A mouse that uses light to detect movement. Introduced in the late 1990s, optical mouse obsoleted mechanical mouse because their sealed bottom surfaces have no mechanical parts to absorb dust and dirt. They work by emitting light from an LED or laser, and a CMOS sensor detects the light reflections as the mouse is moved.Early optical mouse required a special mouse pad, but modern devices can be rolled over traditional pads, as well as over almost any surface other than glass or mirror. Laser driven mouse are even more tolerant of their surface than LED Mouse. Contrast with mechanical mouse.
To assure that your optical mouse runs smoothly and verify that the motion of the pointer on the screen mimics that of the mouse, it is essential that the mouse is used on a dark, non reflective surface. Otherwise, if the mouse is used on a bright, reflective surface, it will have trouble tracking its movement and the pointer on your screen will jump all around. Furthermore, if a hair or excessive amount of dust is caught inside your optical mouse, the pointer has a greater chance of randomly jumping around across the screen.