Re: pinhole Re: The cost to make a laser

Date view Thread view Subject view Author view Attachment view

From: Algis Sodonis (asodonis@urbanschool.org)
Date: Sun Apr 21 2002 - 21:46:01 PDT 

Message-id: <fc.000f7611002922773b9aca00e99e99a4.29227a@urbanschool.org>
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 21:46:01 -0700
Subject: Re: pinhole Re: The cost to make a laser
From: "Algis Sodonis" <asodonis@urbanschool.org>

Can anyone try to explain the physics of the skypointer? How should it be able to have a more visilbe beam than any other laser?

Algis Sodonis

pinhole@exploratorium.edu writes:
>What ho, Art!
>
>Just in case you're in the market for a relatively inexpensive green
>laser, and a hand-held model will do, read on...
>
>Howie Glatter of New Jersey sells his 532-nm "SkyPointer" for about
>$240 <http://www.skypointer.net/>. I bought one last fall, and am
>thoroughly satisfied with it. The SkyPointer makes a very cool laser
>pointer. It also allows a physics teacher to show how the
>double-slit interference pattern differs for shorter wavelength
>waves. Best of all, the SkyPointer's beam is visible to dark-adapted
>eyes as it travels through ordinary air -- no chalk dust necessary!
>Thus, the SkyPointer earns its name by being a fantastic tool for
>pointing out objects in the night sky. When pointed skyward, its
>beautiful green beam seems to extend dozens of meters into the air --
>far enough to pinpoint individual stars to those in your immediate
>vicinity without much of a parallax problem. Any astronomy teacher
>should love it.
>
>By the way, I own no SkyPointer stock and get no kick-backs. ;-)
>
>- Tucker
>
>Art Fortgang wrote:
>>Metrologic sells lasers in the 600 nm range (red-
>>orange) for about $300. Their green laser (about 550
>>nm) costs nearly $800. I think I understand why the
>>green laser ought to cost more to manufacture, but I
>>don't know why it should be nearly three times as
>>expensive (assuming the cost to consumer ratio roughly
>>equals the manufacturing cost ratio of the two). Does
>>anyone know why there is a 2.5:1 ratio in
>>manufacturing costs.
>
>--
>***********************************
>Tucker Hiatt, Director
>Wonderfest
>P.O. Box 887
>(39 Fernhill Avenue)
>Ross, CA 94957
>hiattu00@usfca.edu
>415-577-1126 (voice)
>415-454-2535 (fax)
>http://www.wonderfest.org
>
>Truth is a great flirt. - Franz Liszt
>***********************************
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe from pinhole, send an email to requests@exploratorium.edu
>with the words 'unsubscribe pinhole' (without the quotes) in the SUBJECT
>of the email.
>
>To subscribe to the digest and only get 1 combined message a day, send an
>email to requests@exploratorium.edu with the words 'subscribe digest
>pinhole' (without the quotes) in the SUBJECT of the email.
>
>Check out what your colleagues have written on Pinhole in the Pinhole
>archives at: http://saturn.exploratorium.edu/ti/alumni/pinhole.html
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

Date view Thread view Subject view Author view Attachment view

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Mon Aug 05 2002 - 09:21:41 PDT