Lasers

From DVD players to delicate eye-surgery, lasers are a

very important part of modern life. They are widely known and
used. But even though lasers are so popular, not many people
understand what they are, how they work, and their uses. That
will be what I tell you in this speech, how lasers work, their
uses, and what they are.

First of all, laser actually is a acronym that stands for,

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Fundamentally, a laser is a machine that can create laser light,
a special beam of light. The differences between laser-light and
regular light is that laser-light is monochromatic and coherent.
That means that laser light's wavelengths are all the same.
That makes laser-light one color. You may be thinking, "But
regular light is one color too," but actually regular light is a
mixture of different wavelengths, it only appears as one color.
The final difference is that laser-light is very powerful, because
unlike regular light which branches out, laser-light stays in a
beam. If laser-light separated, then it wouldn't be powerful
anymore.

But exactly how do lasers work? Well, when an atom is

excited to high energy levels, the atom will eventually return to
its original level. When it does, it releases the energy in the
form of a photon. When the photon hits other charged atoms,
those atoms also release photons, because the photon triggers
the reaction. The laser uses this discovery by charging a ruby
rod or whatever you're using for the charging material, to
create a flow of photons. A laser is made of a aluminum tube, a
quartz flash tube, the charging material(also known as a
medium), a 100% reflective mirror, and a 95% reflective mirror.
The mirrors are on both ends of the tube, and the medium is
inside the tube, with the quartz flashtube coiled around it.
Then, the flash tube charges the ruby, and the ruby medium
emits the photons. Some of the photons go out of the 95%
percent reflective mirror. The rest of the photons that reflect off
the reflective part of the mirrors bounce around in the tube
triggering the charged atoms. That is how laser light is
generated.

Because lasers cut with precision, lasers are good

for industrial uses. Some uses for lasers are,
measuring, DVD players, CD players, barcode scanning,
communication, laser surgery, and even treatments for
cancer. But how do lasers cut metal? Well, a laser is
magnified to a single spot on the metal by a focusing
lens. That makes the spot extremely hot, so that the
metal will melt. It's like using a magnifying glass to set
an ant on fire, except this time you're using six Kilo
watts of electricity. A laser can measure distance by
bouncing laser light off a object, and measuring the
time it takes to reflect back. For example, if you wanted
to measure the door, you would place the device under
the doorway, and then shoot the laser and measure
how much time it took for the laser to come back. Both
CD and DVD players use lasers by using the laser to
read divots in the CD or DVD. The divots are the bumps
and ridges on the disc. When the laser reflects off the
aluminum in the middle of the disc, the information is
read by the DVD or CD player, and then the information
is played as a song, video, or movie.

As you can see, lasers have immensely improved our

lives. Also, even more laser technologies are coming out.
Scientists are working on using lasers to guide lightning away
from buildings. This development of laser technology is
researched by optical scientists at the University of Central
Florida and the University of Arizona, and it's supported by a
7.5 million dollar US Department of Defense grant. Here's how
that works. When a laser beam is fired, it leaves behind a trail
of plasma. The lightning sees the plasma as the path with the
least resistance to the ground, and so the lightning travels
down the plasma trail. Therefore, by making a plasma trail, the
laser can direct the lightning to a specific place, away from the
target we want to protect. Other scientists are working on a
computer that will completely use lasers to transmit
information instead of electricity. That will be a big
improvement, because lasers carry twenty-six terabits per
second, which is 26 hundreds times faster than a Thunderbolt
computer, which is one of the fastest computers. When
information travels in a regular computer, sometimes the data
jams, like a traffic jam. The laser might be able to eliminate
this, because the beam would carry a lot of information without
having a "data jam". I believe from the twenty-first century and
on, lasers will increasingly make our lives better. It will bring us
closer to inventions like in science fiction movies.
 Anecdotes
George Washington and the Cherry Tree

Once George Washington damaged his father's favorite cherry

tree. When his father asked him if he damaged the cherry tree,
instead of lying, he instead spoke the truth. That shows us to
always be honest.

