• Question: how many different types of lasers are there in the world and for what things can they be used for?

    Asked by anamxtw to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      They can be used for cutting metal, burning and reading DVDs/CDs, bar code scanners, burning logos in wood/plastic, laser eye surgery, measuring distances, making things level (DIY), laser pointers, aiming things, other surgery, physiotherapy, massive physics experiments and loads more things I can’t think of

      But they are not used in ‘laser teeth whitening’

    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      There are lots and lots of different types of laser.
      Broadly speaking, they are split into gas lasers (which use an ionised gas to produce the laser light), solid-state lasers (which use a crystal or glass to produce the light) and semiconductor lasers (which use a semiconductor, a bit like a silicon chip to make the light).

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