Red vs. Green lasers?

Posted August 15, 2019

I have been reviewing several of Bosch’s laser-based products and I have finally had my first green laser come through and color me intrigued (terrible pun intended.) I played with the Bosch 40ft green laser in my shop, well, turning my garage back into a shop. I got curious and I did a little bit of research to better understand the difference between red and green lasers. So um…here is the not-so-definitive-lightly-researched-and-personal-impression-laced red vs. green laser overview. Super authoritative, I know.

This post is part of a paid partnership with The Home Depot wtih affiliate links.

Why green lasers?

The Human eye sees green better than red…but why? Green lasers are 400% brighter than red lasers, this is just a fact of the diodes used. That power comes at a price though, more light = more heat and more heat = less battery life. This is also an issue (the heat) when the sun is out and you need something that will work in high temperatures.

Red lasers are slightly more reliable in high temps, which is kind of an issue since green lasers are also more visible during the day. Dichromatic (colorblind) vs Trichromatic humans with better differentiation between the red and green cones in their eyes are better at identifying the difference between green vs red. This is often explained by saying that this specialization helped our ancestors to identify ripe vs. unripe fruit (which often turns from green to red or orange.) Beyond that this concept needs a deeper read, check out this article

History of laser and where red and green come in?

The original green laser was derived from red lasers which caused the lasers to be lower power than their red counterparts. Now green lasers use actual green diodes…is that enough history?

Just kidding, the concept of a laser was a refinement of a Max Planck’s principle by none other than “ole crazy hair”(no one called him that) Albert Einstein himself. The concept of a laser and the experiments that tried to produce one continued through the 20s and 30s, some people thought the concept violates Heisenburg’s uncertainty principle but then they proved them all wrong, then there were masers and Nobel prizes and a bunch of other stuff and…boom lasers. Great but where is my freakin’ time machine?

The Bosch green laser level is great…Regardless of science and history, this green laser is much more visible in the real world than the comparable red lasers from Bosch even. It has a range of 40ft, comes with a head that can mount to most tripods, and is self-leveling. This is a great replacement for a chalk line in daylight or at night. If you want to buy one, check them out at Home Depot for just $129.

Bosch has a LONG track record of making some of the best laser measuring tools on the market and my laser measure has all but replaced a tape measure in my tool pouch.

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