Thomas Edison

When Thomas Edison was a child, he was very poor, and

could not afford to go to school. But amazingly, he taught
himself, and managed to become one of the best
scientists ever.

Face Difficulties Positively

Once a farmer's mule fell into a crevice. No matter how

much the farmer tried, he couldn't get the mule out, so he
decided to end the mules misery, and bury the mule alive. But
instead of giving up, the mule figured out that he could just
step onto the dirt that was being put into the crevice, and after
a while the mule got out.

Everyone has a story to tell

One day a 21 year old boy was looking out a train window.
He said, "Papa, look, the trees are going behind us!" A nearby
couple looked at the old man. The old man's son said again,"
Look, the clouds are running away!" The couple couldn't resist
but say to the old man," You should take your son to a good
doctor." The old man smiled and said, " My son just came from
one, he just got his eyes back."

Spartacus(courage)

Once a Roman gladiator escaped from his gladiator school. He

did this by fighting off the guards with kitchen utensils. Then,
he started to rescue other gladiators and slaves, and started a
rebellion. The rebellion grew so much, Spartacus had 50000
men at his height of power.

Harriet
Tubman(generosity/courage)

A black slave named Harriet Tubman once escaped her master.

Once she escaped, she even helped other slaves escape, and
founded the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad
was a series of houses that could hide the slaves. Also, Harriet
Tubman gave them all her savings so they could have a good
life in the Northern part of the United States. In the Civil War,
she also acted as a doctor, and treated wounded soldiers, and
didn't get payment.

The Jar with a

Thousand Holes(Unity)
In a Benin fable, at the end the new king Ghezo's people were
very prosperous. But, then people started to argue among
themselves, and his kingdom weakened. King Ghezo thought of
a plan, and gathered many people around. Then, he called by
name for chiefs and royalty and many other important people
to stop a jar with a thousand holes from leaking water. None of
them could do it, and then the king told them to all plug their
fingers in the jar. Not a single drop spilled.

Abraham
Lincoln(responsibility)

When he was little, he walked 5 miles just to return a book, so

he was responsible in returning a book.

King Midas and the Golden Touch

Told by Charlotte Craft and Illustrated by
K.Y Craft
Changed a little
(interpretive speech 2016)
 Uncutted Version
There once lived a very rich king called King Midas who
believed that nothing was more precious than gold. He loved its
soft yellow hue and comforting weight in the palm of his hand.
The chink of gold coins dropping into a leather purse sounded
sweeter than the songs of his finest musicians. There was only
one thing he loved more, and that was his daughter, Aurelia.
"Aurelia", he often told her as she played by the throne,
"someday I shall bequeath to you the greatest treasury of gold
in all of the world."

There was a time however, when King Midas loved roses

just as much as gold. He had once called all of the best
gardeners in his realm, and the garden they created for him
became renowned for the beauty and variety of roses.

But in time the delicate fragrances and exquisite colors

meant nothing to King Midas. Only Aurelia still loved the
garden. Every day she would pick the most perfect bouquet of
roses to adorn the king's breakfast table. But when Midas saw
the flowers, he would think, "Their beauty only lasts a day. If
they were gold they would last forever!"

One day the king's guards found an old man asleep under
the rosebushes and brought him before King Midas.

"Unbind him," Midas ordered. "Without my gold, I would

be as poor as he. Tonight he shall dine with me!"

So that night the old man sat at the king's table, where he
was well fed and entertained by the king himself. And after a
good night's sleep, the old man went on his way.
 That morning, as he often did, Midas went down into his
dungeon. With a large brass key, he unlocked the door to the
secret chamber where he kept his gold. After carefully locking
the door behind him, he sat down to admire his precious
wealth

"Ah I do love it so," he sighed, gazing at his riches."No

matter how hard I work, no matter how long I live, I will never
have enough."

He was lost in these thoughts when the chamber suddenly

filled up with light. King Midas looked up and was amazed to
behold the glowing figure of a young man. Since there was no
way to get into the room but through the locked door, Midas
knew he was in the presence of magic.

