Difference between revisions of "Laser"
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A '''laser''' (from the | A '''laser''' (from the acronym '''L'''ight '''A'''mplification by '''S'''timulated '''E'''mission of '''R'''adiation) is a device which produces a narrow, intense beam of electromagnetic radiation. A laser transfers energy to anything it strikes, and a sufficiently intense laser beam can burn through material. | ||
Theodore H. Maiman invented the first laser in 1960. Practical modern applications for lasers include reading and writing digital information, security systems, targeting devices on weapons, and precision cutting of certain materials. Several military organizations are researching laser weapons systems, but these are still in the R&D stage. | Theodore H. Maiman invented the first laser in 1960 <ref>http://ieee-virtual-museum.org/collection/people.php?id=1234591&lid=1</ref>. Practical modern applications for lasers include reading and writing digital information, security systems, targeting devices on weapons, and precision cutting of certain materials. Several military organizations are researching laser weapons systems, but these are still in the R&D stage. | ||
== Lasers in Science Fiction == | == Lasers in Science Fiction == | ||
Weaponized lasers are common in science fiction, ranging from small arms to spacecraft scale weapons. | Weaponized lasers are common in science fiction, ranging from small arms to spacecraft scale weapons. These weapons do not always share the characteristics of real-life lasers, however. | ||
Often, one or more of the following attributes can be found in sci-fi lasers that are incompatible with real-life laser behavior: | |||
* | * Visible in a vacuum | ||
*:Light is only visible when it impacts a detector (an eye or camera, for example). Because the photons in a laser beam are all going in the same direction, the beam can only be made "visible" if the photons were to refract off of something (such as dust). | |||
* Slower-than-light propagation | |||
*: Because a laser beam is made of up light, the beam would naturally propagate at lightspeed. | |||
== References == | |||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:Science]] | [[Category:Science]] | ||
[[Category:Real Technology]] | [[Category:Real Technology]] | ||
Revision as of 19:28, 23 December 2007
A laser (from the acronym Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a device which produces a narrow, intense beam of electromagnetic radiation. A laser transfers energy to anything it strikes, and a sufficiently intense laser beam can burn through material.
Theodore H. Maiman invented the first laser in 1960 [1]. Practical modern applications for lasers include reading and writing digital information, security systems, targeting devices on weapons, and precision cutting of certain materials. Several military organizations are researching laser weapons systems, but these are still in the R&D stage.
Lasers in Science Fiction
Weaponized lasers are common in science fiction, ranging from small arms to spacecraft scale weapons. These weapons do not always share the characteristics of real-life lasers, however.
Often, one or more of the following attributes can be found in sci-fi lasers that are incompatible with real-life laser behavior:
- Visible in a vacuum
- Light is only visible when it impacts a detector (an eye or camera, for example). Because the photons in a laser beam are all going in the same direction, the beam can only be made "visible" if the photons were to refract off of something (such as dust).
- Slower-than-light propagation
- Because a laser beam is made of up light, the beam would naturally propagate at lightspeed.