Laser technology powers communication, medical and manufacturing tools

Lasers, semiconductors, medical imaging, and atomic clocks rely on quantum mechanics

Semiconductors, crucial in electronics, operate based on quantum superposition. Lasers use stimulated emission, a quantum process, and MRI machines leverage the quantum spin of hydrogen atoms for imaging. Atomic clocks measure time with unprecedented precision using quantum transitions.

Lasers help build the layers of circuit components in microchips

During the photolithography process, light is projected through a blueprint onto a light-sensitive chemical layer on silicon wafers, etching patterns that become transistors through a series of successive reactions. These processes require significant electricity, as only about 2% of photons reach the wafer.

How lasers have become a go-to in archaeology

Archaeological teams now have another item to pack with their trowels: Lasers. Researchers' approach to unsurveyed land has been transformed by light detection and ranging technology. LiDAR has helped archaeologists break new ground and uncover...

The origin of LASIK eye surgery, from a lab incident to federal funding and widespread use

After a University of Michigan engineering student suffered retinal burns from an ultrashort pulse laser, researchers realized it could be used to reshape the cornea and improve a person's vision with greater precision than a scalpel and earlier laser technologies. Agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, provided funding to develop and commercialize the procedure.

How to cook food with lasers

Creative Machines Lab at Columbia Engineering have developed a system of software-controlled lasers to cook food with precision, retain moisture with the final-cooked product, brown food within its original packaging, and create an entirely new meal creation process for a consumer. Watch this three-minute video to see for yourself.

Lasers could be the most cost-effective tool for clearing dangerous space debris

A NASA study found that lasers from ground- and space-based systems could utilize the momentum of light to safely push smaller debris out of their orbits. These systems would need to be accompanied by amendments to international space law, which prevents any nation from touching debris from another country, among other strategies.

Lasers are classified based on their gain medium and mode of emission

All lasers possess a material whose atoms must be energized by a power source, such as electricity or chemical reactions. Different media will produce different colors of light through a cascade of emissions resulting from an initial stimulated emission.

Scientific applications of bubbles include logic gates, laser production, and medical imaging

Microbubbles of nonreactive gas can be administered to improve the reflection of sound waves and the resulting imaging during an ultrasound. Bouncing light waves within a bubble can stimulate emission of light from a trapped chemical, just as occurs within a laser, and bubbles can act as valves that control the flow and reaction rates in microfluidic systems.

Radio waves are used in broadcasting, weather radar, telecommunications, and GPS

Its ability to bend around obstacles and reflect off the ionosphere—an electrified layer of Earth's upper atmosphere—allows this type of light to travel long distances without damaging living things due to its low energy. MRI scanners, WiFi, and Bluetooth technologies are also applications of this form of light.

Lasers have been used to create natural adhesives for paper

German researchers at four Fraunhofer institutes have developed a method to seal paper packaging using a carbon monoxide laser. Without the need for glue or plastic adhesives, the Papure project is expected to improve the recyclability of paper. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Fiber lasers used for metal engravings can’t burn your skin

These devices use diodes and mirrors to create pulses of light that vaporize metal in billionths of a second, though at wavelengths that cannot react with organic material. Pulse width, power, and speed adjustments can produce white, black, and even colored patterns through controlled heat reactions.

Self-driving car companies like Waymo use lidar technology for navigation

By firing thousands of laser pulses in all directions, lidar systems construct 3D maps of a car’s surroundings, even in environments with limited lighting. The technology has also been incorporated into iPhones and the Vision Pro headset to improve camera focus.

Laser procedures have made tattoo removal much more common

An increasing number of Americans, including high-profile celebrities, get tattoos removed because laser removal has become more advanced and cost-effective. The tattoo industry is adjusting to this mainstream trend.

More than 97% of the world's particle accelerators are used for commercial purposes

Only a few hundred of the over 30,000 particle accelerators worldwide are used for research. Most are involved in medical imaging and treatment, food sterilization, semiconductor processing, cargo screening, and radioisotope production. They're also used to modify the properties of polymers.

How helium greatly improves the efficiency of barcode-scanning lasers

Rather than directly energizing neon atoms, electrical discharge at lower, more practical power levels can excite helium atoms to energy levels nearly equal to those in neon atoms. Within a helium-neon laser, these gases are present in a 10-to-1 ratio, enabling helium to efficiently transfer energy to neon, which is then discharged as red light.

Laser skin treatments can promote the production of collagen

Skin resurfacing vaporizes the top layer of skin to reveal healthier, new skin, while collagen can give the skin structure and elasticity. Such procedures treat scars and burns, but may leave light spots on the skin.

Solar sails use light as a means of propulsion

Photons possess momentum and can transfer it to objects they strike or bounce off, imparting radiative pressure, or a light-based force over a small surface area. Lasers fired at observational equipment with specially designed sails can theoretically use this mechanism to accelerate up to 20% the speed of light.

Machine learning lets computers learn from data instead of relying on programming

ML is a core part of artificial intelligence and is foundational to applications like chatbots, fraud detection, and self-driving cars. Businesses are also adopting it to improve efficiency and identify patterns in data, though the latter may be inaccurate.

Medical imaging allows 3D printers to create patient-matched devices

With imaging data on a person's anatomy, external prostheses and implants, such as cranial plates or hip joints, can be custom-printed to better match a patient's body. Fabrication of porous structures can promote bone growth, leading to longer-lasting implants.

How the rise of surgical robots affects medical education

Today's medical students are training in tools their predecessors may have only dreamed of or found locked in the pages of science fiction novels. This article explores the rising popularity and use of surgical robots and how these robots are...

Photodynamic therapy is one current treatment for age-related macular degeneration

This laser-based treatment is used on advanced "wet" age-related macular degeneration patients, but it's now used less often than in the past because there are newer injection-based drugs to decrease abnormal blood vessel growth.

30 everyday inventions originally created for space

In their pioneering work to develop the technologies necessary for humans to inhabit space, NASA and its counterpart agencies around the world have produced dozens of products millions of people use everyday. Some of these are obvious, like water filtration systems and wireless headsets, while many are surprising, like artificial limbs and insulin pumps. Dive into the list here.

The Civil War introduced many technological advances to both society and warfare

The conflict accelerated innovations—including railroads, telegraphs, ironclad ships, and mass-produced weapons—while advances in photography, medicine, and manufacturing transformed how Americans communicated, healed, and built after the war.

CRISPR is a gene-editing tool that lets scientists cut out and replace damaged DNA

One of the most significant advances in modern medical science, CRISPR is a molecular tool for making precise changes to a gene's DNA. The technology has already been approved for treating sickle-cell disease.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Explore an online gallery highlighting the importance of graphical user interfaces

Before the Macintosh, computers were primarily used in offices and required users to type complex commands to perform tasks. Apple followed the device with the LaserWriter printer, bringing graphic production to at-home artists and designers.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.