Pew Pew! Scientists Build Lasers Out of Sound, Call Them Phasers: Using a nanoscale drum, scientists have built a laser that uses sound waves instead of light like a conventional laser. Because laser is an acronym for ?light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation,? these new contraptions ? which exploit particles of sound called phonons ? should properly be called phasers. Such devices could one day be used in ultrasound medical imaging, computer parts, high-precision measurement, and many other places.