• Question: do lasers help/affect our lives in any way?

    Asked by oakesi to Stef on 12 Mar 2015. This question was also asked by Georgie.
    • Photo: Mariastefania De Vido

      Mariastefania De Vido answered on 12 Mar 2015:

      Hi!

      Absolutely!

      I give you just a few examples:
      1) Your question reached me through Internet, which works because information is translated into an optical signal generated by lasers and carried from your computer to mine through optical fibres;
      2) When you go to the supermarket, barcodes on the things you buy are read by a laser system;
      3) Lasers have many applications in medicine. For example, lasers can be used to correct vision in people who are nearsighted, farsighted, or have astigmatism, allowing them to see clearly even without glasses;
      4) data stored on CD, DVD and BlueRays is read or written by small lasers located inside the reader;
      5) builders use lasers to accurately measure distances and correctly construct buildings;
      … and much more…

      Cheers 🙂

      Stef

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