Questions tagged [lasers]

Questions related to lasers, laser-based systems or devices, and their applications.

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Molecular Laser Isotope Separation for vapor $\rm H_2O$ and $\rm D_2O$ and why not implemented?

Based on the material from The absorption spectra of liquid phase H2O, HDO and D2O from 0·7 μm to 10 μm, where the IR absorption spectra of H20 and HDO are somewhat similar but noticeably different ...
Young Jun Lee's user avatar
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collapsing a telescope image cone into an optical fiber

I have an application where a telescope will be receiving light from a laser source, and I need to couple the output, which is the image cone, into an optical fiber. Does anyone have any suggestions ...
Anthony Knighton's user avatar
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Strange wire on CO2 Laser Tube

Hello all, I just recently purchased a 40W CO2 Laser Tube. I noticed there is a weird stray copper wire coming out from the negative anode that is looped and tied around the lens frame. Can anyone ...
emtinkerer's user avatar
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How do "laser planes" work?

There are machines that are used to draw a line with light, for example to show workers a line along which they should cut something. I have also seen an artistic installation where clouds of ...
Plop's user avatar
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What components should I use for a high-power (5kW) projection system, which projects a binary pattern onto a 250x250mm surface(pixel size of 0.05mm)!

For a machine, which I am currently designing I need a very high-power projection system. I have been trying to make a rough concept over the last few days, but have gotten stuck, because I got a bit ...
Engineer_2005x's user avatar
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Measure a 5cm Cube's displacement with sub-micron accuracy within a small position uncertainty 20cm away

The 5cm cube in the question is a place holder in terms of geometry for what we want to track and measure its displacement. The problem is quite simplified with that we know already the cube is put in ...
Alejandro's user avatar
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Box generator inserting space for 2 more layers

I've used MakerCase, to generate a box, specifying the internal space to be 142mm x 260mm x 44mm (W x L x H) & the material (1/4" MDF) having thickness of 6.35mm . It seems it likes to add 2 ...
Tempus Nomen's user avatar
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"Box generator"-like software for laser cutting this shelf from MDF

I'm thinking of building this shelf out of cheap 1/4" thick MDF: Now knowing how slow I am in the most basic of woodworking, I want the job to be speedy & easy. So I decided laser cutting it ...
Tempus Nomen's user avatar
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Is there any small laser tracker optimized for small workspaces

A conventional laser tracker is usually large, but allows measuring up to a couple of meters away with great accuracy. However, if we are only interested to measure a target that is only a few ...
Alejandro's user avatar
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How can I measure how perpendicular a laser is to a surface across a distance

I am a Computer Science student that has a personal project to do. I decided to try and take on a project for a company, and one of the things that I need to measure is how perpendicular a laser is to ...
Stefan Conovali's user avatar
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3D displacement measurement of a small object with sub-micron accuracy

Say we have a small object for which we can choose its geometry and material (e.g, a spherical mirror with 5mm diameter). Or alternatively a point wise light source generating spherical waves. The ...
Alejandro's user avatar
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What properties are required for a safety window on a 10w laser enclosure?

What properties are required for a safety window on a laser engraver enclosure with a 10w diode based cutting head? 405nm wavelength
Aaargh Zombies's user avatar
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Gear minimum amount of teeth

So I know from college (and a bit of googling, not gonna lie) that the minimum amount of teeth on a gear is 17 due to undercut forming in traditional cutting manufacturing. Does this rule still hold ...
php_nub_qq's user avatar
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What is the power of a laser welding machine that can penetrate a weld of 10mm stainless steel?

Can a laser welding machine penetrate a weld of 10mm stainless steel?
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Laser level device and theory

Does anybody know good book/site explained device types and theory of laser levels? I only find information like marketing or homemade tuning instructions.
Dmitry Perfilyev's user avatar
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Detecting laser spot positon

I have a pulsed laser (532 nm, 250 ps) operating with a period of 20 μs. I need to detect the location of the pulses in a 100 × 100 mm area with 5 mm resolution. Being a complete novice to the field ...
Thomas Holle's user avatar
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What is the smallest possible focusable, scaleably intense laser design?

