Lasers Definition and 222 Threads

  1. H

    Comparing Atomic Gas and Semiconductor Lasers

    Hi, I want to know what the important quantitative differences between the light produced by an atomic gas laser and that produced by a semiconductor laser are? I know that produced my atomic gas lasers are low power but high collimation, but semiconductor lasers seem to have higher power...
  2. H

    Atomic gas and Semiconductor Lasers.

    Hi, I want to know what the important quantitative differences between the light produced by an atomic gas laser and that produced by a semiconductor laser are? I know that produced my atomic gas lasers are low power but high collimation, but semiconductor lasers seem to have higher power...
  3. C

    What Is the Emission Wavelength of a 10nm GaAs Quantum Well Laser?

    Homework Statement Assuming and infinitely deep potential well, estimate the emission wavelength of a 10nm GaAs quantum well laser. The electron density at the normal operating point of the laser is 1016m-2: what is the electron quasi-Fermi level (chemical potential) and how many levels are...
  4. C

    What gain guiding and index guiding mean in the context of lasers?

    Does anyone know what gain guiding and index guiding mean in the context of lasers?
  5. L

    Can ultrafast lasers help us understand the complex process of photosynthesis?

    Warning: This is a potentially stupid question! Is it possible to induce photosynthesis with laser light? What kind of published work is there on it? Thanks!
  6. T

    Exploring Electron Behavior: Photons, Lasers, and Beyond

    photons or lasers fired through a slit. an electron can be two places at one time. or are the electrons split into a rainbow. in spacetime towards a black hole are you drawn in or do you get thrown out. electrons maybe "visit" neighbour nuclei then maybe come back. if an electron accidently...
  7. L

    What Is the Energy Difference for Argon-Ion Laser Transitions?

    Do you fancy argon-ion lasers?? I sure dont. =/ Homework Statement I dont. This is a practice test problem and I cannot figure it out. Frustrating! An argon-ion laser emits a blue-green beam of light with a wavelength of 488 nm in a vacuum. What is the difference in energy in joules...
  8. H

    Advice need - Photonics - Telecoms or High power lasers and systems ?

    Advice needed - Photonics - Telecoms or High power lasers and systems ? Hi ! I recently concluded a masters in photonic comms with a distinction, and I'm currently contemplating : 1) Studying further (PhD) and if so which path with respect to Future of Photonics 2) Relocating (better...
  9. S

    Questions about lasers and diffraction

    Okay, so I've been thinking about diffraction experiments and light, but not having a laboratory, I would like to know some specifics about what happens in a diffraction experiment. I know that laser light diffracts when it passed through a narrow aperture, but does it diffract as it passes out...
  10. D

    Do Red Lasers of 314mW Pose a Safety Risk?

    If using 314mW red laser and cylindrical optics to project a line 500mm x 2mm, will it have brightness as 1mW laser that projects a dot with r=1mm since the area difference? 1000mm / (1mm^2*3.14) Would the projected line of that brightness be dangerous if bounced off the reflective surface...
  11. M

    Electromagnetic Lasers: A Physics/Engineering Project

    My roommate and I are working on a backyard physics/engineering project, with the intent to hopefully scale it up to massive proportions. One of the issues we recently came across, though, was the matter of focusing our electromagnets for both efficiency and to keep from effecting anything else...
  12. Pengwuino

    Working with Lasers: Safety Procedures & Intensity

    For a certain sexah project I'm going to do, I have a bunch of lasers that have an intensity of "<5mW". I have 780nm IR lasers and 650nm red lasers. When i made a lazy hookup to a 3V power source, the red laser was briiiiight which leads me to believe I've only ever used <1mW lasers in our labs...
  13. D

    Green lasers: how much power is too much?

    I saw some green lasers on dealextreme recently, they have units that go up to 200 mW: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1997 This thing looks a bit unsafe to me! My intention is to show the daughters some stars here in our polluted skies, not much else. How much power is needed for...
  14. L

    How indirect band semiconductors are used in lasers ?

    Hi, I would like to know how we can use indirect band semiconductors in lasers. Such type of semiconductors do not emit photons when transition takes place. Energy is given up as heat to the lattice. Regards,
  15. S

    Learn the Basics of Semiconductor Laser Operation

    I am curious about the operation principles of semiconductor lasers, but I never had the chance to go through the basic flow. I'd be grateful if someone posts a brief description of how the light amplification is achieved in simple terms.
  16. N

    Lasers & Frequency: Exploring Light Harmonics

    Homework Statement Hi all. When talking about sound, we tak about the fundamental frequency, the first harmonic, second, third etc. Does this also work for lasers, i.e. for light? So if I have a laser at 500 nm, then the third harmonic is 3 times the frequency that corresponds to 500 nm...
  17. B

    How Much Energy Can the NIF Laser Produce in One Shot?

