First introduced to the world in the 1960s and described as “a solution looking for a problem,” the world of laser surgery has grown and grown, with procedures like snoring treatment more popular than ever. Cosmetic laser surgery did not begin to exist the way we know it today until some 30 years later in the 1990s, but even in that short space of time, things have dramatically changed.

Out of this world beginnings

During its primitive beginnings, the laser was used in a number of odd and amusing projects, one, in 1969, saw the laser being shone at the moon! The light beam was shone at the moon and reflected back from a reflector placed on the moon’s surface by United States astronauts in the U.S. Apollo programme. Scientists were able to calculate the round-trip journey time of the laser’s pulse as a means of measuring the distance between the earth and the moon.

Science’s use of lasers

As we know, the laser was used to open up a variety of avenues in the science world that were previously unimaginable. Today, the laser has risen from its humble beginnings as a solution seeking problem and has become an integral part of our society.

Entertainment industry’s use of lasers

We use lasers in CD players, in cutting and welding, in the construction of metal parts, for marking targets militarily, for missile defence and the guidance of ammunition. Law enforcement use lasers for fingerprint detection and for forensics; lasers have been used in scanners, thermometers in the production of holograms and for entertainment purposes in laser light shows.

Medical use of lasers

It is evident that lasers are used in a variety of arenas and professions but one of the most fascinating and innovative is in the medical world. Doctors and surgeons are able to utilise the laser to achieve precision surgical procedures during bloodless surgeries, to remove kidney stones and to eliminate problems troubling a majority of people from problems with snoring, to varicose veins treatment, acne, skin blemishes and unwanted body hair.