Coal in Europe carbon dioxide emissions, has been attacked for its detrimental effects on health. Coal has been linked to acid rain, smog pollution, respiratory diseases, mining accidents, reduced agricultural yields and climate change. Proponents of coal downplay these claims and instead advocate the low cost of using coal for energy. Many European countries, such as Italy, have turned to coal as natural gas and oil prices rose. Coal technology has also advanced over the years, and emissions of soot and gases released in the burning of coal have been greatly reduced. New coal pollution mitigation technology, which often refers to carbon capture
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