• Question: Can you give me an example of when lasers are used in everyday objects?

    Asked by ngovani1 to Graham on 14 Jun 2014.
    • Photo: Graham Wiggins

      Graham Wiggins answered on 14 Jun 2014:

      @ngovani,
      Lasers in everyday items – Easy 🙂
      here are a few,
      CD player – “reads” the music on the disc
      Computer CD ROM / RW drive
      Laser cutter ( factory item used to cut metal/plastic really cleanly )
      Laser printer – probably one in your school
      Light curtain – a sensor to detect peopl walking through a doorway
      DJ’s lighting rig – usually has a low power laser to make pretty shapes on the ceilling
      LIDAR – ( like radar, just uses laser beam instead of radio waves ) bit speciallist
      distance finders, used like tapemeasures on building sites + sports fields,
      Of course, depends on your “day” as to what you think of as normal 🙂
      so could have mass-spectrometer in there….
      I could go on all day 🙂

Comments

  • Photo: rattyvlogger

    rattyvlogger commented on :

    How does laser eye surgery work? Is it complicated?

    • Photo: fahyda

      fahyda commented on :

      I would think laser eye surgery is shining a beam of light at an eye which could activate receptors in the eye so it kind of uses biology into the mix. its my opinion on it though so don’t blame me if I am wrong.

  • Photo: goofeygoober14

    goofeygoober14 commented on :

    😀

  • Photo: Graham

    Graham commented on :

    need to correct fahyda , sorry !
    Laser eye surgery re-shapes the persons retina ( back of the eyeball ) to re-focus the eye.
    The laser is used to burn ( yes, burn ) small spots onto parts of the retina. those burns “tighten” the retina, and “pull the eye into focus”
    Please don’t stare into lasers, or strong lights, the eye doesn’t like it !
    Laser eye surgery is extremely complicated, and uses a computer to control beam stength, position of lasers focal spot, and location of “burn” location.
    If you look into a laser, your eye will try to focus on it, and you’ll burn out the part of the retina that you “see” with… so you would go blind. The surgery team would know that, and avoid the parts of the eye you “see with”, making their burn pattern to suit the patient, as we are all unique.
    hope that helps,
    Graham