The document discusses lasers, including their basics, how they work, types of lasers, and applications. It explains that lasers emit coherent, monochromatic, directional light through stimulated emission. Common types include solid-state, gas, dye, excimer, and semiconductor lasers. Lasers have many industrial, environmental, research, communications, and medical applications such as laser printers, barcode scanners, fiber optics, surgery, and distance measurement. They are used widely in everyday devices and settings.

1. LASER More Than You Know Somya Tyagi – 10 th Socrates

2. Table Of Contents Introduction The Basics Absorbing Energy The Laser/Atom Connection Laser Light How does Laser differ from Other Light? Types Of Laser Applications Of Laser Everyday Applications Bibliography

4. LASER is an acronym for L = Light A = Amplification S = by Stimulated E = Emission R = of Radiation Almost everyone probably knows that the police use laser when they measure speed, but how many know that you also use laser several times during an ordinary day? You'll find it in CD players, laser printers and much, much more. The power contained in laser is both fascinating and frightening.

5. Atoms are constantly in motion. They continuously vibrate, move and rotate. Atoms can be in different states of excitation , i.e., they can have different energies. Apply a lot of energy to an atom, it can leave what is called the ground-state energy level and go to an excited level.

6. This reflects the core idea of how atoms work in terms of lasers. Once an electron moves to a higher-energy orbit, it eventually wants to return to the ground state. When it does, it releases its energy as a photon -- a particle of light. For example, when the heating element in a toaster turns bright red, the red colour is caused by atoms, excited by heat, releasing red photons. When you see a picture on a TV screen, what you are seeing is atoms, excited by high-speed electrons, emitting different colours of light. Anything that produces light -- fluorescent lights, gas lanterns, incandescent bulbs -- does it through the action of electrons changing orbits and releasing photons.

8. The Laser/Atom Connection A laser is a device that controls the way that energized atoms release photons. "Laser" is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation , which describes very succinctly how a laser works. In a laser, the lasing medium is “pumped” to get the atoms into an excited state. The electron absorb some energy to reach this excited level and then release this energy.

10. The Laser/Atom Connection This emitted energy comes in the form of photons (light energy). The photon emitted has a very specific wavelength (colour) that depends on the state of the electron's energy when the photon is released.

12. Laser Light Laser light has the following properties: The light released is monochromatic. It contains one specific wavelength of light (one specific colour). The light released is coherent . It is “organized” -- each photon moves in step with the others. The light is very directional . A laser light has a very tight beam and is very strong and concentrated. To make these three properties occur takes something called stimulated emission .

14. How Does Laser Light Differ from Other Light? Light is an electromagnetic wave. Each wave has brightness and colour, and vibrates at a certain angle. This is also true for laser light but it is more parallel than any other light source. Every part of the beam has (almost) the exact same direction and the beam will therefore diverge very little.

16. TYPES OF LASERS Solid-state lasers have lasing material distributed in a solid matrix Gas lasers (helium and helium-neon, are the most common gas lasers) have a primary output of visible red light. CO2 lasers are used for cutting hard materials. Excimer lasers (the name is derived from the terms excited and dimers ) use reactive gases, such as chlorine and fluorine, mixed with inert gases such as argon, krypton or xenon. When electrically stimulated dimer is produced. When lased, the dimer produces light in the ultraviolet range.

17. TYPES OF LASERS Dye lasers use complex organic dyes in liquid solution or suspension as lasing media. Semiconductor lasers , sometimes called diode lasers, are not solid-state lasers. They may be built into larger arrays, such as the writing source in some laser printers or CD players.

18. Applications Of LASERS Industrial Applications of Laser : Laser can be found in a broad range of applications within industry, where it can be used for such things as pointing and measuring. Within the pulp mill industry the concentration of lye is measured by observing how the laser beam refracts in it. In the mining industry, laser is used to point out the drilling direction.

20. Applications Of LASERS 2. Environmental Applications Usage to determine from a distance the environmental toxins in a column of smoke. To supervise wastewater purification.

21. Applications Of LASERS 3. Research Extremely important to researchers within physics, chemistry, biology and medicine, used to: register ultra fast chemical processes, like-bonding between atoms to form molecules study the process when cells split, or a virus enters into a cell manipulate molecules down to extremely low temperatures; transfer as much energy as possible to different materials in a short time to obtain different types of emissions.

23. Applications Of LASERS 4. Communications Works as a light source in all fibre optics in use. Has greater bandwidth (potentially 100,000 times greater) than an ordinary copper cable. Is insensitive to interference from external electrical and magnetic fields. Crosstalk (hearing someone else's phone call) is of rare occurrence.

25. Applications Of LASERS 5. Medicine Used in medicine to improve precision work like surgery. Brain surgery is an example of precision surgery that calls for the surgeon to reach the intended area precisely. Birthmarks, warts and discolouring of the skin can easily be removed with an unfocused laser. Operations are quick and heal quickly and, best of all, they are less painful

27. Everyday Applications DVD/VCD Players Laser Printers Laser Pointers and Writers Laser Sights Speed Measurements using Laser Laser Distance Meter Bar Code Readers in Retail Stores By Hunters/Shooters instead of ordinary telescope sights

29. www.howstuffworks.com www.nobleprize.org www.laserinternational.org www.laser.com www.hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu www.library.thinkquest.org www.xamplified.com www.wikipedia.com www.thebigger.com www.britannica.com