How much can a laser burn through?

[JoeSalerno]

Relatively simple question, I'm new to lasers and just had a basic question. What effects what a laser can burn through? Is it wattage, nm, burn time, or what? Is there an equation for how many Joules it takes to burn through a volume of a given material using specific heat capacities? To ease your mind, I'm not planning on building anything or burning stuff, just a question that kinda popped up in my head.

 

[Nidum]