Is it possible to make a real lightsaber? Since 1977, Star Wars fans and researchers alike have pondered this question and many others, blurring the line between science fiction and science fact. For some, the idea of habitable planets in galaxies far, far away where intergalactic battles wage on is little more than kids […]
Lasers in the News
NPI Webinar: An Update on AIM Photonics
The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) is pleased to host a webinar on Tuesday, November 17 at 1:00 PM EST to update the photonics community on the goals, operating structure and progress to date of AIM Photonics, the country’s first photonics Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI). The webinar will also highlight opportunities for community participation in ensuring the […]
The Laser’s Founding Father: Remembering Charles H. Townes
By Geoff Giordano In his 1999 book How the Laser Happened, the late Charles Hard Townes explained that, “Once invented, lasers found a myriad of uses” and noted that they had advanced to the point that “the smallest lasers are so tiny one cannot see them without a microscope.” A far cry from the heady […]
Arizona State Researchers Demonstrate White Lasers, Which Could Revolutionize Everyday Lighting
Researchers at Arizona State University have created white laser light with an array of semiconductor lasers in a compact arrangement. The project helps pave the way toward better lighting and light-based wireless communication, as white lasers are more luminous and energy efficient than LEDs. ASU researchers created a novel nanosheet — a thin layer of […]
The $30 Million Airway Fire And The Wisdom of Certifying Medical Laser Safety Officers
If there’s one image that stays with you after the International Laser Safety Conference, it’s an image of the blowtorch effect caused by a laser striking an oxygen-filled endotracheal tube. Another powerful visual is imagining a concerned — and empowered — laser safety officer walking away from a potentially dangerous operating room situation if a […]