Not So Visible Lasers

So what does the word laser mean anyway? According to MCE Lasers it stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation."

Have you ever seen a small red beam of light in real life? Think about a laser pointer, do you ever actually see the beam of light between the laser pointer and say the wall that it is being pointed at?

It is not possible to see the stream of light, it's only visible to see the dot when the laser beam hits a surface which then scatters the light which makes it visible.

One very far fetched idea about lasers is that they can be used in a hand held weapon as in Star Wars.

http://www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/1999/SW1_TPM.html

I have to admit that having different colored light sabers would be pretty cool. But seeing that they are quite unrealistic, I will just have to live with seeing them on the Star Wars movies and that is it.

There are a few different problems with these light sabers which the website Lasers In the Movies discusses:

1. Slow Laser Beams

In all the Star War movies you can usually see the laser beam grow to its extended length, where really it would travel at the speed of light which would look almost instantaneous to our eyes.

2. Visible Laser Beams

Unless you are in a highly concentrated smoke-filled room, the laser beam will not be visible.