How an Optical Mouse Works

An optical mouse is a computer mouse which uses digital image processing technology to track the position of your cursor on the screen. The light is produced by a light emitting diode otherwise know as a light emitting element. Basically when electricity is pumped into this element, it excites the electrons into higher orbits. When electrons come back to their original orbits, they emit energy in form of light. This process happens over and over again billions of times per second, so the result is a steady beam of light that reflects onto a CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The CMOS element uses this light like a tiny camera to take pictures of the mousing surface where it is sitting over and over and sends each reflected image back to a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) for analysis. The movement of the mouse causes one picture that is sent to the DSP to be different in relation to the previous one enabling the DSP to track movements and move the mouse cursor on-screen relative to these movements. In fact, a typical optical mouse takes an astonishing 1,500 pictures per second.

The reason why most optical mice use red light is because it is the lowest wavelength in the visible spectrum. Higher wavelengths would consume more energy as well as produce extreme amounts of heat. This means the higher the frequency, the smaller the wavelength; thereby more exact the beam would be. If we would pick green light instead of red for our optical mouse we would get an insane amount of precision, in the 10000- 20000 DPI range. If you've gamed with a very high DPI rated mouse you will know that once the precision gets so high it ceases to be an advantage and makes mousing actually more difficult because you have to deal more with controlling the natural jitters and twitches of your hand that you otherwise wouldn't notice.

In most cases, an optical mouse is a plug and play device that requires no special software for installation. One of the main advantages of optical mice is that they require no mouse pad. An optical mouse will work even if run on a surface that is not entirely flat, although some models may have trouble on black or shiny surfaces. Optical mice are also favorable because they are easy to maintain and have no mechanical parts that can break and fail. Optical mice usually work well for years without malfunction because of the fact that they have none of these moving parts.

When shopping for a mouse for your computer, it’s helpful to consider the dpi (dots per inch) rating of the model you’re considering. Generally, an optical mouse can track between 400 and just under 2000 dpi. In comparison, a laser mouse can often track more than 2,000 dpi. This makes a laser mouse much more precise and accurate when compared to an optical mouse. Gamers and professional graphic designers often prefer a laser mouse for its added sensitivity, However, some Gamers still swear by their pure Optical gaming mice due to the fact that a mouse is only as good as its sensor, similar to the fact that a high megapixel camera is only as good as the lens that it utilizes.