Lasers??????????????

Question

How do lasers carry information

Can any lasers cause physical harm?

Answer 1

Light beams involve energy. Lasers are very very focussed beams of light. As humans there are only certain ranges of light that we can see, which is why there's such things as infra-red cameras etc.

To carry information, the light can be set to either fluctuate or switch on and off extremely quickly, in a way the human eye can't see, but a 'reader' at the other end can understand these fluctuations and turn it back into data.

Yes, lasers with enough intensity could cause damage.

Answer 2

Yes, lasers do cause damage - take a look at any laser cutter available on the market

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_cutti...

(wikipedia knows everything!)

http://www.epiloglaser.com/laser_cutting...

They can be used for cutting materials for industrial manufacture and prototyping, but they are also used for laser engraving - where the laser does not cut all the way through the material.  In the case of wood - a laser can etch (burn) a gray scale photo into the wood itself!