How Lasers Work

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When first discovered, lasers were thought to be the ‘cure all’ for modern scientific problems. Although many limitations have been realized, lasers are slowly improving many different aspects of our lives. From eye surgery to industrial precision cutting and fabrication to medical marvels like tattoo removal, surgery, and even destroying isolated cancer cells, lasers continue to be a behind-the-scenes tool for improving our lives. Many people have heard of the lasers, but few know that the term is actually an acronym for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Even still, fewer could explain how a laser works.

To understand how a laser light is produced, we must first start with a fundamental look

at the atom. Atoms are typically considered the building blocks of life and are far smaller than the naked eye can see. Atoms consist of an electron cloud and a nucleus which contains protons and neutrons. The electrons in the cloud

circle the nucleus in various orbits particular to each type of atom. Generally speaking, the further the electron’s orbit is away from the nucleus, the higher the energy level of that electron. In reality atoms move, vibrate, and rotate, but for our understanding we will just look at the excitation levels of the electrons and their orbits. An atom is said to be at ground state when its electrons posses only their innate electrical energy. When electrons are bombarded with radiation they absorb some of the energy and move further away from the nucleus to an excited level. The atom naturally wants to return to ground state and in doing so releases the absorbed energy in the form of a photon. A photon is a light particle, perceived to act physically as both a particle (matter) and ...

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...d even entertaining. Although lasers may not be the ‘end all’ of technologies, they certainly have changed and continue to change the world around us. The next time you hear a term like laser printer, Blu-Ray, or lasik, you can rest assured that just like the small percent of non-wasted energy that actually comprises a laser beam, you too are within a select group, aimed with the knowledge of how lasers work.

Works Cited

[1] Aldrich, Robert. “Laser Fundamentals” Fas.Org. 02.27.2011 < http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/laser/fundamentals.htm >

[2] Optical Cavity. Wikipedia 01.08.2011, 02.27.2011

Images Cited

Gibson, D. Inside An Atom. 04.18.2000, 02.27.2011

Optical Cavity. Wikipedia 01.08.2011, 02.27.2011

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