Research on the cutting edge

As a young boy, I watched many cartoons where good characters fought evil characters.  Roughly three quarters of any given episode would involve characters shooting at one another, but they didn’t shoot bullets; they shot laser beams.  Red and blue blasts of light making all manner of things blow up, but never actually killing anyone; these cartoons supplied me my first impression of lasers.  Ever since, I have considered pretty much anything to do with lasers to be incredibly cool.

So you can imagine how intrigued I was by this study examining how lasers actually work to cut human flesh.  Lasers are now widely used in different surgical procedures, but there was a lack of understanding of how the lasers actually managed to cut into flesh.  Turns out, there are two mechanisms, depending on the type of laser used. 

For longer wavelength, lower energy infrared lasers, they work by actually burning the body’s cells.  The intense heat from the laser causes chemical bonds in the cells to rupture, destroying the integrity of the cell.  It also has the added benefit of simultaneously cauterizing the wound.

Shorter wavelength, higher energy lasers work by causing micro-explosions that break molecules apart, leading to cell degradation.  Each laser pulse creates an electrically charged gas called plasma that collapses at the end of the pulse and the energy released causes a micro-explosion.

This study does more than answer a question that has undoubtedly vexed many a science fiction nerd.  Knowing how different lasers work will help determine which type will work best, depending on the procedure and what part of the body the surgeons are working on.  

However, despite providing valuable insights into laser surgery, I have my suspicions the genesis of this research was originally inspired by something other than the practicality of the knowledge to be gained.