What makes lasers

Light travels in waves, and the distance between the peaks of a wave is called the wavelength. Each color of light has a different wavelength. For example, blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light.

Sunlight—and the typical light from a lightbulb—is made up of light with many different wavelengths. Our eyes see this mixture of wavelengths as white light. This animation shows a representation of the different wavelengths present in sunlight. When all of the different wavelengths colors come together, you get white light. Image credit: NASA. A laser is different.

Lasers do not occur in nature. However, we have figured ways to artificially create this special type of light. Lasers produce a narrow beam of light in which all of the light waves have very similar wavelengths. This is why laser beams are very narrow, very bright, and can be focused into a very tiny spot.

This animation is a representation of in phase laser light waves. Because laser light stays focused and does not spread out much like a flashlight would , laser beams can travel very long distances. First, let's discuss the properties of laser light and then we will go into how is is created.

Laser light is monochromatic, directional, and coherent. The light emitted from a laser is monochromatic , that is, it is of one wavelength color. In contrast, ordinary white light is a combination of many different wavelengths colors. Lasers emit light that is highly directional. Laser light is emitted as a relatively narrow beam in a specific direction. Ordinary light, such as coming from the sun, a light bulb, or a candle, is emitted in many directions away from the source.

The light from a laser is said to be coherent, which means the wavelengths of the laser light are in phase in space and time. These three properties of laser light are what make it more of a hazard than ordinary light. Email planetscience tinopolis. Lasers are found in devices such as cd and dvd players as well as pointers and used in high technology eye surgery. Two informative and accessible video clips explain how lasers work to produce a beam of light. Planet Science. Advanced Search.

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