Laser
hideA laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Laser light is usually spatially coherent, which means that the light either is emitted in a narrow, low-divergence beam, or can be converted into one with the help of optical components such as lenses. Typically, lasers are thought of as emitting light with a narrow wavelength spectrum ("monochromatic" light). This is not true of all lasers, however: some emit light with a broad spectrum, while others emit light at multiple distinct wavelengths simultaneously. The coherence of typical laser emission is distinctive. Most other light sources emit incoherent light, which has a phase that varies randomly with time and position.
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News tagged with laser light
Scientists demonstrate multibeam, multi-functional lasers
Nov 30, 2009 |
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An international team of applied scientists from Harvard, Hamamatsu Photonics, and ETH Zürich have demonstrated compact, multibeam, and multi-wavelength lasers emitting in the invisible part of the light spectrum ...
Study reveals a 'missing link' in immune response to disease (w/ Video)
Nov 02, 2009 |
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The immune system's T cells have the unique responsibilities of being both jury and executioner. They examine other cells for signs of disease, including cancers or infections, and, if such evidence is found, ...
Researchers use trident laser to accelerate protons to record energies
Nov 02, 2009 |
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An international team of physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory has succeeded in using intense laser light to accelerate protons to energies never before achieved. Using this technique, scientists can ...
Scientist shines laser light on methane in pursuit of clean fuel
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Oct 22, 2009 |
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An abundant greenhouse gas could someday help clean up the earth. Converting methane to liquid methanol could produce clean, low-cost fuel and prevent the potent greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere. Exploiting methane ...
Diamonds are a laser's best friend
Sep 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Tomorrow's lasers may come with a bit of bling, thanks to a new technology that uses man-made diamonds to enhance the power and capabilities of lasers. Researchers in Australia have now demonstrated the first ...
Lasers generate underwater sound
Sep 04, 2009 |
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Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are developing a new technology for use in underwater acoustics. The new technology uses flashes of laser light to remotely create underwater sound. The new ...
New nanolaser -- spaser -- key to future optical computers and technologies
Aug 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Because the new device, called a "spaser," is the first of its kind to emit visible light, it represents a critical component for possible future technologies based on "nanophotonic" circuitry, ...
Ytterbium gains ground in quest for next-generation atomic clocks
Aug 11, 2009 |
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An experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms is about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that of the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, the nation's ...
Astronomers Find Hyperactive Galaxies in the Early Universe
Aug 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Looking almost 11 billion years into the past, astronomers have measured the motions of stars for the first time in a very distant galaxy and clocked speeds upwards of one million miles per ...
Measuring the Speed of Light in Composite Materials
Aug 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Although the speed of light is constant in a vacuum, light slows down a small amount when traveling through other materials. While it's relatively easy to measure the speed of light in mediums ...
Straighten up and fly right: Moths benefit more from flexible wings than rigid (w/ Videos)
Jun 29, 2009 |
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Most scientists who create models trying to understand the mechanics and aerodynamics of insect flight have assumed that insect wings are relatively rigid as they flap.
Scientists create metal that pumps liquid uphill
Jun 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In nature, trees pull vast amounts of water from their roots up to their leaves hundreds of feet above the ground through capillary action, but now scientists at the University of Rochester ...
Rotating Space Elevator Propels its Own Load
May 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The idea of the space elevator just got a little crazier. While the “traditional” concept involved using rocket propulsion or laser light pressure to propel loads up a cable anchored to Earth, ...
New system for detection of single atoms: Records photon bursts from optical cavity
May 17, 2009 |
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Scientists have devised a new technique for real-time detection of freely moving individual neutral atoms that is more than 99.7% accurate and sensitive enough to discern the arrival of a single atom in less ...
New nanocrystals show potential for cheap lasers, new lighting
May 10, 2009 |
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For more than a decade, scientists have been frustrated in their attempts to create continuously emitting light sources from individual molecules because of an optical quirk called "blinking," but now scientists ...
