The Laser: Futuristic Science Found at Your Local Store

11 January 2012

A crowd attending a soccer game in Istanbul, Turkey, watches a laser light show.

MARIO RITTER: Welcome to EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. I’m Mario Ritter. This week, we tell about one of the most recognizable objects in science fiction — the laser. It is one of the best examples of how technology can go from the science of the future to everyday use in a short period of time. Faith Lapidus and Steve Ember tell us about the history and many uses for the laser.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Laser is short for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The idea behind lasers is complex. Just how complex? Consider that it took the mind of Albert Einstein to discover the physics behind the laser.

Theodore Maiman succeed in building the first working laser in nineteen sixty. Mr. Maiman worked at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

A laser fires a light beam. Before the laser, scientists developed a similar device: a maser which stands for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A maser is basically a microwave version of the laser. Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation similar to, but shorter than, radio waves. The best-known use of masers is in highly accurate clocks.

In the nineteen fifties, researchers in the United States and Russia independently developed the technology that made both masers and lasers possible. Charles Townes was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He and his students developed the first maser.