nsane.forums Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Most lasers have operated along similar physical principles: a small, precisely dimensioned, closed cavity containing specific materials that will get incoming photons excited enough to band together and form a coherent laser beam. However, this isn't the only way to get a material to lase, as it's possible to get the same effect by taking advantage of the scattering of light. Researchers have now demonstrated a scattering-based laser that relies on light pumped into a 50 mile long fiber optic cable.A laser needs two things to work: a cavity that traps the light, usually created by two mirrors, and a material that is able to amplify the radiation while it's trapped. This amplification is usually caused by gas particles that are excited by an electric current running through the cavity. The excited particles will catch the photons, become even more excited, and emit additional photons of the same wavelength. This process can take place over and over until there are enough photons to populate a laser beam. View: Original Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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