How are lasers used in cd players?
Compact disc (CD) players enable recorded media to survive thousands of replays without wear, thanks to the use of a laser as the playback and recording mechanism.CDsThe silvery reflective layer inside a CD actually holds thousands of bumps called “pits” set against flat sections known as “lands,” according to SmartComputing.com. These pits and lands translate into the ones and zeros of digital binary code.Laser UnitA lens and laser unit focus on the CD’s spiral pattern of pits and lands, and a tracking system moves the unit slowly to read the disc data, according to University of Prince Edward Island Computer Services.Playing a CDAs the laser passes over the pits and lands, a digital audio converter (DAC) interprets the reflections as ones or zeros, then converts the data back into sound waves.Recording to a CDLasers can record as well as play a recordable CD that includes light-sensitive ink on its surface.
