Tech Questions? Get the Answers: 5/10/2023

Q: What is a laser?

A: Imagine a birthday party with a large group of ten-year-olds who have been eating candy since they showed up, and they are all in a hallway with one closed end. The kid at the far end of the hallway jumps up and sees that the cake has been brought out. Once that kid starts running for the open end of the hallway saying there is cake, the rest of those ten-year-olds start running with him directly for the cake without spreading out. That is a very rough analogy of how a laser works; the candy is the energy into the laser exciting the electrons of the laser material, the h...