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Lasers are incredibly under-estimated. When the average person thinks of a laser, they automatically think of ray guns and space-age technology. But lasers are a very powerful tool in today's modern world. Lasers are used for all sorts of things, from cutting sheets of metal to complex eye surgeries. Lasers come in a variety of shapes and forms. The most basic lasers are RUBY LASERS. You can see how to make one of these by clicking on the link to the right. GASEOUS lasers use high powered jets of carbon dioxide and nitrogen to do their job. At the top of the range, there are lasers which use argon for their purpose. So, how does a laser work? Well, in a ruby laser, the method is fairly simple. The ruby crystal in the centre of the laser contains many atoms of a certain type. These atoms dont have much energy and, under normal circumstances, dont do much. When these atoms are exposed to a sudden jolt of energy, e.g. a bright flash of light, they become EXITED, and they vibrate very quickly. After they have gathered enough energy, they leap out of the ruby crystal in the form of laser light, or LASER BEAM. And that is all there is to it. |
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