Visible lasers emit light in the visible spectrum and are rare compared to invisible infrared lasers. They work by stimulating electrons to emit photons, and can be made from various materials such as gas or diodes. However, they can cause eye damage and require special safety glasses.
A visible laser is a laser with a beam that can be seen with the naked eye. Visible lasers are quite rare; most lasers emit light in the invisible infrared spectrum. Laser beams that are typically invisible can be made visible through the use of smoke or dust, but there are some types of lasers that produce beams that are actually visible to the naked eye, even when traveling through clean air. There are several types of visible lasers, such as diode lasers and gas lasers.
The term laser is actually an acronym which stands for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. Through a process known as stimulated emission, lasers release light or electromagnetic radiation. Essentially, an electron is stimulated and moves to a lower energy area. The lost energy takes the form of a photon, a unit of electromagnetic radiation, and is emitted as a laser beam. In a visible laser, light is emitted at a wavelength that is in the visible spectrum, as opposed to most lasers, which release energy in the invisible infrared spectrum.
A visible laser works based on the type of material used in its construction. A laser diode, which is similar to a simple light emitting diode, or LED, rarely emits a visible laser. Some laser diodes, however, can release visible beams. Some lasers that work by exciting electrons in various substances such as titanium or gallium nitride are also capable of releasing visible beams.
Gas lasers are often used to produce visible laser beams. In a gas laser, an electric current is sent through a gas, stimulating the electrons in the gas atoms to drop to lower energy levels and produce photons or light. The first laser was made with helium and neon gas. Helium-neon lasers, also called HeNe lasers, produce visible laser beams in the red area of the visible spectrum.
Just like invisible lasers, and often to a greater extent, visible lasers can cause eye damage. In seconds or less, a laser can cause a small, localized, permanent burn on the cornea or lens of the eye. This is also true when the beam contacts an eye after being reflected from a reflective surface. Some scientific and industrial lasers are even powerful enough to burn skin, and even trace amounts of scattered light from such lasers can cause permanent eye damage. Because of this risk, special safety glasses that absorb light of specific wavelengths may be used to protect the eyes.
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