• Question: What is your favourite thing about lasers

    Asked by sciencylad4 to Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim, Tom on 23 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by redcherries, prilsy1601.
    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 23 Jun 2012:

      This is a hard one. I think the best thing about them is that they are such a versatile tool that there are so many things that they can be used for. They’re used for everything from reading CDs in your hifi and computer, to manipulating particles in the lab, to measuring things, to cutting and welding. It’s pretty amazing.

    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      If you wanted to, you could write your name on the moon from your back garden (if you happened to have a big laser in your back garden).

    • Photo: Tianfu Yao

      Tianfu Yao answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      The wonderful colors you can see in the laser light.

    • Photo: Philippa Bird

      Philippa Bird answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      They are absolutely fascinating from all angles of science:
      Chemistry – the way the laser is generated (many different ways, using sapphire or helium and neon or carbondioxide)
      Physics – the amazing properties of light and how clearly you can see them and use them in the form of a laser.
      Biology – the medical and research-based things you can do with lasers.

Comments