Genius Hour Research

A laser is a machine that makes an amplified, single-colour source of light. The beam of light
from the laser does not get wider or weaker as most sources of light do. It uses special
gases or crystals to make the light with only a single color. Then mirrors are used to amplify
(make stronger) that colour of light and to make all the light travel in one direction, so it stays
as a narrow beam, sometimes called a collimated beam.

About Lasers
Did you know there is something called "white light"?

Regular light from the sun or from a light bulb really contains all the colors of the rainbow. But you have to
split it up to see this.

Can you split light???

YES! You can split up white light into its colors with a prism (raindrops act like tiny prisms when they make a
rainbow in the sky, and a CD can break the light up into colors because it has fine grooves like a diffraction grating or
a hologram).

So what's a laser?

A laser is a special source of light of only one pure color (or WAVELENGTH). You can't break up laser light
into other colors.

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What's so cool about a laser beam?

They can FOCUS!

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Lasers can be focused to a very small spot and can shine for long distances without spreading out
very much (unlike a flashlight which spreads out a lot).

They generate ENERGY!

The spot contains a lot of energy - so much that some lasers can cut through thick metal (and smaller ones
are used as scalpels in some kinds of surgery).

They can carry INFORMATION!

Lower-power laser systems can be used to send and pick up information. For example, the product code
scanner in a supermarket uses a laser, lenses, rotating mirrors, and a computer to "read" bar codes from products.
And the tiny laser in a CD player reads EVEN tinier bumps and holes that record the music like Morse Code (bumps
and holes are used something like dots and dashes).

They can be used for COMMUNICATION!

Lasers can also send information through long threads of glass

called OPTICAL FIBERS. A single laser can send thousands of phone conversations through a fiber at the SAME
TIME.

They make HOLOGRAMS!

Lasers are also used to make 3-D pictures called HOLOGRAMS (some engineers are working on moving
holograms, so someday we may have AMAZING 3-D TV pictures - learn more about holograms at holoworld.com).

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Laser, a device that stimulates atoms or molecules to emit light at
particular wavelengths and amplifies that light, typically producing a very
narrow beam of radiation. The emission generally covers an extremely
limited range of visible, infrared, or ultraviolet wavelengths. Many
different types of lasers have been developed, with highly varied
characteristics. Laser is an acronym for light amplification by the
stimulated emission of radiation.

Basic laser components.

Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.
Learn about the PHELIX (Petawatt High-Energy Laser for Heavy Ion Experiments) laser at the GSI

Contunico ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz

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Imagine a white sheet of

paper colored with crayons.
The finished page has many
colors. Have you ever
wondered how we see color?
We see colors because
objects reflect light.
During t he d
ay w
e s ee

everything o
utdoors w
ith

sunlight. S
unlight i s w
hite

light. I t h
as a ll c olors i n i t.
The c
olors o f l ight a re r ed,

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orange, y
ellow, g reen, b lue,
indigo, a
nd v iolet. I ndoor

lights t ry t o m
atch s unlight.

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Some l ight s
oaks i nto a n

object. O
ther l ight i s

reflected, or b
ounced o ff o f
the o
bject. T he c olor l ight

that r eflects off s

omething

is t he c
olor w
e s ee. G
reen
light r eflects off o
f g rass,

so g
rass l ooks g reen t o u s.
Light t hat s
oaks i nto a n

object i s a
bsorbed. We c ant
see t he c
olors t hat a re

absorbed. An o
bject t hat

looks b
lack a bsorbs all o f

the c
olors o f l ight. A t hing

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that l ooks w
hite r eflects

all o
f t he c olors o f l ight.

Sunlight b
ends a s i t p asses

through w
ater vapor in t he

air. W
e s ee b ands o f c olor
that m
ake a r ainbow.

The b
ands o f c olor a re

always i n t he s
ame o rder:

red, o
range, y ellow, g reen,
blue, i ndigo, a
nd v iolet.

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8 deep cycle batteries and 2, 1500 watt inverters.