Laser
Also known as: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation · lasers
- 1Operates via stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation.
- 2First built in 1960 by Theodore Maiman.
- 3Based on theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.
- 4Utilizes an optical amplifier design patented by Gordon Gould.
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation.
Connections1
Pioneering research site for optical physics
Bell Labs researchers, including Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow, conducted the foundational work that led to the invention of the laser in the 1950s.
A laser is a specialized device that generates light through optical amplification, a process rooted in the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term itself is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
Components of a typical laser: Gain medium Laser pumping energy High reflector Output coupler Laser beamWikimedia Commons: File:Laser.svgA laser can produce a very narrow beam of light of a single wavelength, in this case, green.Wikimedia Commons: File:Green_Laser.jpgA telescope in the Very Large Telescope system producing four orange laser guide starsWikimedia Commons: File:Guiding_the_Milky_Way_(potw2222a).jpg The first functional laser was constructed in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories. This achievement was built upon foundational theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow, as well as the optical amplifier design patented by Gordon Gould.