software laser

software laser

An optical laser works by bouncing photons back and forthbetween two mirrors, one totally reflective and one partiallyreflective. If the lasing material (usually a crystal) hasthe right properties, photons scattering off the atoms in thecrystal will excite cascades of more photons, all in lockstep.Eventually the beam will escape through the partiallyreflective mirror.

One kind of sorcerer's apprentice mode involving bounce messages can produce closely analogous results, with acascade of messages escaping to flood nearby systems. Bymid-1993 there had been at least two publicised incidents ofthis kind.