Lasers And Milk: The Common Denominator
Sunday, May 4, 2008 - 20:14
in Physics & Chemistry
Reading about a "random laser" for the first time, you might wonder whether this term refers to the laser in your CD player which plays the song titles in the random shuffle mode. In physics, however, "random lasers" refer to a class of microlasers which use the principle of random light scattering as an integral part of the laser operation. In conventional lasers light is trapped between two highly reflecting mirrors where it is amplified by pumping from outside. Only when this amplification process is efficient enough, the laser begins to operate.