• Question: can lasers be used to power different machines?

    Asked by mollieet to Mike, Pip, Tim, Tom on 4 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 4 Jul 2012:

      The energy can be used to power some devices, and I believe people have proposed making satellites that can be re-charged in this way. It’s probably not the cheapest way to power most things though…

    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 4 Jul 2012:

      There isn’t an efficient way to convert energy from light into electricity (solar cells are less than 20% efficient), or movement so you’d waste a lot of energy. Don’t forget that lasers also don’t convert all of the energy that you put into them into light either.

      The only thing that I know that lasers are used to power right now is other lasers! The fibre lasers that lasers that Tianfu is working on are powered (pumped) by semiconductor diode lasers.

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