In the picture below, four lasers pierce the sky into the Orion Nebula. Who is doing this? Astronomers from an observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chili are studying an optics system to increase the sharpness of an image. Laser lights are definitely different from your regular flashlight! What makes them so, penetrating?
To make a laser work many, many photons need to be energized at the same time. (All that happens in my slim, little, laser pen light?) YES! The key is a pair of mirrors. Photons, with a very specific wavelength (red, green, blue) and phase, reflect off the mirrors to travel back and forth through the laser material. In the process, they stimulate other electrons to make the downward energy jump and can cause the start of more photons of the same wavelength and phase. A cascade effect occurs, and soon we have created many, many photons of the same wavelength and phase. The mirror at one end of the laser is "half-silvered," meaning it reflects some light and lets some light through. The light that makes it through is the laser light. What? That's too small! Augh! That's too complicated! (Interesting, but whatever does this mean?) Anyway, lasers are fun to play with.... SAFELY! Party on...I mean, get back to your Math Homework!!
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |