Ever wondered what is laser?
Laser is a contrivance (device) which produces a very intense, monochromatic, coherent and highly
unidirectional beam of light. Laser is an acronym (short form) for Light Amplification by Stimlated Emission
of Radiation. This is a concise description of what a laser does. The key to the 'light amplification' is in a
process that is very rare in nature, the stimulated emission of a photon (radiation) by an atom in an excited
state. Before the invention of laser, MASER was invented which abbreviated form of Microwave
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of. Radiation and it produces such a beam of microwave. The
principle of MASER is identical to that of laser. Due to this reason, laser is also called optical MASER. Now
a days, IRASER (Infrared Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) and BASER (Boson
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) have been developed. Fermions (to be discussed later)
cannot be amplified using the principle involved in these devices.
CH. Towns, N. Basov and A.P. Khorov in 1958, worked out the theory of laser.They were jointly awarded
Noble Prize in 1964, for the same. The laser was developed in 1960. Laser can be generated in
solid and liquid media. Ruby laser is a solid type laser, Helium laser, Neon laser etc, are gaseous lasers
STABLE AND METASTABLE STATES
ABSORPTIONS AND EMISSIONS
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