Or you could just go out and spend $10 on an LED laser pointer...
Laser Beams
- Thread starter All Seeing Eye
- Start date
There are simpler ways of lighting matches and bursting balloons.
Sustained lasing action requires three things:
1. An "active" medium that is capable of undergoing lasing action (or light amplification) such as certain crystals (e.g., ruby, neodymium, etc.), gases (e.g., CO2, Ar, etc.), or liquids (e.g., some dye molecules).
2. A population inversion in the active medium. A population inversion, which is abnormal in nature, simply means that it is possible to put atoms or molecules in the active medium in an excited state and hold them there for a short time. The "inversion" means that you have more atoms or molecules in the excited state than in the unexcited state.
3. An optical feedback system or cavity to capture the light or energy and redirect it back into the active medium. These are typically, but not always, a couple of mirrors. One mirror is partially silvered (note: partially silvered does not mean the mirror simply has a hole in it) in order to let energy leak out of it.
Given these three things, a laser works by first creating a population inversion in the active medium using electrical current, bright flashes of light, etc. (dependent upon the type of medium you use). Once the population inversion is attained, some of the excited atoms or molecules wil relax and release their energy. This energy is then captured by the optical feedback system and then directed to other excited molecules or atoms in the active medium. This energy, of course, causes these excited atoms or molecules to relax and release energy which, in turn, is captured by the feedback system and directed back into the active medium. This cyclical process is allowed to continue until, eventually, there will be enough energy in the system to "leak" out of the partially silvered mirror. This "leaking" energy is the laser beam.
Lasers can be built out of all sorts of things. I once built one from CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas, some mirrors, glass tubing, and a beer sign transformer. The laser worked well and had an invisible beam capable of burning holes in metal.
1. An "active" medium that is capable of undergoing lasing action (or light amplification) such as certain crystals (e.g., ruby, neodymium, etc.), gases (e.g., CO2, Ar, etc.), or liquids (e.g., some dye molecules).
2. A population inversion in the active medium. A population inversion, which is abnormal in nature, simply means that it is possible to put atoms or molecules in the active medium in an excited state and hold them there for a short time. The "inversion" means that you have more atoms or molecules in the excited state than in the unexcited state.
3. An optical feedback system or cavity to capture the light or energy and redirect it back into the active medium. These are typically, but not always, a couple of mirrors. One mirror is partially silvered (note: partially silvered does not mean the mirror simply has a hole in it) in order to let energy leak out of it.
Given these three things, a laser works by first creating a population inversion in the active medium using electrical current, bright flashes of light, etc. (dependent upon the type of medium you use). Once the population inversion is attained, some of the excited atoms or molecules wil relax and release their energy. This energy is then captured by the optical feedback system and then directed to other excited molecules or atoms in the active medium. This energy, of course, causes these excited atoms or molecules to relax and release energy which, in turn, is captured by the feedback system and directed back into the active medium. This cyclical process is allowed to continue until, eventually, there will be enough energy in the system to "leak" out of the partially silvered mirror. This "leaking" energy is the laser beam.
Lasers can be built out of all sorts of things. I once built one from CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas, some mirrors, glass tubing, and a beer sign transformer. The laser worked well and had an invisible beam capable of burning holes in metal.
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
That wont work..
It might if I stick a gas in it.
Umm.. No.
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Well we shall have to see won't we!!!!!!!!!!
Is this before or after the magnet project?
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Same time, that way I can power the laser with free energy.
Do not mock the greatest scientific mind of our age.
Stephen Hawking posts here?
^^
Lex Luthor, you KNOB!
Lex Luthor, you KNOB!
That sounds like a lightbulb covered in aluminium foil. That isn't a laser; it's a recipe for a house fire.
I'm happier with the thought of Tachy performing his experiments with a light bulb than with a high-powered laser. I suspect he wants to create a defense weapon against Nibiru. I just hope he's up to date on his home and contents insurance.
the reason this won't work is that it's just a fancy flashlight. in fact you'll trap most of the light in the tube . . .
That wont work..
It might if I stick a gas in it.
you need an energy source that will excite the atoms in the gain medium such that they release photons on a certain wavelength. this diagram has an energy source but no gain medium, therefore no amplification
if you build that mirror tube with a light bulb at one end, you'll just get a focused beam of light, not a laser beam
a lightbulb emits incoherent light, while a laser is coherent . . . think of it as sound waves, a lightbulb is white noise while a laser is like a sine wave
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