Light and Lasers

Energy and mass are two primary states in the universe. One is matter and the other is energy which does possess minimal mass. Energy usually has a specific frequency which is how wide the wave, which is the width which is the wavelength. Amplitude of how high or low the peak and trough of the waves are the force and intensity. If you think of a wave in the ocean there is a crest, the high part a wave and the trough, the bottom part of the wave. Energy has different frequency from x-ray gamma rays, sound, light and ultraviolet. The visible spectrum is ROY G BIV which stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Frequency below red is infrared. Frequency above violet is ultraviolet. With this in mind you can now understand light and lasers.

Light and lasers are often the same but visible light has frequencies of 380 through roughly 1,400 nanometers. As kids we all had a thing called a radiometer. It’s a clear light bulb with a vacuum inside with four square plates, the plates are white on one side and black on the other. The black absorbs light energy and the white reflects the energy. Light energy has an extremely small mass. When you put the toy in light it spins because the black absorbs light energy and white reflects light energy. Much like many years ago we illuminated Christmas trees with flood lights with color wheels. When yellow filters only yellow light and higher frequencies go through and frequency reflects off and makes the tree yellow. When a red filter is used the tree is red for the same reason.

Light generally does not travel in a specific direction but spreads out. Flood light bulbs spread energy not specifically directed. Powerful but needs to be tweaked for medical needs. The original light type therapy, put a filter in front of the light bulb, and it generates a light flash i.e. frequency red 560-640 it attacks red in the skin or small capillaries. If just powerful enough it destroys them without any additional damage. If it was brownish light by combinations 500 nanometers it destroys pigments from the sun damage or bleeding. Tattooing from blood on the skin, or birth marks that are brownish may also be renewed.

Physicians usually add synthetic sapphire crystals to the skin that conducts with gel and adds cooling to the skin, the flash of hot light acts on the target. Release more light energy destroys or changes our target, but it also creates destructive heat i.e. spider veins, pigments, rosacea – red frequency, this heat must be consistently controlled. Or in low frequency 400 kills acne on the skin.

The problem with old technology is many people buy an old laser or IPL. The light bulbs cost $8,000 to $12,000 to replace. They only flash 500 times when first put in and initially fire 3-10 times more energy at that initial time. This works well for the next 10,000 flashes then the amount of energy quickly decreases. They don’t change the bulb and keep on flashing. The settings on the laser are okay but the delivered energy is less that that dialed for on the laser. Therefore, the hair removal done by that laser doesn’t work or pigment removal done by that laser and rosacea treatment done by that laser barely works. The light bulb that is weakened needs to be replaced.

A laser is like an army marching down the road all in perfect formation, all in line, all in unison. If those million troops were traveling at the speed of light and hit a target they would hit the target and act on the target depending on the absorption frequency of the target and when acting would liberate energy. This energy must be removed from the surrounding good tissues immediately; with in nano seconds or they will continue to destroy all tissue good and bad.

Light energy is like many soldiers not in unison walking down a road but some in the trees, some in the grass, some on the sidewalk and does not have the force or impact of all the troops being focused in one place at one time.

The biggest problems with many lasers is a light source i.e. an IPL which most people use having a light bulb and it quickly wears out, so no matter what energy you dial on the laser the energy which will come out will only be that of the worn out light bulb. Therefore, newer BBL lasers flash millions and millions of times and do not wear out and they give you the consistency of more tha
99% to 101% of exactly what is specified for the computer to deliver i.e. ask before your treatment what type of laser they are using and if they are using an IPL laser be sure to ask how many flasher are on the bulb, because you could be paying good money for treatments that are not working effectively i.e. for hair removal, rosecea, depigmentation, spider veins and many more. A replacement light bulb for an IPL laser cost on average $10,000, which is why companies that use lasers are hesitant to use it.

John Drew Laurusonis

Doctors Medical Center

www.doctorsmedicalctr.com