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laser
A device which produces light or some other form of electromagnetic radiation that is monochromatic (of a single wavelength), coherent (in step), and contained in narrow beam. It has been suggested that laser light, either continuous or pulsed, affords an effective means of communicating over interstellar distances, a concept that forms the basis of optical SETI. Paul Horowitz, for example, has proposed that a device such as the Helios laser being planneed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory would enable nanosecond-long pulses to be generated, with 3,000 times the brightness of the Sun, which would be detectable out to a distance of 1,000 light-years.
Related categories
• OPTICS AND OPTICAL PHENOMENA
• INSTRUMENTATION
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