Curious

[Slavko Nikolic]

I'm only curious.
If I run my Helix 50W in full power, what is the temperature in the focal point?

[Dan Hintz]

Hot!

Temperature isn't really important (or easily calculated unless you want to get into partial differential equations)... what you really care about is power (a Joule value is more appropriate).

What are you trying to accomplish?

[Chris DeGerolamo]

I'll go ahead and state that a laser is not proper means for [re]heating lunch.

[Richard Rumancik]

Slavko, I don't think there is really an answer to that question because temperature is a property of a substance and there is not "substance" in the laser beam itself. All you can measure is the temperature of a material that the laser is heating. Now if we took a small thermocouple (metal wires twisted together) and placed it in the beam at the focal point, the temperature of the wire would rise and with a meter we could tell the "temperature" of the beam (wire). Of course it would depend on how long you kept the laser "on" heating the wire, and it would also depend on how much heat travelled up the wire itself. But let's suppose that after some time you achieved some kind of equilibrium. Then I suppose you could say that the laser has the ability to heat metal up to a temperature of x degrees. But it is not really the temperature of the beam.

If you know the melting point of a material and your laser can cut (melt) it, you could use that number. But of course it depends on how much you dwell or how slow you cut. So it is really not very meaningful information.

If you just want to impress everyone with your laser, the standard answer is that the beam is as hot as the sun. And probably no one will challenge you on that.

[Gerd Spatz]

If I run my Helix 50W in full power, what is the temperature in the focal point?

In the focal point of my 25W CO2 Laser i have melted Titanium (Just small lines and dots on the surface;-) . Wikipedia says: "Melting point of Titanium: 1941 K (1668 °C)"

[Slavko Nikolic]

I was just curious.