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090408/sc_space/friendlydeathstarlasertorecreatesunspower
  18. B

    Lasers increasing vapor to superheated steam

    I am trying to wrap my head around what it would take to bring water vapor to superheated state. It seems that if you had a vapor stream and shot it with continuous laser energy (CO2 or other gas laser) you could instantly create a high quality steam. I am teetering between buying a diode...
  19. U

    Two Quick Questions Regarding Lasers - I hope this is the right place to ask

    In my math class we were given an assignment to model lasers, we have been given equations, and terms have been somewhat defined, but I do not know what the following terms are when relating to a laser. Any help in defining them would be awesome! What is: Mirror Transmission, Pump...
  20. D

    Exploring the Excitation Dynamics of He-Ne Lasers

    hallo all, I was wondering the following thing: when using a He-Ne laser, you pump some energy in the system to get the He excited, but why only the He atoms? If you pump energy in the systems, wouldn't the Ne atoms get excited too ? (and I am not speaking about them getting excites because...
  21. D

    Fiber Optics & Lasers: Light Usage

    Do fiberoptic cables use lasers, or regular light? (or can they use either depending on the situation)
  22. 0

    High Energy Lasers: Questions & Answers

    Does someone here know about high energy lasers? As I understand it, at a certain field strength you damage your optical media, but I know high power cw lasers do exist, so I wonder: 1) How do you shutter a high power laser? 2) Is it possible to join two laser beams. The only way I see...
  23. scupydog

    The Quantum Theory Behind Lasers and Masers

    Hi does anyone know where i can find an online version of the quantum mechanical theory behind lasers and masers. regards Dave.
  24. H_man

    Confusion about Homogenous Broadening in Lasers

    In the book I am currently reading one of the causes stated for homogenous broadening in lasers is the ".. finite lifetime of the emitting state". Now this really confuses me because I would have thought that that a change in the time it takes for this spontaneous emission should affect the...
  25. W

    Interaction of modulated lasers

    If you were to amplitude modulate a laser such the helium-neon with a microwave signal for instance at 10 GHz, and if you were to shine that laser into a tuned 10 GHz resonant cavity, would the modulated laser excite the cavity? That is would the rise and fall of intensity of the laser beam...
  26. W

    Photon momentum and lasers transfering energy

    This is something that I was just playing around with in my head that I was curious about. Photons have momentum (p = E/c). That would mean that they could transfer that momentum, and I was curious about collisions between a lot of photons and large objects. I was curious if anybody here...
  27. N

    Lasers, photo-electric effects and ionization of atoms

    I get the photo-electric effect but I am just wandering, is that the only principal on which lasers function? I mean do lasers "cut" materials by ionizing the atoms?
  28. C

    Exploring Light Transmission with Lasers & Optical Fibers

    Why is it that we are able to use a laser beam with optical fiber but not with a white light source?
  29. V

    First excite electrons into a higher state for lasers

    Hi, Could somebody please explain or refer to a good page which explains why it is necessary to first excite electrons into a higher state than the metastable state in LASERS? I checked so many sources but did not find anything. thank you VVS
  30. D

    Have you tried using a laser system for distance and location measurements?

    Has anyone had any experience in using a laser system for measuring distance or location? I am looking for the laser emitter as well as the receiver as kind of like a matched pair. I haven't really been able to find anything other than laser emitters on their own, and wanted to know if...
  31. W

    Electrical Powering 10 Lasers with a 6V 500mA Adapter

    Hello to all, I need to be able to power 10 laser pointers at the same time all running from one adapter. Each laser is normally powered by 3 LR44 batteries, which are 1.5v each (I don't know how many amps). The DC adapter ill be using for the project is 6v and 500 mA. Is that...
  32. C

    Does the Inverse Square Law Apply to Lasers and Perfect Lasers?

    I've read from several sources that says the inverse square law doesn't apply to lasers, but I've been told that it does apply. Which is right? Also if it does apply in today's lasers what about in a perfect laser? Thanks.
  33. B

    Does Light Exert a Force on Lasers?

    Say you shoot a beam of light in a laser or flashlight. Does the photons exert a backwards force on the laser. I understand how some of Einsteins relativity works out on the train with adding velocities and all. It just makes sense that energy is being lost by not adding velocities so the...
  34. B

    Lasers used in Iraq and Afghanistan

    Lasers in combat? That used to happen only in "star wars" but not any more. That cute essential little laser diode in your DVD drive/printer/PS3 etc has been put to more dynamic uses. Such as being used in trouble spots such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Liverpool. This article gives full...
  35. N

    Discover the Wonders of Wicked Lasers!

