How Lasers Work

How do lasers work? An animation showing how lasers work in detail. Lasers work using some quantum mechanical principles - these are fairly complicated but i tried to simplify them somewhat in this video. In order for a laser to work you need the following - a P-N Junction with two semiconductors. One semiconductor is engineered to "want" to gain an extra electron when electricity is flowing. The other semiconductor "wants" to lose an electron when electricity is flowing. As electricity begins to flow it forces the electrons and corresponding holes to flow towards the P-N Junction, when they combine a single photon of light is released. Lasers work by amplifying photons that are of the exact same phase, polarization and direction as each other, hence the reason for their single color, intense beam and distance of travel. In order for lasers to work you also need mirrored surfaces on the top and bottom of the P-N Junction, this acts as a reflecting material and aids in the increase of photons. Red green and blue lasers work on similar principles but use different semiconductor materials to produce photons of different wavelengths, which results in different colors of light.