2007-03-18 14:43:41 · 4 answers · asked by Xavier 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
They are used for a compact and robust source of low power laser beams. They are used in those laser-based levels, in the circular saws that make a laser beam to show where your cut will be, the drill presses that show where the hole will be made, and also in laser optical drive readers/writers for CDs and DVDs.
2007-03-18 15:07:58 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Besides the consumer-oriented applications mentioned, they have vast application in communications systems. Anywhere you have a fiber optic link, you have one or several diode lasers driving it.
And BTW some diode lasers are more than powerful enough to burn things. Not the ones you find in a CD / DVD player or recorder or a laser pointer, but industrial laser diodes can have 10s of watts of output. That is more than enough to do some damage.
2007-03-19 00:12:52 · answer #2 · answered by AnswerMan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Laser pointers, CD players, laser-guided levels and tools, anywhere where you need a low-power laser that is very small. These lasers cannot heat, burn, or melt anything.
2007-03-18 23:36:38 · answer #3 · answered by ◄DiscoAsimov► 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anywhere you need a small, compact, relatively low-power source of coherent light. Reading/writing CD's is the first thing that comes to mind.
Doug
2007-03-18 21:52:40 · answer #4 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