What Are Lasers Used for? 10 Surprising at-Home Uses for Lasers

Table of Contents

1. What Are Lasers Used for?[+]
   1. 1. Hair Removal
   2. 2. Scalp Rejuvenation
   3. 3. Measuring
   4. 4. Pointing
   5. 5. Cutting
   6. 6. Aiming
   7. 7. Reading Media
   8. 8. 3D Scanning
   9. 9. Mousing
   10. 10. Decorations
2. FAQs[+]
   1. What are lasers used for in everyday life?
   2. Does the military use lasers?
   3. What is the full form of laser?

Believe it or not, lasers are big business across the globe. How big, you ask? 17.7 billion dollars big.

Whether that laser money is generated via defense contracts, medical technology agreements, or anything in between, it’s clear that the various applications of lasers are vast in commercial and government sectors.

But what about personal use? Does laser technology have applications within people’s home lives?

As it turns out the answer to that question is a resounding, yes! So, what are lasers used for in home settings?

Keep reading to discover a handful of interesting, laser-powered household activities you may be leveraging in your day-to-day routines.

What Are Lasers Used for?

1. Hair Removal

When we ask people, “What are lasers used for” one of the most common answers we get is hair removal. That’s a fair response!

Americans spend thousands of dollars on hair removal every year with many of those procedures being conducted with the assistance of laser technology. But can one use lasers to remove hair outside of a professional setting?

Look no further than Amazon to answer that question.

Several consumer-grade lasers for sale through the eCommerce giant and elsewhere allow you to zap away hair without having to spend big bucks on professional help.

2. Scalp Rejuvenation

While some people aim to get rid of hair, others aim to keep it, particularly their heads. That desire has led to the development of caps people can wear at home that use lasers to stimulate hair follicles.

Follicle stimulation caps are far from cheap, coming in at hundreds of dollars. If you can afford them, though, these laser devices can drive results from the comfort of your sofa.

3. Measuring

One of the most common and pragmatic non-cosmetic uses for lasers is measuring.

Laser “measuring tape” shoots beams across rooms and accurately tells you on digital displays the length between objects. They can also be useful when leveling objects you’re planning on hanging up.

4. Pointing

If you’ve had no other experience with lasers, chances are, the one thing you have done is use a laser pointer. Laser pointers are the key-chain-sized devices kids, and adults use for everything from pinpointing objects to playing with their pets.

While laser pointers have declined in popularity recently, you can still pick a high-quality one up online for under $10.00.

5. Cutting

You know how helpful lasers can be when making precision cuts for those of you that work in wood shops. Several table saws have lasers built into them so you can visualize exactly where blades are going to go before making incisions.

In addition to cutting wood, several laser machines can precisely cut/etch patterns into metals for engraving.

6. Aiming

Shooting enthusiasts have long experimented with laser sights when firing on backyard ranges. As their name suggests, laser sights use beams to pinpoint exactly where a bullet should hit if the person pulling the trigger keeps their hands steady.

Using laser sights can vastly improve your aim, particularly when shooting at night.

7. Reading Media

Every time you stick a CD into a player or a DVD into your computer, lasers get fired at the bottom of your disks to read data. Those same lasers have the power to write data onto disks if the disk you’re using is writable.

Much like laser pointers, laser readers have dropped in popularity as most people have shifted their media habits towards streaming. If you’re ever feeling nostalgic and want to fire up a disk, though, picking up USB laser drives is as easy as dropping $25.00 on Amazon.

8. 3D Scanning

You’ve probably heard of 3D printing, but have you heard of 3D scanning?

3D scanning leverages an object that looks like a barcode scanner to take laser-powered scans of elements in the real world. These objects are then rendered on computer screens. From there, edits can be made before printing them back out to create something entirely new!

3D scanning applications go beyond printing. Scanning is used in medical fields to scan patients’ bodies for in-depth examinations. It’s also used in forensics to scan crime scenes as part of investigations.

9. Mousing

Still not convinced you’re using lasers in your daily life? If you’re using a mouse to browse the internet and read this post right now, you’re almost certainly using a laser mouse.

Laser mice became standard mouse technology about 15 years ago and offered far superior precision and reliability than traditional ball-based mice.

10. Decorations

When you walk around your block on Halloween or Christmas, you’re likely to bump into at least some houses that are leveraging lasers to punch up their decorations. As a matter of fact, in recent years, we’ve seen people use completely laser-based decorations that are fired from a “laser gun” to project patterns onto their properties.

People aim to save money during the current recession and expect to see them forget traditional decorations in favor of cheaper laser decor.

Conclusion

We all have an idea of what lasers can do in commercial and government settings. After reading this post, we hope you now have a newfound perspective on what lasers are used for in-home settings questions.

Suppose our article inspired in you an appreciation for laser technology, great! We welcome you to build on that by learning more about lasers.

One of the best ways to do that is to dive deeper into our blog content to explore laser topics and other home-related literature.

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FAQs

What are lasers used for in everyday life?

Lasers are the key component of many products that we use in everyday life. For example, a computer mouse, a hard disk drive, DVD, and Blu-Ray players rely on laser-based technology. Lasers are also used for pointing and measuring.

Does the military use lasers?

The military has many uses for laser technology. Lasers are used for aiming, mine detection, target designation, etc.

What is the full form of laser?

The term ‘laser’ originated as an acronym for ‘light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.’

Thank you for reading!