (~650 feet) in diameter to see it.

Does laser light reach space?

The light from a laser in space would continue on forever unless it hit something. However, if you were far enough away, you wouldn't be able to detect the light. A projectile would also continue on forever unless it hit something. Lasers produce light that can be tightly focused.

How far can a 1000mw green laser go?

So we return to the question: “how far can I see my laser beam for?” As mentioned there will be many different factors to consider, but here is a basic guideline. 200mW green lasers will be visible for more than 10 miles and blue lasers 1,000mW or more will also be visible for 10 miles or more on a clear line of sight.

Can a laser destroy a mirror?

Ryan Hoffman, Counter-Directed Energy program manager, says that mirrors protect well against low-power lasers. “However, reflective surfaces are not 100 percent reflective,” he says. “The small amount of laser energy that's absorbed will heat the mirror and cause damage.”

Can a laser reach Mars?

Engineers from Canada claim that a laser-based system to reach Mars could tremendously cut the time it takes to reach the Red Planet. According to NASA's estimates, it would take about 500 days for humans to reach Mars at current speeds.

What is the hottest laser in the world?

Magurele Laser in Romania officially becomes the most powerful laser in the world. The laser at Magurele, near Bucharest, Romania marked a world premiere after reaching the highest power, 10 PetaWats.

What is the biggest laser?

NIF is the world's largest and most energetic laser. more energy than the laser energy required to initiate the reaction; this reaction is referred to as ignition. The powerful laser energy that bombards a target at NIF begins as an initial laser beam that is far too weak to power a single light bulb.

Can you see leftover equipment on the moon?

That means that there would be no way to discern the Lunar Excursion Module or any of the other equipment left on the moon. It is just too small to pick up, even with the world's best telescope.

How far can a green laser go?

The 1 mW red pointer has a glare distance of 255 feet, compared to the same power green laser, which can cause glare at 490 feet.

Can a laser pointer reach a plane?

The beam CAN hit an aircraft

Some people have been arrested because they thought the beam could not reach an aircraft -- but it definitely can! From the air, the beam can look like this: Even a very weak beam can be a distraction.

Which is the strongest laser light in the world?

What can block a laser?

Visible laser light can be blocked by anything that also blocks conventional light, such as a solid curtain, a wall, or even a sheet of paper.

What material can stop a laser?

Lasers cannot be stopped by other light, but they can be stopped with matter. So if you shine a laser pen on the wall, the laser will not go through the wall because the matter has stopped it and scattered it.

Can military lasers be reflected?

The actual answer is no, it can't. Even a mirror that reflects 95% of a lethal laser beam will still absorb enough heat to burn. This causes the reflectivity to be gone almost instantly, but a scattered burst of light from the point of impact could still blind the shooter or his allies.

What laser can pop a balloon?

Now 200mW rather than 100mW

This high power green laser is so powerful it is able to cut through black tape and pop balloons ! Its average power output is an amazing 200mW.

What color laser is strongest?

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.

How far can the 303 laser go?

Long Range - Even in broad daylight, you'll be able to shine your Laser 303 at a point a hundred yards away, but nighttime is when Laser 303 really shines. When it's dark, you'll be able to point at targets almost a mile away!

How far a laser can travel?

The spread of a typical laser pointer is said to be around 3 mrad (milliradians). Multiply that by the distance to the Moon, which is about 385,000 kilometers… and you get a spot that is almost 1,200 kilometers wide, more than one third the diameter of the Moon.

Can laser go through clouds?

Lasers can also be used to target a single person, meaning it's a highly secure form of communication." But there is a problem: the laser beams cannot penetrate clouds and fog. So, if the weather is bad, it is impossible to transmit information using lasers.

Is there a mirror on the Moon?

It's amazing how much light our moon reflects. Having a few mirrors doesn't hurt, though. They're there because of the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment. In 1969 Buzz Aldrin placed a two-foot wide panel of mirrors on the Moon.