Script

King Midas = Character 1

Aurelia(King Midas's daughter)= Character 2

Old Man = Character 3

Guards = Character 4

Say slowly

Narrator: There once lived a very rich king called King Midas
who believed that nothing was more precious than gold. He
loved its soft yellow hue and comforting weight in the palm of
his hand. The chink of gold coins dropping into a leather purse
sounded sweeter than the songs of his finest musicians. There
was only one thing he loved more, and that was his daughter,
Aurelia.
Character 1: "Aurelia, come to the breakfast table,"(sit on
chair)

Character 2: "Okay Papa, I'm picking roses to decorate the

table," (walk back holding flowers)

Character 1 : "Aurelia, those rose's beauty lasts but a day. If

they were gold, they would last forever. Now come and let us
eat.(reach across table and take a piece of bread)

One day the king's guards found an old man asleep under the
rosebushes and brought him before King Midas.

Character 4 : (bow) Your Majesty, I have found a old man

sleeping in our rose gardens. Here is the old man. (point at
empty space then move to occupy that space)

Character 1 : Unbind him! Without my gold I would be as poor

as he. Tonight he will dine with me!

Narrator : So that night the old man sat at the king's table
where he was well fed and entertained. And after a good
night's sleep, the old man went on his way.

Narrator: That morning as he often did, Midas went to his

dungeon. He was lost in thoughts when the chamber suddenly
filled with golden light. King Midas looked up and was amazed
to behold a glowing figure of a young man. Since there was no
way into the room, but through the locked door, King Midas
knew he was in the presence of magic.

Character 1 :(sit, then get up and walk, and open and lock a
pretend door, and open a chest with gold, and look up wide-
eyed)

Character 3: (smile)Do you not recognize me?

Character !: shake head

Character 3:I was the old man from the rose garden. Instead of
arresting me for trespassing, you entertained me at your table.
I had thought to reward you, but with so much gold, you must
surely want nothing.

Character 1: That's not true, a man can never have enough

gold!

Character 3: What would make you a happier man?

Character 1: Perhaps if everything I touched would be gold.

Character 3: And so it shall be yours.

Character 1 : (shield eyes, then grab key) What? It didn't work.

(open pretend door and lock it with key then sleep)

Narrator: But when King Midas awoke the next day, he found
his bedchamber bathed in golden light. The plain linen
bedcovers had been transformed into finely spun gold!

Character 1: It's true, I have the golden touch!

Narrator: Without wasting a moment, Midas rushed out of the

room, through the palace, and into the garden. Midas went
from bush to bush, touching each of the blossoms.

Character !: (Touch flowers)Aurelia will be so happy when she

sees these roses of gold.

Narrator: Soon it was time for breakfast. Midas sat down right
down when Aurelia entered the room, her face wet with tears.

Character: 2 Father, Father, a horrible thing has happened, all

the roses in the garden are hard and yellow!(Cry, hold a
pretend flower)

Character 1 : They are golden roses now, my love, and will

never fade.(keep sitting)
Character 2: But I miss their scent Father.

Character 1 : I am sorry my dear, I only thought to please you.

Now we can buy more roses than you could ever want.(keep
sitting)Now, my love, let us have breakfast.(then hold a
imaginary spoon and eat pretend porridge and then look
puzzled)murmur Maybe if I eat quickly(then eat more pretend
foods)grumble How am I to eat?

Character 2: What's wrong Father?

Character 1 : Nothing at all my child. Wring hands and murmur

Will I ever eat again?

Character 2 : (move over and then freeze)

Character 1 : (scream in horror and tear hair)

Character 3 : Well King Midas, are you not the happiest of men?

Character 1 : Oh no, I'm the most miserable man!

Character 3 : But did I not grant you the golden touch?

Character 1 : Yes, but it is a curse to me now. All that I truly

loved is now gone.(weep)

Character 3 : Then make your way to the river that flows past
the borders of your kingdom. Follow the river upstream until
you reach its source. As you cleanse yourself in the spring, the
golden touch will be washed away. Take with you a vase so
that you may sprinkle water over any object you want to
change back.

Narrator: Joyfully, then King Midas restored all he had

transformed, except for a single rose, kept forever as a
reminder of the golden touch.