[Andreas Bastian] has been working on a device that turns an off-the-shelf laser cutter into something capable of selective laser sintering of powdered plastics into 3D objects. He’s put in a lot of ...

I got an email query about a news report that a Virgin Airlines flight turned around after a 'laser strike', and since I did a little bit of calculation, I might as well blog it. The story has a kind ...

We know it’s hard to hear it, but the days of you being a hotshot at the local Hackerspace because you’ve got a 3D printer at home are long gone. While they’re still one of the most persnickety pieces ...

Turning is among the oldest manufacturing processes, having been developed in the Middle Ages and adapted in multiple ways over centuries. Turning is still used to produce components for nearly every ...

Engineers at Princeton found that by carefully shaping the area to which energy is delivered within a laser can dramatically improve the laser's performance. The researchers developed a mathematical ...

Lasers are one of the iconic breakthroughs of 20th century science. They produce coherent photons in tight beams of specific energy. They can transmit data, detect molecules, and burn through metal.

Re-examining longstanding beliefs about the physics of lasers, engineers have shown that carefully restricting the delivery of power to certain areas within a laser could boost its output by many ...

Lasers — devices that deliver beams of highly organized light — are so deeply integrated into modern technology that their basic operations would seem well understood. CD players, medical diagnostics ...