Laser Light Intensity (p Nitin)

Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (LASER or laser) is a mechanism for emitting electromagnetic radiation, typically light or visible light, via the process of stimulated emission. The emitted laser light is (usually) a spatially coherent, narrow low-divergence beam, that can be manipulated with lenses. In laser technology, "coherent light" denotes a light source that produces (emits) light of in-step waves of identical frequency, phase,and polarization. The laser's beam of coherent light differentiates it from light sources that emit incoherent light beams, of random phase varying with time and position. Laser light is generally a narrow-wavelength electromagnetic spectrum monochromatic light; yet, there are lasers that emit a broad spectrum of light, or emit different wavelengths of light simultaneously.

The word laser originally was the upper-case LASER, the acronym from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, wherein light broadly denotes electromagnetic radiation of any frequency, not only the visible spectrum; hence infrared laser, ultraviolet laser, X-ray laser, et cetera. Because the microwave predecessor of the laser, the maser, was developed first, devices that emit microwave and radio frequencies are denoted "masers". In the early technical literature, especially in that of the Bell Telephone Laboratories researchers, the laser was also called optical maser, a currently uncommon term; moreover, since 1998, Bell Laboratories adopted the laser usage.Linguistically, the back-formation verb to lase means "to produce laser light" and "to apply laser light to" The word laser sometimes is used in an extended sense to describe a non-laser-light technology, e.g. a coherent-state atom source is an atom laser.

A laser consists of a gain medium inside a highly reflective optical cavity, as well as a means to supply energy to the gain medium. The gain medium is a material with properties that allow it to amplify light by stimulated emission. In its simplest form, a cavity consists of two mirrors arranged such that light bounces back and forth, each time passing through the gain medium. Typically one of the two mirrors, the output coupler, is partially transparent. The output laser beam is emitted through this mirror.

Light of a specific wavelength that passes through the gain medium is amplified (increases in power); the surrounding mirrors ensure that most of the light makes many passes through the gain medium, being amplified repeatedly. Part of the light that is between the mirrors (that is, within the cavity) passes through the partially transparent mirror and escapes as a beam of light.

The process of supplying the energy required for the amplification is called pumping. The energy is typically supplied as an electrical current or as light at a different wavelength. Such light may be provided by a flash lamp or perhaps another laser. Most practical lasers contain additional elements that affect properties such as the wavelength of the emitted light and the shape of the beam.

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