With all the new development in technology today, one of the most advanced areas of modern science is laser technology. Lasers have been around for awhile (the first visible beam laser was invented in 1960), and many people are becoming more interested in their capabilities for both leisure use and specific applications.
Lasers come from many different sources. To say that not all lasers are the same would be an understatement. In fact there are so many different kinds of lasers that it can be almost overwhelming to try and learn about them all. Just knowing the basic names of each kind of laser, or even the main categories they fall under can be very informational. Here is a list of the main categories lasers fall under and a basic description of what the lasers within each category are capable of:
*Gas Lasers- the use of these lasers ranges from bar code scanning to laser eye surgery.
*Chemical Lasers- mainly used as weaponry by the military.
*Dye Lasers- used to remove birth marks
*Metal-vapor lasers- used for printing, dermatology, and high speed photography.
*Solid-state lasers- used for tattoo removal, spectroscopy, and many other uses.
*Semiconductor lasers- used for telecommunications, holography, printing, welding etc.
This list is only gives a very brief, incomplete explanation of what the different kinds of lasers within these categories can do and are used for. There are also a few other kinds of lasers that don't fall within these categories. Some of these include: free electron lasers, nickel-like samarium lasers, raman lasers, and nuclear pumped lasers. The use of these kinds of lasers ranges from atmospheric research to optical signal amplification for telecommunications.
Most highly technical lasers, like those listed above, are being used for research in various areas including many medical fields, military weaponry, and other kinds of science explorations. Lasers have created an incredibly vast selection of tools to use in so many areas of technological advancement that it is hard not to notice them.
In addition to the many industrial and scientific applications for lasers, many people like to use lasers for their own personal experimentation and demonstration. Green lasers are becoming very popular right now because of their intense brightness and portability. People are becoming more familiar with laser technology through experimentation of portable lasers. Some portable lasers are so bright and powerful that the radiation they can generate needs to be harnessed through an infrared filter built into the laser. Many portable green lasers that you can buy today are not equipped with such filters and people should use caution when purchasing them.
