Oh yeah that’s a pretty solid benefit right there. I swear the oddest things will block them from cutting. I didn’t even consider the smoke diffusing the beam.

Like the most powerful laser I’ve used won’t cut through a paper sticker or even the residue but it’ll cut through .75" steel like it’s nothing.

The optics is a big deal too. On the big ones everything is pretty reasonably sized and they’re still a pain to clean. I can’t imagine what it’s like with those tiny ones. Also, those larger lasers lenses are really commonly coated in thorium and a speck gets on there it’s going to superheat and vaporize a lot of the lense. Pretty damn dangerous to be around lol!

CNC laser operator here.

I don’t know about these lower power lasers so I may be wrong. With the lasers I’ve used (200-2000W), the air/oxygen is used to create a superheated jacket of gas around the laser which allows it to cut a nice smooth edge. It also has the added benefit of blowing away the slag/dross that’s created.

When we cut more temperature sensitive materials like aluminum and stainless we use nitrogen, which cools the material. This creates a pretty jagged deal with the dross that you gotta sand off but it prevents blowouts and really creates a nice edge if you get the pressure dialed in just right.

It's probably because of all the solar farms sucking the energy from the sun.

/s just in case…

When I was in rehab I got a cigarette injector and would sell cigarettes. They regularly made runs to the smoke shop for us and took shopping lists. Yours may or may not but it was a good source of income and good for bartering.

Reading, drawing, playing card games were mostly how I passed my time. I’m assuming that since you’re going to rehab you know how to play spades but if not I’d highly recommend learning.

They’re of course going to give you a lot of coursework too so you can look forward to that.