what are lasers used for?
Frank DeFreitas Holography | Allentown, PA | Phone: 610-770-0341

What Are Lasers Used For?


Publishing Notes
Updated 28 March 2013

Hologram of the Cross from holoworld.com on GodTube.


ABOVE: This short video will show you how you can see a hologram from different sides, as if you were looking at the real object!

Hello. My name is Frank DeFreitas and I saw my first laser beam in 1968 (I was in the 8th grade). If you'd like to learn about how lasers are used today, you've come to the right web page! Since there is plenty of information elsewhere on the history of the laser and how they work, I will not duplicate that info. here on this page.

So, let's get right to the l-o-n-g list of what lasers are used for. You have my permission to print out this list for reports and homework.

If you're an educator, you may wish to assign several of the listed uses to students, and have them report on how lasers are used with them.

Note: I'm certain that this list is not complete, and it will always continue to grow. If you know of yet another use of lasers (to add to the list), please contact me and I'll make sure it gets posted in a future update.

world's first laser
-- Theodore H. Maiman's First Ruby Laser --
(as a 3D laser hologram in my collection)

What Lasers are Used For:

  • Repairing detached retinas

  • Reading product codes on groceries

  • Recording and playing CDs & DVDs

  • Cutting fabric for clothes

  • Drilling holes in metal

  • Inspecting bottles

  • Transmitting telephone calls and data

  • Surveying roads

  • Sounding the atmosphere

  • Dazzling concertgoers

  • Annealing microcircuits

  • Welding metal

  • Characterizing surface roughness

  • Measuring air pollution

  • Fingerprinting diamonds

  • Defining the meter

  • Slowing atomic beams

  • Printing computer data

  • Measuring the earth-moon distance

  • Cutting airplane parts

  • Transmitting news wirephotos

  • Aligning precision machinery

  • Making Holograms

  • Controlling tunnel machinery

  • Configuring massive telescopes

  • Designating military targets

  • Diagnosing flames

  • Leveling land

  • Controlling inventory

  • Analyzing compounds

  • Finding impurities

  • Aligning sawmill cuts

  • Monitoring polar ice caps

  • Measuring airplane velocity

  • Cleaning teeth

  • Looking for gravitational radiation

  • Installing acoustical ceilings

  • Read / write data storage

  • Identifying molecules

  • Aiding robotic vision

  • Inspecting tires

  • Positioning medical patients

  • Probing genetic material

  • Inspecting textiles

  • Removing birthmarks

  • Illuminating fluid flow

  • Communicating underwater

  • Enlarging color photographs

  • Teaching optics

  • Identifying viruses

  • Creating laser light art

  • Sensing rotation

  • Performing microsurgery

  • Erasing ink

  • Powering optical computers

  • Trimming resistors

  • Altering interconnects

  • Analyzing materials

  • Cleaning diamonds

  • Analyzing auto exhaust

  • Orienting crystals

  • Aligning jigs

  • Ranging targets

  • Watching continents drift

  • Sizing atmospheric dust particles

  • Cleaning art relics

  • Tracing air currents

  • Measuring molecular density

  • Imploding microfusion pellets

  • Sensing cloud altitude

  • Monitoring earthquakes

  • Gauging fine wines

  • Testing optical components

  • Analyzing thin film compositions

  • Drilling holes in diamond dies

  • Testing relativity

  • Separating isotopes

  • Sensing liquid level

  • Sensing magnetic fields

  • Programming read-only memory

  • Counting blood cells

  • Guiding missiles

  • Gauging film thickness

  • Monitoring crystal growth

  • Aligning large optics

  • Shaping jewel bearings

  • Measuring the speed of light

  • Securing perimeters

  • Positioning x-y stages

  • Computing in parallel

  • Pumping hard-to-pump lasers

  • Astonishing moviegoers (special effects)

  • Creating highly excited atoms

  • Amplifying images

  • Cauterizing blood vessels

  • Diagnosing fusion plasmas

  • Enhancing chemical reactions

  • Engraving identification marks

  • Hardening surfaces

  • Perforating computer paper

  • Producing advertisements


    • If you would like to view lasers and holograms, and learn about their history, you can visit my year round studio exhibition, located in Allentown, PA (near Philly and NYC).

    -- Frank DeFreitas


    Frank DeFreitas Holography