The word “laser” is an acronym for “light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation.” Lasers of all kinds consist of several basic components: an active medium, an outside energy source, and an optical cavity with carefully designed mirrors on both ends. One of the mirrors is 100 percent reflective while the other is somewhat less reflective, so a beam can be emitted. The active medium is inside the optical cavity and is excited with an external energy source (typically electricity). For the cavity to emit laser radiation, the active medium has to achieve an unusual energy state called “population inversion.” (more…)
The first known laser was made by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, in 1960, but the seeds ...
Different lasers use different materials as the active medium. The medium can be either solid, liquid, or gas, and there are ad ...
There are literally thousands of uses for lasers. One of the largest applications is telecommunications—sending a signal throug ...
It is known that laser printers print faster, but swallow a large amount of energy, even if the printer is in the energy saving ...
Fabrication techniques developed for integrated circuit (IC) production have been refined to the extent of supporting a multi-b ...
