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The First Laser






I thought so too. A Ruby and a flash bulb. When I was in middle school I found an old book on lasers and the ruby rod was the first laser I ever really saw outside of Science Fiction movies. It looks so simple.

~ LB
 
It is indeed pretty simple. Unfortunately there is no more use at all for ruby lasers so parts are exceptionally hard to source now. A rod can be bought relatively easily, but the mirrors (coated specially for ruby) and the flashlamp + psu are damn near impossible to find.

I have long wanted to own my own ruby laser, and of all the lasers that originally sparked my love for photonics, it is the only one I still don't own. (The other two were Argon Ion and HeNe).
 
The original ruby laser didn't have separate mirrors, ends of the rod were silvered (one only partially).

With the flash light it would oscillate in a single pulse and shut itself down and then u have to switch it on and a few seconds later switch it on. No wonder it is no longer being used. But there are continuous wave ruby lasers available now that you can buy.
 
That's really cool Roam. A CW ruby laser :) They must be kind of rare though or I'm just looking in the wrong places. Probably couldn't afford one anyway. Rubies don't sound cheap either. Would be nice just for the historical aspect though. :beer:

~ LB
 
The first video was very interesting, it would be cool if she turned it on.

Thanks for sharing :)
 
You're correct. Most lasers you'll see are measured in mw milliwatts. 1000mw = 1W
Like your traditional 5mw laserpointer. So 6000W is quite a bit of power.

~ LB
 
Really cool stuff, LB! I enjoyed both of the videos. 6K watts is most impressive indeed. Thanks for sharing.
 
This is great! Triggers memories. I did a high school presentation on lasers in grade 12 with a ruby laser as my model (pictorial) to illustrate the science.

We sure have come a long way since then.

Can't wait to see 6,000 watts in a hand-held....Lazeerer?????? :evil:
 
SBA said:
Really cool stuff, LB! I enjoyed both of the videos. 6K watts is most impressive indeed. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it :D 6K is Craaazy :eg:

Zircarg said:
This is great! Triggers memories. I did a high school presentation on lasers in grade 12 with a ruby laser as my model (pictorial) to illustrate the science.

We sure have come a long way since then.

Can't wait to see 6,000 watts in a hand-held....Lazeerer??????
Click to expand...

Me too! Rubies were my first as well :) Lazeerer is the man if anyone can ;)

space20991.jpg
Hopefully this will happen :)

~ LB
 
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