What is LASER?

LASER stands for:

• Light
• Amplification by the
• Stimulated
• Emission of
• Radiation

Basic laser design can be depicted as a sealed tube which contains a pair of mirrors and a laser medium, a substance through which some form of energy is passed. When the medium is "excited" or stimulated by some form of energy, it produces energized light. This energized light is concentrated by the mirrors to produce a single stream called a laser beam. Different types of lasers have more complex designs and use different mediums, which produce beams of different wavelengths and colors. Laser light is:

• Monochromatic: consisting of a single wavelength
• Directional: having very little beam divergence or spread
• Coherent: containing light waves moving in the same direction and in the same phase

Laser wavelengths can range from the far infrared end of the spectrum to the far ultraviolet end of the spectrum.

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