Editing Laser (section)

=== Hobbies ===

In recent years, some hobbyists have taken an interest in lasers. Lasers used by hobbyists are generally of class IIIa or IIIb {{xref|(see {{slink||Safety}})}}, although some have made their own class IV types.<ref>[http://www.powerlabs.org/laser.htm PowerLabs CO<sub>2</sub> LASER!] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050814004546/http://www.powerlabs.org/laser.htm |date=August 14, 2005 }} Sam Barros June 21, 2006. Retrieved January 1, 2007.</ref> However, due to the cost and potential dangers, this is an uncommon hobby. Some hobbyists salvage laser diodes from broken DVD players (red), [[Blu-ray]] players (violet), or even higher power laser diodes from CD or [[DVD burner]]s.<ref>{{cite web |first=Stephanie |last=Maks |url=http://planetstephanie.net/dvd-laser/ |title=Howto: Make a DVD burner into a high-powered laser |work=Transmissions from Planet Stephanie |access-date=April 6, 2015 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217050834/http://planetstephanie.net/dvd-laser/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Hobbyists have also used surplus lasers taken from retired military applications and modified them for [[holography]]. Pulsed ruby and YAG lasers work well for this application.