Transverse Modes Produced Using Human Hair:

If a strand of human hair was introduced into the laser cavity so as to cause losses for certain frequencies of light, transverse modes could be created. Different modes were produced as the hair strand was moved to various areas of the laser beam's cross section. Below are all of the modes that could be produced using this method. In each pair of images, the figure on the left is a digitized picture of the actual mode produced in the lab. The smaller figure on the right is a theoretical picture of what the mode is expected to look like base on the formula:

given in the introduction section. This equation describes the spacial mode distribitions .

A photograph of the TEM₀₀ mode and a theoretical representation of the mode produced by Mathematica.

A photograph of the TEM₁₀ mode and a theoretical representation of the mode produced by Mathematica.

A photograph of the TEM₂₀ mode and a theoretical representation of the mode produced by Mathematica.

A photograph of the TEM₃₀mode and a theoretical representation of the mode produced by Mathematica.

A photograph of the TEM₄₀ mode and a theoretical representation of the mode produced by Mathematica.

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