Ok, well in physics we have to do a research report. I'm doing mine on L.A.S.E.R technology and I was wondering if anybody had any interesting (but cited) facts on L.A.S.E.Rs that might be useful to throw in there.

No, I am not asking people to do the research for me, just for interesting things that could be different from everybody else's reports so as I don't bore the teacher. I'm doing research at the moment anyway, so I'd rather use stuff that I found myself anyway, but It'd be interesting to find out uncommon facts just for the fun of it anyway.

1. Laser, not LASER nor L.A.S.E.R.
2. Emission
3. Holograms!

Yes. Please. Words like "laser" (and "scuba" and "radar") are anacronyms: stuff so old we usually can't remember what the letters stand for, so we just write them as if they formed a standard word.

And, yes, holograms are good.

Grant Hutchison

Look up laser stars (and maser stars). They're extremely cool.

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ok then, I just felt like being annoying. I'll just write laser in the future.
I'm very curious too, so if you mention something and it sounds interesting then I will go look it up.

Thast all I have time for atm so yeah I might get on later again

Laser stars are good. You might also want to look up laser guide stars and their application to adaptive optics. On the tech/non-astronomy side, I like this, real 3D in the air, not fake 3D and not holograms:

http://www.aist.go.jp/aist_e/latest_.../20060210.html

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Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Making silicon semiconductor lasers is a pretty hot topic in solid state research (I'll let you do the googling).

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All moderation in purple

I like the less light-like lasers, like infrared and UV -- not visible light, anyway.

They're sneakier.

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I used to work with near infrared lasers. They're kind of sneaky, except that they still make a (faintly) visible red dot when you shine them on things. If the laser is strong enough - somewhere in the class IIb range, it can even be visible in daylight.

Anybody know why that is?

The eye's sensitivity doesn't just cut off, but drops over a range, so intense "near IR" (as the term is commonly used) can be detected. From here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared

The human eye is markedly less sensitive to light above 700 nm wavelength, so shorter frequencies make insignificant contributions to scenes illuminated by common light sources. But particularly intense light (e.g., from lasers, or from bright daylight with the visible light removed by colored gels[1]) can be detected up to approximately 780 nm, and will be perceived as red light. The onset of infrared is defined (according to different standards) at various values typically between 700 nm and 800 nm.

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I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Laser Light shows might be something to look into. Laser Cooling. Laser intiated fusion. Laser Markers for diamond or silicon wafers. Laser cat toys.

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There is no problem that cannot be solved by a suitable application of high explosives - US Army Demolitions School

I just saw Hayley's comet, she waved, Said "why you always running in place? Even the man in the moon disappeared, Somewhere in the stratosphere" - Shinedown

http://worldsofothersuns.home.comcast.net/

And to think, once upon a time, lasers were considered a solution looking for a problem! And now, they're everywhere! And they annoy cats!

I think I'll dig up my wife's laser pointer and play with our three moggies tonight. Thanks for the idea, dgavin

Oh, and since this isn't a "idle talk" topic, I suppose I'd better make a suggestion.

Holographic storage: Essentially, 3D DVDs, capable of truly obscene storage capacities.

Nobody's mentioned laser cutters--for wood carving, metal die cutting, human surgery, and eventually mining and tunneling (aren't those last ones what they depicted fifty years ago?)

The recent cheapification of green lasers for astronomy are pretty cool: a laser pointer where you can see the beam out to a great distance.

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"What do you care what other people think?" -- Richard Feynman
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." -- Feynman, at the conclusion of his Challenger report

lidar
(Light Detection And Ranging)

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"Cheapification"?
Don't tell the language police.

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009
All moderation in purple

Why not? Its a perfectly cromulent word

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"Any Sufficiently Analyzed Magic is Indistinguishable from SCIENCE!" -Agatha Heterodyne

"Any technology, no matter how primitive, is magic to those who don't understand it." -Florence Ambrose

two more for you:

Lunar laser ranging
nuclear pumped X-ray lasers

Oh and some military applications for you. Remote Laser targeting systems. Anti Ballistic Missle Wepons (SDI). Laser "Trip Wire" Klamore's. Troop blinding Laser Rifle (prototyped, not used). Laser Perimiter Detections units.

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There is no problem that cannot be solved by a suitable application of high explosives - US Army Demolitions School

I just saw Hayley's comet, she waved, Said "why you always running in place? Even the man in the moon disappeared, Somewhere in the stratosphere" - Shinedown

http://worldsofothersuns.home.comcast.net/

See today's APOD (31/7/7): http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Nice pic: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070731.html

Using lasers to create Bose-Einstein Condensate (laser cooling, like dgavin said, but to an extreme level)

laser propulsion of light sails

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"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot." --Carl Sagan "Pale Blue Dot"

Systems I maintained in my former life in the USAF: laser target designators like Pave Spike and Pave Tack.

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Brett
Peters Creek, Alaska
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Hey bluebanana! Did you ever write the report? How about telling us what your wrote about and how it came out.

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At night the stars put on a show for free (Carole King)

One Earth, One Sky - IYA 2009
All moderation in purple