Laser

hide

A 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.

For more information about Laser, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with laser

results timeline


Physicists lay the groundwork for cooler, faster computing

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (19) | comments 5

University of Toronto quantum optics researchers Sajeev John and Xun Ma have discovered new behaviours of light within photonic crystals that could lead to faster optical information processing and compact computers that ...


Miracle light: Can lasers solve the energy crisis?

Technology / Energy

created 6 hours ago | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Next year will mark the 50th birthday of the laser, one of the most productive and widely used mega-inventions of the last century. Scientists hope that 2010 also will see the launch of laser technology's greatest challenge: ...


New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources

New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have achieved a nanoscale laser structure they anticipate will produce semiconductor lasers in the next two years that are more than twice as efficient ...


Whose Tattoo Is It Anyway?

Whose Tattoo Is It Anyway?

Other Sciences / Other

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- An infra-red digital camera could be a crucial tool in the fight against crime when trying to identify suspects by their tattoos, according to new University of Derby research.





Search results for laser


Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA unveils latest results from lunar mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created 6 hours ago | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

NASA's current mission in orbit around the moon, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has been providing crucial insights about our nearest celestial neighbor since its launch in June. At a scientific ...


World's first skeletal mount of Paluxysaurus jonesi reveals new biology

World's first skeletal mount of Paluxysaurus jonesi reveals new biology

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created 11 hours ago | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Early Cretaceous sauropod Paluxysaurus jonesi weighed 20 tons, was 60 feet long and had a neck 26 feet long, according to scientists who prepared the world's first full skeletal mount ...


Scientists Investigate Cause of 'Singing Dunes'

Scientists Investigate Cause of 'Singing Dunes'

Physics / General Physics

created 16 hours ago | popularity 4.2 / 5 (13) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- In more than 30 locations around the world, the phenomenon of singing sand dunes has intrigued explorers, tourists, and scientists. When an avalanche occurs or even when the sand is pushed ...


Steroid injections may slow diabetes-related eye disease

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created 18 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Injecting the corticosteroid triamcinolone into the eye may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that can cause vision loss and blindness, according to a report in the December issue of ...


Slam dunk for future smart robots

Slam dunk for future smart robots

Electronics / Robotics

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- 'What does the world look like' and 'where am I' are two questions robots must solve if they are to act autonomously in an unknown environment. Work by European researchers will help future ...


AOptix Technologies and NuCrypt demonstrate physical-layer quantum encryption

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0

AOptix Technologies, a leading edge developer of ultra-high bandwidth laser communication solutions, and NuCrypt, a provider of technology for ultra-high security over optical communication networks, disclosed today the recent ...


Tracking new cancer-killing particles with MRI

Tracking new cancer-killing particles with MRI

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have created a single nanoparticle that can be tracked in real time with MRI as it homes in on cancer cells, tags them with a fluorescent ...


Light-generating transistors to power labs on chips

Light-generating transistors to power labs on chips

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- What started out as 'blue-sky' thinking by a group of European researchers could ultimately lead to the commercial mass production of a new generation of optoelectronic components for devices ...



List of search results for laser