Lasers show up in an amazing range of products and technologies. You will find them in everything from CD players to dental drills to high-speed metal cutting machines to measuring systems. They all use lasers. But what is a laser? And what makes a laser beam different from the beam of a flashlight?

In this edition of How Stuff Works, we will look at lasers and how they work so you can completely understand this fascinating technology!

Go to the next article about How Lasers Work or pick from the table of contents:

• Introduction to How Lasers Work You are here
• The Basics of an Atom
• The Laser/Atom Connection
• Three-Level Laser
• Types of Lasers
• Laser Classifications
• Links
• About the Author

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