Lasers are commonplace in today’s world; they just aren’t used how we always envisioned them. They always seemed to be a weapon in some futuristic sci-fi story, but in reality, they have a lot more functionality that different industries can integrate. Here are the different ways that lasers are used every day.
Barcode Readers
This example of laser technology seems to oppose the stereotype of them as futuristic and high-tech, but when you conceptualize it, it is advanced. Before barcodes, every industry recorded inventories manually, and there was no set way to do it. This strategy would lead to a lot of confusion between industries and even within them because many different inventory methods were present. Barcodes standardized all of that, and this standardization was made possible with lasers.
Metal Fabrication
Metal fabrication is an industry that is essential to the world functioning without interruption today, but many take it for granted. There are thousands of metal fabrication shops and workers manufacturing these metals, shaping and cutting them for the world, and they do so with the help of lasers. Laser technology has made metal cutting and welding more precise through the years. Complex shapes are no longer the challenge they once were with the help of lasers.
Science
This point is the most expected, but the complexities behind the scenes are not easily understandable. For example, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has set up two laboratories in Washington and one in Louisiana. These labs perform large-scale physics experiments and, with the help of lasers, have identified and recorded gravitational waves. These sorts of experiments are exact, so these laboratories must have proper temperature controls. Variable temperatures can significantly affect the laser’s precision, so temperature control setup is crucial in these industries.
Fiber Optic Cables
Fiber optic cables have laid the groundwork for the internet that the world enjoys today, and it is possible because of lasers. These cables transmit information at rapid speeds, so downloading and uploading information is possible. Industries achieve these speeds through lasers. Lasers allow fiber optic cables to send data quickly, and this technology will only continue developing and refining the way lasers transmit information.
These were the different ways that lasers are used every day, and it is clear that while we don’t have laser guns like in the movies, we are using lasers a lot. Furthermore, this use will only increase in time as technology develops further, and lasers will define the next generation of technology.