One way to treat a detached retina is to weld it back in pla

One way to treat a detached retina is to weld it back in place using a laser beam.An argon-ionlasersuited for this type of operationemits 1.49×1019photons per second, half with a wavelength of 488.0 nm and half with a wavelength of 514.5 nm.

a)Why an argon-ion laser is suited for such a procedure?

b) What is the power output of the laser in wattsat 488.0 nm?

c) What is the total power output of the laser in watts (at both wavelengths)?

d) Which laser line has the greater power output?

Solution

a) Argon ion lasers are powerful gas lasers with high beam quality generating upto 10 or 20 W of power.

b) Power output,

P_out = 1.49 x 10¹⁹ x 6.67 x 10^-34 x 3 x 10⁸ / 488 x 10^-9 = 6.07 W

c) Total power output,

P_tot = 1.49 x 10¹⁹ x 6.67 x 10^-34 x 3 x 10⁸ x (1/ 488 x 10^-9 + 1/514.5 x 10^-9) = 11.8 W

d) The laser with wavelength 488 has the greater output.