With Ohio State's Laser Assisted Arc Welding process, a low-power laser beam (horizontal blue line) guides a welding arc from an electrode to the surface of a bolt head. Tiff file available.

A low-power laser beam (blue horizontal line) cuts a path between two electrodes in a weld chamber. With Ohio State's Laser Assisted Arc Welding process, this beam -- which uses little more wattage than a Christmas tree light bulb -- can guide a welding arc as well as a typical multi-kilowatt laser. Tiff file available.

A low-power laser beam (horizontal blue line) diverts an welding arc that is passing between two electrodes. Charles Albright, professor of industrial, welding, and systems engineering at Ohio State University, and his colleagues created the Laser Assisted Arc Welding process to guide welding arcs and perform more precise welds. Because the welding arc is so much brighter than the laser beam, the beam is barely visible here. Tiff file available.