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What does the acronym "LASER" stand for?

"Laser" stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." The laser is a device that produces a narrow, uniform, high-intensity beam of light made up of only one color (light of a single wavelength). This light beam is so intense that it can vaporize (turn to vapor) even the hardest and most heat-resistant materials. Laser light can be directed over small or large distances.

Ordinary light, like sunlight, consists of relatively short wave packets (photons) that are emitted in all directions. Laser light, generated within a machine, is made up of long stretches of similar waves. In other words, the waves of laser light have even amplitude (height) and frequency (width). Laser light is called "coherent light" because the photons seem to stick together. These photons all strike the target surface at the same time, which is why a laser beam is so...

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