The Laser: The power to control the light

SCIENCEMost of the inventions arising from an unmet need of the human being. A solution that improves the quality of life and promotes human development. The laser, however, no. His invention, the mid-twentieth century, it was a solution waiting for a need, your own developer not undertake to find. However, would not wait. From medicine to military industry, lasers, versatile and efficient, has become ubiquitous in human life.
A laser (whose acronym stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation", ie Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a device which uses a quantum mechanical effect, induced or stimulated emission, to generate a the beam size, shape and purity control.
In 1916, Albert Einstein laid the foundation for the development of lasers using the law of Max Planck radiation based on the concepts of spontaneous and induced emission of radiation. In 1953, Charles H. Townes and graduate students James P. Gordon built the first maser a device operating with the same physical principles, but the laser that produces a coherent beam of microwaves. Townes's maser was incapable of continuous work. The first laser is a ruby ​​and it worked first time in 1960. It was built by Theodore Maiman. The fact that their results were published with some delay in Nature, gave time to the implementation of other parallel developments. For this reason, Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow inventors are also considered laser, which patented in 1960.
Some of their modern uses:
- Medicine: Operations bloodless surgical treatments, aids wound healing, treatment of kidney stones, eye operations, dental operations.
- Industry: Cutting, guided manufacturing machinery and robots, accurate distance measurements by laser.
- Development in commercial: laser printers, CD, optical mice, barcode readers, laser pointers, thermometers, holograms, entertainment lighting applications.
- Defense: Guided ballistic missiles, alternative to radar, blinding enemy troops. In the case of the Tactical High Energy Laser is starting to use the laser as a destroyer of targets.
- Civil Engineering: Guided TBMs, different applications in topography and distance measurements at inaccessible places or conduct of a digital terrain model (DTM).
- Research: Spectroscopy, laser interferometry, LIDAR, distanciometry.
- Cosmetic and plastic surgery treatments: Acne Treatments, cellulite, stretch marks treatment, waxing.