Energy industry market may also result in energy-saving and pollution-control measures becoming even more important to energy providers. Consumption of energy resources, (e.g. turning on a light) requires resources and has an effect on the environment. Many electric power plants burn coal, oil or natural gas in order to generate electricity for energy needs. While burning these fossil fuels produces a readily available and instantaneous supply of electricity, it also generates air pollutants including carbon dioxide (CO), sulfur dioxide and trioxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas which is thought to be responsible for some fraction
Carbon dioxide laser Carbon dioxide laser The carbon dioxide laser (CO laser) was one of the earliest gas lasers to be developed. It was invented by Kumar Patel of Bell Labs in 1964, and is still one of the most useful. Carbon dioxide lasers are the highest-power continuous wave lasers that are currently available. They are also quite efficient: the ratio of output power to pump power can be as large as 20%. The CO laser produces a beam of infrared light with the principal wavelength bands centering on 9.4 and 10.6 micrometers (μm). The active laser medium (laser gain/amplification medium) is a