Laser lightens lapses

LASER is more powerful than sunlight. Laser is an abbreviation of Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Laser is coherent, it flows in one

direction. It does not waver. It is monochromatic which means that it shows only one colour. It is because every beam of laser has only one wave length.

Lasers are used in many fields - in industry, business operations, surgery, beauty care, agriculture, quality control, road laying, defence and communication. Laser also helps in reading bar code.

Low power carbon dioxide lasers are used in surgery. The disorders of the blood vessels which affect the retina can be cured by the use of laser beams by a medium of argon gas. Laser is also used to cure glaucoma, a common eye ailment. This treatment takes barely 20 minutes. It is quick, easy, effective and painless.

Cataract, an ailment of the eye which is due to the formation of a thin film over the lens of the eye is cured by laser. It is removed by normal surgery but in using laser-beams the film is melted away.

The lithotripter can be used in removing stones in the urinary system. It sends out high frequency sound waves. The sound waves break the stone into bits which pass out easily through the urinary tract.

Laser helps in reading a compact disc (CD). A laser beam scans the compact disc, and then transforms the light impulses into electrical impulses and the music is heard.

Laser is used in beauty care also. Some Russian beauticians have developed a low powered laser beam which pick up the sags and the bags on the face, so that the face looks smoother, brighter and younger.

R. KALAI KUMARAN, VII A

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA, Meenambakkam, Chennai

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