Light is a form of energy that travels in waves. In the world of lasers, a green laser produces light at a wavelength (distance between two waves) of around 532 nanometers. That’s a super tiny distance! For comparison, human hair is about 75,000 nanometers wide.
So why green? Green lasers are popular because the human eye is especially sensitive to green light. It appears brighter to us, almost 30 times more than the red color. Green light can also scatter more than red light, which means that green light is much more visible higher up in the atmosphere. That’s why green lasers are often used for pointers, star-gazing, and medical treatments.
Lasers work by getting certain materials to release energy as light. The color or wavelength of the light depends on the material used. For a green laser, the process is a bit tricky. It starts with an infrared laser that has a wavelength of 1064 nanometers. This light passes through a special crystal that divides the wavelength in half, resulting in the green 532-nanometer light we see.
In numbers:
- Green laser wavelength: 532 nanometers.
- Human hair width: about 75,000 nanometers.
- Initial infrared laser: 1064 nanometers.
Contributors
Copyright @smorescience. All rights reserved. Do not copy, cite, publish, or distribute this content without permission.
