Episode 86- Blind Them With Lasers

A lasers defining characteristic is that the light is inherently coherent, i.e. that the light frequencies are all in sync. The laser is also one frequency, as multiple frequencies cannot be coherent. This is useful for a number of properties, which we get into. The lasing medium can be multiple sources, from crystals to semiconductors to older versions even being various gasses.

The oft-mentioned lens is an integral part of the laser (being what causes to coherency), with most people focusing on the emitting source, but optics is the other half of the pie. It's as wide of a market as anything else. Variable radius mirrors, aspherical lenses, cylindrical mirrors, galvo mirrors, to even band-selective resonator optics if you're working with multiple frequencies. As power increases with the laser, the carefulness of the optics is also increased, so minor defects can have disastrous results.

Depending on the lasing medium, the method for powering the laser changes. With modern lower-power lasers being simple LEDs with voltage limited current drawn devices with a hard limit on light output but cheap setup. Gas lasers are generated from electrical discharges being infinitely scalable, but poorly efficient, losing most energy as heat (the common CO2 laser being just over 10% efficient of generating light).

Lasers are a powerful tool, and learning how they work, and how they can be used is an important skill.

 

Auxi, Auxis, Auxim