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Difference between Ordinary Light and LASER Light
Ordinary light and LASER light are both forms of electromagnetic waves, hence they can travel at the same speed, i.e., speed of light, in vacuum. However, there are several differences between an ordinary light and LASER light. One major difference is that the ordinary light has a mixture different wavelength whereas the LASER light is monochromatic, i.e. has only one wavelength. Other differences between ordinary light and LASER light are listed in the table given below.
What is Ordinary Light?
An ordinary light is the type of electromagnetic radiation having many wavelengths and is incoherent light. As the ordinary light is a mixture of different wavelengths, thus it is a polychromatic light.
The ordinary light is divergent, which means it can travel in all the directions randomly. The ordinary light does not have relation between the phases of its photons. For this reason, it is also an incoherent light.
The common practical examples of ordinary light are sunlight, light produced by different types of artificial lamps like incandescent lamp, tungsten filament lamp, fluorescent lamp, etc.
What is LASER Light?
LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A LASER light is a form of electromagnetic radiation having only one wavelength of electromagnetic wave and is coherent light. Therefore, LASER light is a type monochromatic light, i.e. single color light. The LASER light is produced by using the concept stimulated emission, given by Albert Einstein.
The LASER light have photons that are in phase, therefore it is a coherent light. The LASER light has several unique feature such as directionality monochromatic, coherent, and narrow range of frequency, etc.
The LASER light is used in several specialized applications like laser diode, laser beam welding, laser drilling, laser cooling, etc.
Difference between Ordinary Light and LASER Light
Both ordinary light and LASER light are forms of electromagnetic radiation, however they are different in many ways. These differences between ordinary light and LASER light are given in the following table −
| Basis of Difference | Ordinary Light | LASER Light |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A mixture of electromagnetic radiations of different wavelengths is called ordinary light. | A type of light that is produced by the stimulated emission and has electromagnetic waves of one wavelength is called LASER light. |
| Emission | Ordinary light involves a spontaneous emission of radiation. | LASER light involves a stimulated emission of radiation. |
| Chromaticity | Ordinary light is polychromatic. That is, it is a mixture of different colors. | LASER light is monochromatic. Which means, it is a single color light. |
| Frequency range | Ordinary light involves a wide range of frequencies. | LASER light has very narrow frequency range. |
| Directionality | Ordinary light is divergent, i.e. it travels in different directions randomly. | LASER light is highly directional. |
| Coherence | Ordinary light is an incoherent light, i.e. the photons of the ordinary light are out of phase. | LASER light is a coherent light. That is, its photons are in phase with each other. |
| Coherence length | The coherence length of the ordinary light is of the order of few millimeters. | The coherence length of the LASER light is of the order of kilometers. |
| Travelling length & duration | Ordinary light can travel only to the short distances and for short duration of time. | LASER light can travel to large distances and for long duration. |
| Intensity | The intensity of the ordinary light significantly decreases with the distance as it travels. | The decrease in the intensity of the LASER light is not significant over very long distances. |
| Spreading | The ordinary light spreads heavily. | The LASER light spreads least. |
| Nature | Ordinary light is the natural light. | LASER light is the induced light. |
| Consistency | Ordinary light is an inconsistent light because it does not contain photons of the same frequency. | LASER light is a consistent light. |
| Focus | As the ordinary light is diffused. Therefore, it cannot be focused on a sharp point. | As the LASER light is highly directional. Therefore, it can be focused on a sharp point. |
| Effect on human eye | Ordinary light normally does not harm the human eyes. | LASER light can damage the damage the eyes if looking with the naked eyes. |
| Energy concentration | For the ordinary light, the energy is distributed in a wide area. | In LASER light, the energy is concentrated in a narrow area. |
| Applications | Ordinary light is used for illumination of area. | LASER light has several applications like metal cutting, welding, printing, surgeries, fiber optics, optical computing devices, etc. |
Conclusion
The most significant difference between ordinary light and LASER light is that the ordinary light is polychromatic, while the LASER light is monochromatic. Note that both ordinary light and LASER light are the electromagnetic waves that can travel in vacuum at a speed equal to the speed of light.
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