This edition contains carefully selected contributions by leading scientists in high-resolution laser spectroscopy, quantum optics and laser physics. Emphasis is given to ultrafast laser phenomena, implementations of frequency combs, precision spectroscopy and high resolution metrology. Furthermore, applications of the fundamentals of quantum mechanics are widely covered. This book is dedicated to Nobel prize winner Theodor W. Hänsch on the occasion of his 75th birthday. The contributions are reprinted from a topical collection published in Applied Physics B, 2016. Selected contributions are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com. Please see the copyright page for further details.
The fascinating true story of Gordon Gould's successful thirty-year struggle to assert himself as the rightful inventor of the laser -- and a myth-shattering, behind-the-scenes account of the American patent process.The insight struck Gould with the force of revelation. He sat bolt upright in bed, marveling at its perfection. Soon he was at his desk, writing at the top of a page in his laboratory notebook, "Some rough calculations on the feasibility of a "Laser": Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation."So began the invention of the laser in 1957, a machine that changed industry, medicine and science, and much of modern life. Gordon Gould was a graduate student with a checkered past and a yen to invent, but he had a blind spot when it came to patent rights. And when a respected professor with an office next to Gould's electrified the scientific world with his own claims on the laser, Gould was in for the fight of a lifetime.For the next thirty years, Gould battled the U.S. Patent Office and manufacturers to enforce his rights as the laser's inventor. Rebuffed, he was even denied security clearance to work on his own in
Sixth grade in a public school in 1963 Queens brings many changes into the life of Marc Chaikin, as he falls in love, deals with class bullies, overcomes his fear of school, and faces his parents' divorce.
Effects of High-Power Laser Radiation describes the interactions between high-power laser beams and matter. This book is divided into eight chapters that particularly focus on interactions such as heating, melting, vaporization, and plasma production. The opening chapters examine the laser properties, types, measurement techniques, and safety aspects. The succeeding chapters deal with a variety of physical phenomena and mechanisms of laser-induced particle emission, as well as the initiation and development of gas breakdown phenomena. Other chapters explore the effects and damage of various interactions in transparent materials and on biological systems. The final chapter looks into the practical applications of the various laser effects to diverse technological fields. This book will prove useful to scientists interested in the physical phenomena of laser effects and engineers interested in practical applications of laser effects.
The whole story of laser weapons with a focus on its many interesting characters and sometimes bizarre schemes The laser--a milestone invention of the mid-twentieth century--quickly captured the imagination of the Pentagon as the key to the ultimate weapon. Veteran science writer Jeff Hecht tells the inside story of the adventures and misadventures of scientists and military strategists as they exerted Herculean though often futile efforts to adapt the laser for military uses. From the 1950s' sci-fi vision of the death ray, through the Reagan administration's Star Wars missile defense system, to more promising developments today, Hecht provides an entertaining history. As the author illustrates, there has always been a great deal of enthusiasm and false starts surrounding lasers. He describes a giant laser that filled a Boeing 747, lasers powered like rocket engines, plans for an orbiting fleet of robotic laser battle stations to destroy nuclear missiles, claims that nuclear bombs could produce intense X-ray laser beams, and a scheme to bounce laser beams off giant orbiting relay mirrors. Those far-out ideas remain science fiction. Meanwhile, in civilian sectors, the laser is already being successfully used in fiber optic cables, scanners, medical devices, and industrial cutting tools. Now those laser cutting tools are leading to a new generation of laser weapons that just might stop insurgent rockets. Replete with interesting characters, bizarre schemes, and wonderful inventions, this is a well-told tale about the evolution of technology and the reaches of human ambition.
Many of the scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century were first reported in the journal Nature. A Century of Nature brings together in one volume Nature's greatest hits—reproductions of seminal contributions that changed science and the world, accompanied by essays written by leading scientists (including four Nobel laureates) that provide historical context for each article, explain its insights in graceful, accessible prose, and celebrate the serendipity of discovery and the rewards of searching for needles in haystacks.
Sir Ben Ainslie won his first two Olympic medals (silver, then gold) in the Laser Class. After winning the gold medal he wrote down the secrets that won him that medal in this book. This new edition is published to mark the 20th anniversary of that first of his four Olympic gold medals. It features a brand-new introduction by Ben reflecting on his victory 20 years ago. It is the only how-to book that the world's most successful Olympic sailor has written and so, while he and the Laser class have moved on, this is the only place where you can gain access to Ben's skills and thought process. It is an invaluable guide on how to perform at the top of the Laser class or, indeed, any single-handed sailing dinghy. From psychology, goal setting and getting the boat right to speed, fitness and training – this book illustrates how to win a championship. Brimming with photographs, it is a colourful, detailed account of how to dominate in your fleet.
In these engaging memoirs of a maverick, Theodore H. Maiman describes the life events leading to his invention of the laser in 1960. Maiman succeeded using his expertise in physics and engineering along with an ingenious and elegant design not anticipated by others. His pink ruby laser produced mankind’s first-ever coherent light and has provided transformational technology for commerce, industry, telecom, the Internet, medicine, and all the sciences. Maiman also chronicles the resistance from his employer and the ongoing intrigue by competing researchers in industry and academia seeking to diminish his contribution in inventing the first laser. This work will appeal to a wide readership, from physicists and engineers through science enthusiasts to general readers. The volume includes extensive photos and documentary materials related to Maiman’s life and accomplishments never before published. "No one beat Maiman to the laser. How important is the laser? How important are all lasers? That is how important we have to regard Maiman’s contribution.He and the laser changed all of our lives, everyone’s!"Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics, University of Illinois at Champaigne-Urbana, and inventor of the light-emitting diode (LED) and co-inventor of the transistor laser "More than five decades later, we can safely conclude that Theodore Maiman's groundbreaking discovery changed the world. Our modern life just as scientific research would be quite different without the laser."Dr. Ferenc Krausz, Director, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany, and Professor of Physics, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, and pioneer in attosecond lasers and attophysics "Maiman had the stroke of genius needed to take a different approach [from his competitors]. The sheer elegance and simplicity of his design belies the intellectual achievement it represents. If his invention seems obvious to some today, it was far from obvious in 1960."Jeff Hecht, authoritative science writer on the historical development of the laser, author of books on lasers and fiber optics
It used to be if someone wanted to mug you, they had to look you in the face and make a threat. Not anymore. Hackers can wipe a bank account without ever having to risk drawing blood. Bad people use technology for personal gain. Nothing's new about that. What is new is the ways technology opens up opportunities for exploitation.New technology is coming on-line all the time, creating new opportunities for creative criminals and dissidents. Stolen elections, companies held hostage by hackers, and acts of terror have all been committed with technology that didn't exist a few short years ago. Join leading edge speculative fiction authors on an exciting walk into darkness where people and machines plunder, cheat, kill, and steal in ways we can't even imagine with tools that may not even exist, yet. But, they're coming.
This book is perfect for science teachers who want to bringone of the most remarkable research tools of the 20th centuryinto their classrooms: the laser. Requiring only a low-cost, low-power laser, the bookpresents a series of experiments for in-class demonstrations orstudent activities