Would anyone here have any ideas towards what the smallest possible laser mechanism across all physical potential might be? I was wondering this for a theoretical machine capable of manipulating ...
Brownpill's user avatar
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Can an IV laser cause eye damaged when used intraorally?

Here are the specs for the laser https://summuslaser.com/lasers/lasers-horizon-medical/ It has a dental attachment. When used intraorally and the tip is pointed to the roof of the mouth, I can see the ...
user567068's user avatar
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Red Laser Safety Filters?

First of all, apologies if this is the wrong SE site. Last year I bought a k40 laser cutter and it came with a square orange/red acrylic safety filter, which is meant to be used for looking through ...
Konchog's user avatar
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Diffusing a Laser beam

I am working with a variable power laser system that has a wavelength of 0.8μm – 1.1 μm. The laser set up in the lab must be able to weld any gauge of material together for the experiment to take ...
David Wisniewski's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Can a very bright light attract an incoming laser guided weapon?

I would like to know if a very bright light will attract an incoming laser guided weapon such as a laser guided missile. Say for example that a tank has a six-foot pole on the top of it and attached ...
user57467's user avatar
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Comparison of beam divergence between laser diode and DPSS laser

I'm currently comparing a pulsed laser diode and a pulsed DPSS laser. For the DPSS laser, the beam divergence is listed as "beam divergence (80% of total energy): $<4 \text{mr}$". The ...
The Pointer's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
477 views

How much power does it take to supply a laser which delivers 100 watts? [closed]

To enable the functioning of a laser which delivers--on average--100 watts of energy in its beam, how much power does it take? (Does the 2nd law of thermodynamics dictate that the average power ...
DJG's user avatar
  • 141
4 votes
1 answer
506 views

Alternatives to laser line?

I'm trying to project a very thin line at a low angle over some surface defects (peaks and troughs). The scale is ~20mm square, but the defects can be sub-mm (0.2 - 1.0mm). I am currently using a line ...
John's user avatar
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2 answers
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Using phone screen as a barcode

I have this extremely minor problem where my gym is 4 blocks away, and I'd like to go over with nothing but my phone. Unfortunately, I have to bring a card with me for them to scan with a barcode ...
Guest User's user avatar
1 vote
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what does it mean to unfold a resonator

A way to find the modes propagating in a resonator of length $L$ is to write the field as $E(x,y,z)e^{i \omega t}$ and calculate $E(x,y,z)$ inside an equivalent periodic lens structure. Then imposing ...
SimoBartz's user avatar
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1 answer
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How would I use a laser to cut a moving solid object?

Using a laser to cut sections out of a small moving solid has been suggested for a manufacturing problem. However, usually lasers come as a point, which means that we'd have to make the laser head ...
David Boshton's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
71 views

Why laser cutting speed suddenly decrease when cutting sheets from 1 to 3mm thickness then stabilize?

Please to understand what I mean, see the picture below : I don't understand why it is not a linear curve (or almost), because at first sight it should be no ? If you need 10 sec to cut a length of ...
Macronaute's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
55 views

What is the highest repetition rate achieved for pulsed Terawatt and Petawatt-order lasers?

What is the highest repetition rate achieved for pulsed Terawatt and Petawatt-order lasers?
user287933's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
58 views

What Rubber is Best for Laser Cut McKibbens PAMs?

I'm a layman engineer who's decided to take another step forward in my research and work with McKibbens Pneumatic Artificial Muscles. I’m new to creating custom rubber components and laser cutting, so ...
Kirkland's user avatar
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108 views

Best method of bouncing laser off series of mirrors

I'm preparing to add a DIY laser system with the beam bouncing from the module at the top of the stairs and then bouncing off a series of mirrors down the stairs to an LDR. My question is essentially ...
James Patterson's user avatar
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How do I detect laser point?

I know military uses laser designators and they can be visible by their bombs or missiles from really long range. My question is how could I do such laser point tracking device? Lets say I point laser ...
Name's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Emerging beam from PPLN waveguide not behaving well through optics

We have a pump laser beam that is coming out of a single mode fiber and butt coupled into a PPLN waveguide crystal. We are capturing the beam at the output of the crystal with the focusing lens in an ...
Bilal's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
57 views

What power lasers can be used to heat fabrics to 70 degree Celsius?

