What is the difference between Lasers and LEDs (light emitting diodes)?
Lasers are monochromatic (single color wavelength), collimated (non-divergent) and coherent (wavelengths in- phase) in contrast, LED’s are neither coherent nor collimated and generate a broader band of wavelengths (multiple). In addition, a significant difference between the two is the power output. The peak power output of lasers is measured in watts, while that of LED’s, is measured in milliwatts. Also, LED’s usually have a 50% duty cycle, meaning that they are “on” 50% of the time and “off” 50% of the time regardless of what frequency (pulses per second) setting is used. There are many light emitting products on the market today, claiming to be lasers that do not meet scientifically defined attributes for being a true laser. For example, products that use Light Emitting Diodes or LED’s as they are more commonly known, do in fact produce light, however the light is not intense, producing very little energy and is non-coherent, similar to light produced by common household light bulbs
