Lasers

I can't even describe to you how much the children delight in saying "light amplification through stimulated emission of radiation." They think they're so funny. And we loved learning about lasers! They are cool.

This is the laser pointer we have. We really like it.

Here's a good, simple explanation with pictures of how lasers work and what they are.

Lots of good videos about lasers here.

This video was okay—better in conjunction with the others, though, as we didn't think it explained the process very clearly.

This video has no narration, but just text. We liked it because it described semiconductor lasers, which are slightly different than the solid state, gas, dye, or other lasers. (We learned about semiconductors earlier, during our electricity unit, and our favorite video then was this one.)

This one is less about the lasers themselves, but more about laser cutters. Still interesting though.

This was interesting because it showed an open cavity laser, which makes it easy to see what is going on. This is a helium-neon laser.

Very clear and well-explained. Shows why a ruby is often used in a solid-state laser. This video really helped us realize why "pumping" is needed before the laser actually starts working (something we didn't understand before).

Just screens of text. But a good analogy.

Another video that is quite clear about how stimulated emission of radiation is created. Good animations (except the one of Einstein!) :)