Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Can lasers be deflected electroMAGNETically?
Message-ID: <1989Dec31.224613.23057@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <6220004@hpcupt1.HP.COM> <1989Dec29.211335.2414@utzoo.uucp> <13100@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: Sun, 31 Dec 89 22:46:13 GMT

In article <13100@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> kimf@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (Kim Flowers) writes:
>Would it be possible to cause a laser beam to scan by deflecting it
>off or through a piezoelectric (?) mirror or lense?  If so, by how much?

Probably, although the good piezoelectric materials are mostly not
transparent.  There are a variety of ways of deflecting light using
interactions with matter, with the properties of the matter altered
by electric or magnetic fields, standing waves of ultrasound, etc.
Most are difficult to implement and give quite small deflections,
which is why things like laser printers still use spinning mirrors.
-- 
1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
1989: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu