Lasers vs the sun
While conventional light sources emit their energy in all directions, lasers bundle the emitted light very efficiently into almost parallel light beams of small diameters.
The sun emits enormous amounts of light. The total power emitted in all directions is about 174 petawatts. In summer in central Europe, the intensity of solar radiation on the Earth is 700 watts per square meter.
If the sunlight were to shine through a buttonhole on Earth, the power measured would be about one milliwatt.
A typical laser pointer has a light power of 5 milliwatts. Its almost parallel light beam has an diameter of about 1.5 mm.
Virtually all of the light from the laser beam finds its way through the buttonhole.
A comparison of the two light sources shows that a 5-milliwatt laser pointer directs more light in one direction than a 174-petwatt sun. So better watch out!
A very warm thank you to all the companies and institutes that made this publication possible.
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Text and research: Wenko Süptitz, SPECTARIS
Graphic: Schwochow Visual Stories GmbH
Scrollytelling: Jan Schwochow, Scrollytelling GmbH
- 01Video: getty imageshttps://www.gettyimages.com
- 02spectaris.dehttps://www.spectaris.de/