For a project that I was building I wanted to heat fabrics to 70 degree Celsius using lasers. Since fabric is a very wide term for now I was looking to draw heat patterns on 100% cotton T-shirt and ...
Arc's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
108 views

How solid state lasers work?

In solid state lasers a light source pumps the medium, which is a crystal. A crystal is excited and emits infrared light, until then everything is clear. What I want to know: after excitement, what ...
autodidact's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
76 views

What are some examples of laser-based additive manufacturing techniques?

I'm trying to research additive (or 'bottom-up') fabrication techniques that rely on lasers or other advanced photonic systems. So far, the most prevalent technique I've come across is two-photon ...
Jack R-G's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
202 views

Laser efficiency, what is this term?

I'm studying the laser input-output power relation. In particular I'm studying the laser slope efficiency $\eta_s$ ($\eta_s=\frac {dp_{out}} {dp_{in}})$. However, my textbook tells that $\eta_s$ can ...
SimoBartz's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
3k views

Laser saturation and laser saturation intensity

Can someone explain what is laser saturation and laser saturation intensity? I don't find a proper definition and it seems to me similar to steady state intensity.
SimoBartz's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Is it possible to use a laser push a 100 micron diameter droplet of water through a fine mesh?

Context I've had the thought of a printing device that uses a thin grid that has holes small enough to allow suspension of a water based ink above a sheet of paper using surface tension. I've ...
Ravenscroft's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
300 views

Laser Power vs Efficiency

Is there some kind of graph or relation between laser power and efficiency. What I'm trying to find out is whether the efficiency of a laser decreases with increase in power or is it that there is no ...
Manu G's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
57 views

Smallest possible elliptical hole

I am trying to fabricate a very small elliptical nozzle; if possible, 10um x 20um. I am almost certain that this cannot be achieved with regular machining. Ideally, the material would be corrosion ...
supvato's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
100 views

How is digital image-data converted to a laser projection in laser printers?

By laser projection I mean the laser beam that is projected onto the photosensitive drum in the laser printer. The printer receives digital image data from a computer processes it and projects it onto ...
Somanna's user avatar
  • 159
0 votes
2 answers
134 views

Can you focus a 300W LED to a small area?

I want to focus a 300W LED into a small area, about 5mm in diameter, much like focusing the sun's rays with a fresnel lens. I have to be like 2 meters away from the LED to focus the LED light with a ...
Martin Kontsek's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
40 views

Laser engravers and focal points

If I understand it correctly in a CO2 laser engraver/cutter the laser itself is fixed in position and mirrors are used to redirect the laser to the material. Is there some mechanism used to keep the ...
Alex Brown's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

How do I measure the time taken for a laser to cut a metal?

I am a placement student and was given a project asking to measure the time taken for the laser to cut a metal and send it to Excel into a spreadsheet automatically. I am a computer science student ...
anisha's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
26 views

How would measuring the number of photons on a finite number of pulses break coherence of a weak coherent laser source in COW QKD protocol

I' m trying to understand attacks on Quantum key distribution protocols. In the COW QKD protocol, pulses from Alice are passed through an asymmetric coupler and a fraction 'T' of the photons are sent ...
4am's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
159 views

What's the difference between pulsed lasers and frequency combs?

Can you please explain the difference between high-energy pulsed lasers and frequency combs?
y1004's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
758 views

Scalable alternatives to CNC router and laser cutter

I am doing calculations on costs for alternatives for manufacturing this children's toy I invented, a puzzle where letters in plastic fit into wood. I have been using a CNC router to carve subtract ...
miguelmorin's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
426 views

Calculating energy loss from laser when shining through a material

When attempting to trap a particle in a laser beam i was able to achieve the effect. Pretty cool but now when i put of piece of plexiglass that is 1/8” thick i can no longer achieve the effect. The ...
Reese Houseknecht's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
268 views

Trapping a particle in a laser beam (optical tweezers)

So upon watching videos and reading articles i understand few things. For one when the laser beam is focused to a tight enough point when placing a material in there (people use crayola markers) it ...
Reese Houseknecht's user avatar