A gas laser is a laser in which an electric current is discharged through a gas to produce light. The first gas laser, the Helium-neon, was co-invented by American physicist William R. Bennett, Jr. and Iranian physicist Ali Javan in 1960.

Advantages

• High volume of active material
• Active material is relatively inexpensive
• Almost impossible to damage the active material
• Heat can be removed quickly from the cavity

Types of gas laser

• Helium-neon laser
• Xenon laser
• Nitrogen laser
• Carbon dioxide laser
• Ion laser
• Gas dynamic laser

See also

• List of laser types
• List of Star Wars weapons