The recent development of laser light probes for stress wave measurements has aided our understanding of acoustic emission and ultrasonic signals by allowing quantitative measurements of stress waveforms. This paper reports on applications of the laser interferometer probe for surface detection of stress waves and the laser transmission probe for sensing of stress waves inside transparent materials. Laser light probes were used to characterize ultrasonic and acoustic emission transducers' response in a realistic configuration, with transducers in actual contact with a solid. Laser light probes also were applied in directly detecting acoustic emission due to stress corrosion cracking in 7039 aluminum and crazing of Plexiglass. The results of the laser light probe measurements indicate that conventional piezoelectric transducers, although adequate for many ultrasonic pulse inspection tests, are severely limited as stress pulse sensors for acoustic emission measurements. The acoustic emission signals measured by the laser light probe showed a pulse-like waveform which has not been previously recorded by conventional piezoelectric acoustic emission sensors.