    Hey What are your favourite gadgets? One of my personal favourites are the lasers from "wicked lasers".. http://www.wickedlasers.com" they can light matches, pop balloons and the beam is visible in the air, even without smoke..
  36. P

    Understanding Atom Excitation in He-Ne Lasers

    hello every one The thing I can't understand is 1) In He-Ne laser the He atoms in the excited state interact with the Ne atoms in the ground state how it is possible? 2) In all the textbooks they wrote that "atoms exite". Wil the atoms exite or the electrons? because to my knowledge atom...
  37. R

    Good universitites worldwide for pulsed lasers?

    Hello, I'm finishing a Masters in Optics and Photonics a the moment (and I have a Bachelors in Physics) and I'm planning on working on short laser pulses for my PhD next year. I have applied to Imperial College London, UC Berkeley, ETH Zurich, Max Planck Institute in Munich, Ecole...
  38. B

    Can a Laser Affect Water? Solutions Needed

    Is there a way to make a laser affect water and what would it do to it? I am trying to figure out a way to aggitate the hydogen and oxygen molecules in water to make them want to break apart. Would a laser make a difference? Any other suggestions. Thank you all for your help in advance.
  39. T

    Anti-Missile Lasers: Size Doesn't Matter for Cutting Power

    i know that the military is producing a powerfull laser that can potentially knock down hazardus misiles (possibly ICBMs) wouldent all you need to have is an estreemly powerfull VERY SMALL laser. size doesn't matter if your cutting straight through it. wither the cut is 5 inches, or 2 cm. its...
  40. T

    Why won't mirrors reflect light perfectly?

    how exactly do lasers work? i know there are many kinds of lasers, but why can't you shine a light in a sphere with the inside as a mirror, then leave a hole and put a long tube on the hole, so the rays going sideways won't escape i hear that the light just won't stay inside the sphere. it...
  41. K

    News International Proliferation of Anti ICBM Lasers

    Lasers are safer for the following reasons: Once you point them into sky, it's hard to bring them down. Hence, one could safely distribute the technology to both friends and enemy. Iran can't hit us with a laser (from Iran). You can have a bunch of lasers and mass produce them for...
  42. M

    Understanding Automatic Door Systems: Photodiodes & Lasers

    how does a automatic door works? anythings about the photodiode? and lazer? plx help~~~~
  43. T

    How to Achieve High Pulsing Frequencies with Lasers

    Hi, just out of curiosity, i heard about a new electron gun (if that's the proper term) using a laser pulsing at about 3.333 x 10e14 Hz to increase the frequency at which the electrons are emitted. How does the laser reach such pulsing frequencies? Thanks.
  44. R

    Can lasers emit anticoherent photons? 180&deg;

    http://www.physics.utoledo.edu/~ljc/photonsnap.doc --shows a photon in stop action ... But some of those photon samples are 180&deg; out of phase ... Would that be a technical equipment problem, or do lasers sometimes emit anticoherent photons? Ray.
  45. C

    What Happens If Both Laser Mirrors Are Fully Reflective?

    First of all excuse me if I'm posting in the wrong section or you are simply annoyed by my questions. It just happens that i love all this scientific stuff and althoughi don't always understand everything i try to. I just finished reading a very basic article about a laser operates and it...
  46. W

    What Role Does Optical Fiber Play in Fiber Lasers?

    I was wondering if anyone could tell me about fiber lasers. I don't mean those used as transmitters on optical fiber systems; I mean lasers that contain optical fibers as components. I know that it can be done, but I don't know what the structure is like. What part does the fiber play? Is...
  47. D

    Where Can I Find Information About Lasers?

    Hi, I need to know about lasers. Has anyone got any websites or links describing lasers?
  48. C

    Calculate Number of Photons Released in Laser Surgery

    Lasers are now used in eye surgery. Given that the wavelength of a certain laser is 514 nm and the power of the laser is 1.9 W, how many photons are released if the laser is used for 0.052 s during the surgery? HELP: You know the energy released per second (the power) and the time the laser...
  49. N

    Questions about Lasers: Maser Substance & Wavelength Determination

    There are two questions I wanted to ask. The first is what substances are used in a maser? The second is how can the wavelength of a laser using a certain substance be determined without physical testing?
  50. D

    Explaining Why Lasers are Easy to See on Projector Screens

    Q) Why is it easy to see the output of a laser pointer on a screen illuminated by an overhead projector. Assume 1mW laser and 500W quartz halogen bulb. Explain quantitatively, and state all other assumptions. Im not sure whether it involves the coherence length/time of the two waves...
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