If you’re looking to get a new mouse or you’re just interested about how mice function then this will be a good read. I cover the way optical and laser technology works and I compare the two in order to find out which one’s better.
The optical mice’s fame really raised for the better in the late 1990s when it began being shipped as an additional feature to many pc systems. The optical mouse became progressively more favored among users because it made working with the mouse much easier compared to the regular ball mouse. Since then finding a regular ball mouse has become somewhat of a challenge.
But how does the optical technology really function?
The optical mouse is equipped with a light emitting diode (LED) and photodiodes which the mouse employs in order to recognize movement relative to a surface i.e. a desk top or a mouse pad.
Essentially, optical mice are armed with an optoelectronic sensor (a small low-resolution video camera) which makes successive images of the surface on which the mouse operates. The photos of the surface that the sensor takes are done in continuous succession and compared with each other in order to find out how far the mouse has moved.
present-day optical mice work on most surfaces. Some exceptions are glass, mirror and other specular surfaces.
The color of the light emitting diode (LED) of the optical mice is mainly red just because red diodes are inexpensive but it is not abnormal to see blue light emitting diodes nonetheless.
Dissimilar to ball mice optical mice don’t retain any moving parts which leaves almost no room for mechanical malfunctions and optical mice are less breakable.
The light emitting diode (LED) of battery-powered wireless optical mice only glows steadily when movement is detected. The rest of the time it flashes every so often in order to save energy.
But what’s the difference between the optical mouse and the laser mouse?
Instead of using a light emitting diode (LED) the laser mouse uses an infrared laser diode. The small infrared laser the mouse is equipped with significantly increases the resolution of the image made by the mouse. The laser makes possible around twenty times more surface tracking ability than typical optical mouse technology.
Glass laser mice (a.k.a. glaser mice) can also be used on mirror or transparent and translucent surfaces.
Since the laser diode, that the mouse employs, emits infrared light it’s usually invisible for the naked eye.
But which one is better? The optical or the laser mouse?
When answering this inquiry we should look upon the dpi (dots per inch) each technology is able to detect.
On the one hand ,the ordinary range for the optical mouse starts from 400 to around 800 dpi.
On the other hand, the range of the laser mouse is frequently above 2000 dpi. The ability of laser technology to track such high dpi makes the laser mouse a lot more precise and accurate when compared to an optical mouse. That greater sensitivity is why most professional graphic designers and gamers prefer the laser mouse rather than the optical mouse.
To wrap it up, laser mouse technology is arguably the superior one. I say arguably because some users find the greater sensitivity fairly distracting while just checking their email or browsing the Web.
