Laser Beam Expanders - Why Make Lasers Bigger to Focus them Down Smaller? @edmundoptics

Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

Why do engineers make a laser beam bigger so that they can make it smaller in the end?

Watch to learn about laser beam expanders and how they're used to decrease a beam's divergence, letting it be focused down to the smallest possible spot at the end of a system

This is a very important technology for everything from laser welding to medical lasers used for surgery

Edmund Optics designs and manufactures a wide range of laser beam expanders, with lots of options available on our website

#lasers #optics #science #physics #stem #photonics #engineering

Laser Beam Expanders - Why Make Lasers Bigger to Focus them Down Smaller?

$Byte Size Volume 2 - Part 1: Soliloquy of the Sensor (Size and Nomenclature) Welcome back to Byte Size! In this episode, we dive into our four part series on imaging sensors. Starting with sensor sizes and how to properly lens them. While also touching on the common name convention. Do you know what an image looks like if your system has an incorrectly sized lens? Do you know why sensors are referred to as a size in fractional inches that does not show up anywhere on the physical size of it? Stop by and learn about sensor size and common nomenclature. Join us as we break down: · How to properly select a lens · Why the naming convention of sensors is what it is · How to save money on your system design Learn, have fun, and level up your understanding of machine vision! Hit play and step into the classroom, cadets! Featured Components Used in This Video: Cameras: BFLY-PGE-50S5M-C 2/3 Blackfly® PoE GigE Monochrome Camera https://www.edmundoptics.com/p/bfly-pge-50s5m-c-2-3-blackfly-reg-poe-gige-monochrome-camera/3877/ Machine Vision Lenses: 8mm FL f/4, Blue Series M12 Lens https://www.edmundoptics.com/p/8mm-fl-f4-blue-series-m12-mu-videotrade-imaging-lens/23591/ 8.5mm, HR Series Fixed Focal Length Lens https://www.edmundoptics.com/p/85mm-200mm-infin-primary-wd-hp-series-fixed-focal-length-lens/22903/ 8mm Focal Length, HP Series Fixed Focal Length Lens https://www.edmundoptics.com/p/8mm-focal-length-hp-series-fixed-focal-length-lens/41693/$

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$White Light and Color Experiment for Kids Introduce young students to the concepts of white light, color, and optical filters with these demonstrations! Follow along with this video to get students’ brains and hands active. In order to follow along and do the demonstrations yourself, you’ll need: - A flashlight - A diffraction grating (Google “educational diffraction grating”) - A set of optical filters (Google “educational color filter paddles”) If possible, we recommend breaking up students into small teams and having each of them have one set of these supplies. But if you don’t have these supplies, you can still watch the video to introduce your students to the world of optics! White light is made up of all of the colors of the rainbow, and these experiments help students visualize that. Engineers use these same concepts in all kinds of world-changing applications from medical devices, to helping robots see, to sorting fruits and vegetables. #Optics #STEM #STEMForKids #Science #Light #Color #Physics$

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Laser Beam Expanders - Why Make Lasers Bigger to Focus them Down Smaller?