Laser Tool

The Laser Tool fires a laser into the simulation in the direction of the cursor. If the laser intersects with an object with a simulated surface, the laser will impart energy into the object, heating its surface. The rate at which this energy will be transferred depends on the laser's power and radius.

A real laser works by adding energy to a gain medium, such as a crystal or gas. This energy, at a specific wavelength, drives stimulated emission in the medium and produces a narrow beam of light.

Tool Details

Location

The Laser button is located in the Tools menu in the bottom bar.

Settings

The Laser Tool has a number of settings that affect the rate at which the laser will heat the surface of an object.

• Preset
  • Universe Sandbox provides a number of laser presets representing real and fictional lasers.
  • The Auto laser will automatically set its Radius and Power based on the size of the object it is fired at.
  • The Magic Cold Laser will remove heat from the object's surface rather than adding heat.
• Radius
  • The Radius property represents the size of the spot that the laser shines on the object's surface. Radius, Total Power, and Power per Area are locked properties.
• Total Power
  • The Power Out of the laser represents the rate at which energy will be added to the object that the laser hits. Radius, Total Power, and Power per Area are locked properties.
• Power per Area
  • The Power per Area represents the power per area of the object's surface. Radius, Total Power, and Power per Area are locked properties.
• Auto Radius
  • When the Auto Radius toggle is on, the radius of the laser will be set automatically based on the radius of the target object.
• Wavelength
  • Lasers are characterized based on the wavelength (i.e., color) of light that they emit.
  • Medium
    • This property represents the gain medium of the simulated laser, and will determine the Wavelength.
• Show Beam
  • A real laser is not visible until it hits an object or passes through a material that will diffract its light. When Show Beam is turned on, the laser will be artificially visible.

Simulation Effects

Surface Temperature

When a laser hits a body with a simulated surface, energy will be added to that region of the surface at a rate determined by the laser's Power Out property. This energy will be used to calculate the temperature change of that part of the surface.