The full archive.
Page 2 of 13 — articles on the physics of light, sorted newest first.
What Is Optical Fiber? 5 Simple Facts on How It Works
Optical fiber is a hair-thin strand of glass that carries data as pulses of light. This pillar guide covers what optical fiber is, how it works through total internal reflection, the difference between single-mode and multi-mode, and why fibre optics are the backbone of modern communication.
Construction of a Laser: 5 Key Components & Build Guide
Every laser is built from five key parts: the gain medium, pump source, optical cavity, cooling system, and power supply. This guide explains how these components work together, how construction differs between gas, solid-state, and diode lasers, and the step-by-step assembly of a typical laser.
How Do You Make a Laser? 7-Step Simple DIY & Pointer Guide
You can make a working laser from a DVD burner's laser diode in about an hour with basic tools. This guide covers the full process: extracting the diode from a discarded drive, building a simple driver circuit, housing it in a heatsink, and the physics of how laser pointers produce that intense red or green beam. Includes critical safety warnings.
Laser or Lazer — 5 Quick Facts for Correct Spelling
Laser is the correct spelling. Lazer is a common phonetic misspelling. The word LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation — and that 'S' comes from 'Stimulated'. This guide covers the origin of the word, why people misspell it, how to remember the correct spelling, and why it matters in professional writing.
Laser Wavelength: 6 Key Facts on What Determines Color
A laser's wavelength is determined by its gain medium — the specific atoms or molecules that produce the light. This guide explains how energy levels fix the wavelength, how wavelength maps to colour, and why different lasers produce different colours.
Types of Lasers: 7 Essential Gas, Solid-State & Diode Types
Lasers fall into 7 main types based on their gain medium: gas lasers (HeNe, CO2), solid-state (ruby, Nd:YAG), semiconductor diodes, dye lasers, fibre lasers, chemical lasers, and excimer lasers. This guide explains how each type works, what it is used for, and how to choose the right one for your application.
What Are Lasers Used For? 10 Powerful Everyday Applications
Lasers cut steel, correct vision, carry internet traffic, read barcodes, and project starry light shows. This guide covers 10 major areas where lasers are used — medicine, manufacturing, communications, data storage, retail, science, military, entertainment, construction, and everyday devices — explaining the physics behind each application.
What Does LASER Stand For? 5 Powerful Acronym Facts
LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. This guide breaks down each letter — what Light, Amplification, Stimulated, Emission, and Radiation mean in context — traces the word's origin from MASER to laser, explains how an acronym became an everyday verb, and covers the fun facts behind the term.
When Were Lasers Invented? 6 Key History & Invention Facts
The first laser was built on 16 May 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, using a ruby crystal. But the story stretches back to Einstein's 1917 theory of stimulated emission. This guide covers the full history, key inventors, and what came next.
How Does a Confocal Microscope Work? 6 Simple Facts
How does a confocal microscope work? It works by focusing a laser beam to a single point in the sample, collecting the light that returns from that point through a pinhole that blocks out-of-focus light, and scanning point by point to build a complete image. This gives it the ability to produce sharp optical sections through thick specimens — something no conventional light microscope can do.
How Does a Light Microscope Work? 5 Simple Optical Steps
If you are wondering how does a light microscope work, the answer is straightforward. A light microscope passes visible light through a thin specimen and uses two glass lenses — an objective and an eyepiece — to magnify the image. The objective creates a magnified real image inside the tube, and the eyepiece magnifies that image for your eye. This guide covers the optical path from light source to eye, how magnification and resolution differ, the main types of optical microscopes, and how they compare with electron microscopes.
How Does a Microscope Work? 5 Powerful Simple Steps
A microscope works by using two lenses — the objective and the eyepiece — to magnify tiny objects. Light passes through the specimen, the objective lens creates a magnified real image, and the eyepiece further magnifies it for your eye. This pillar guide covers how does a microscope work from first principles, the function of each part, and how magnification and resolution differ.