Light can’t melt steel beams, otherwise all the buildings would collapse.
The Tiny Ultrabright Laser that Can Melt Steel
Submitted 7 months ago by ylai@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.world
https://spectrum.ieee.org/pcsel
Comments
antidote101@lemmy.world 7 months ago
milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 7 months ago
Nah, they’re usually protected in concrete which, as we know, has anti-laser nanoresonance properties.
assembly@lemmy.world 7 months ago
That was incredibly interesting to read. I don’t know anything about lasers but am now heading down the rabbit hole.
caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 7 months ago
Beams?
No_Ones_Slick_Like_Gaston@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Beans mate.
caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 7 months ago
Steel beans.
toofpic@lemmy.world 7 months ago
whoa.gif
GoldenDeLorean@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Bees?
projectsquared@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Nice username.
Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Some joke about jet fuel and the WTC and these laser beams i’m not quick enough/too tired to work out.
asbestos@lemmy.world 7 months ago
A+++ read
cyd@lemmy.world 7 months ago
This is a really neat technology that Noda (the author of the article) has been plugging away at for decades. The main problem, from my understanding, is that people haven’t been able to find applications.
We already have conventional laser diodes that work extremely well, they’re not that bright but bright enough to make laser pointers, disc read/write heads, etc., which are applications where miniaturization is important.
On the other hand, in industrial applications like cutting steel, we have fiber lasers. Those are about the size of a briefcase, compared to the photonic crystal lasers in this article which about a centimeter. But they can reach incredible brightness, about 1000x the output power of the photonic crystal lasers (and about 1,000,000 times that of ordinary laser diodes). And in industrial applications you don’t really need the laser to be miniaturized (especially since the power source itself will be a chonky piece of equipment).
So somehow, right now this neat tech is falling into the cracks. One day, I’m sure someone will find the perfect application for it, though.
cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 7 months ago
If these lasers can be made to emit blue light, they could be used as a light source for portable projectors.
Num10ck@lemmy.world 7 months ago
hopefully nobody puts these in face hunting drones
MonkderDritte@feddit.de 7 months ago
What would you want lidar in cell phones for?
TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 7 months ago
iPhone uses LiDAR for range-finding on its rear cameras, and for 3D facial imaging on its front-facing “FaceID” camera.
meeker@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Phones already include LiDAR. Apple has included it in every iPhone Pro/Pro Max since the 12.
cyd@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I think those use normal VCSELs. To justify using PCSELs, maybe it would be lidars for long range sensing, like range finding over dozens of meters or something.