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Laser devices use light to store, transfer, or print images and text; they are also used in a wide range of other applications, including surgery and weaponry. The coherent radiation of the laser gives it special strength. The laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) started life as an extension of the maser, or "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation." As its name indicates, the maser is an amplifier that was originally used for amplifying weak radio signals from space. Light waves are very much like radio waves but with a much shorter wavelength. The laser generates light energy by converting the energy states of a material. The energy level of an atom is a function of its temperature. Its lowest energy level is called its "ground state." The application of additional heat, light, or electric field can raise its energy level. The familiar neon sign, which is glass tubing filled with neon gas, works on this principle. Two electrodes are inserted in the ends of the glass tubing and a high voltage is applied to the electrodes to raise the energy levels of the gas atoms. Neon light results from the gas's natural endeavor to return to its lowest energy state, emitting photons of energy as it does so. A photon is an energy packet of electromagnetic waves. The energy of a photon is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the associated electromagnetic wave, so shorter wavelengths represent the higher energy photons. Small energy transitions emit photons with long wavelengths such as infrared light, while the larger energy transitions produce photons of visible light with blue light. In the neon sign, the extra energy added is first stored in the atoms of neon gas in the tube by raising them to a higher energy state. As the neon atoms return to lower energy states, the atoms give up the excess energy as photons.
suitable for lasers. Pure neon is used to generate light in a neon sign, but a mixture of helium and neon can be used to create a laser because the mix has a metastable state. An atom that has emitted a photon stimulates other atoms to return to a lower energy state from the metastable state. The laser has mirrored ends so the photons bounce between the mirrors and cause other atoms to emit photons. Before long, a large number of photons are bouncing between the mirrors and a very large amount of light energy is generated. One of the mirrors is only half silvered so that some of the photons pass through to form a beam of light instead of being reflected.
Laser Light
In the laser, every atom that releases a photon from the metastable state produces exactly the same color or wavelength of light. Also, the waves associated with the photon are all "coherent" or in step with each other. This produces a light beam that is very pure, having a beam of only one color (that is, a monochromatic beam). Laser light can be very intense. Even though a laser has a relatively low total power, the power is concentrated in a very small area. The common laser pointer has a power output of only one or two milliwatts, but the power is spread over an area of only about a millimeter in diameter. The intensity of the laser pointer is greater than the intensity of a projected image and is easily visible. Large lasers can produce a total power of more than a kilowatt with an intensity that can cut metal.
See Also
Internet; Telecommunications; Telephony.
Bibliography
Bromberg, Joan Lisa. The Laser in America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991. Hecht, Jeff. Understanding Lasers: An Entry-level Guide. New York: IEEE Press, 1992. Laufer, Gabriel. Introduction to Optics and Lasers in Engineering.New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Petruzzelis, Thomas. Optoelectronics, Fiber Optics, and Laser Cookbook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Stix, Gary, and Miriam Lacob. Who Gives a Gigabyte: A Survival Guide for the Technologically Perplexed. New York: John Wiley, 1999. Svelto, Arazio. Principles of Lasers. New York: Plenum Press, 1998.
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