Eureka!: Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed the World by Leslie Alan Horvitz

Author:Leslie Alan Horvitz
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER 8 - A Flash of Light in Franklin Park

Charles Townes and the Invention of the Laser

Lasers are now so widely used that they have become commonplace. In scientific research, they have provided new insights into our understanding of the nature of light, while in industry they are routinely used in communications systems, precision welding and drilling into heat-resistant materials, and measuring with a high degree of accuracy. Inevitably, lasers have been seized upon by the military to design cutting-edge navigational and weapons-targeting systems. And in medicine, lasers are now showing promise in treating cancer by destroying diseased cells. Lasers also threaten to put many optometrists out of business because of their ability to weld detached retinas and correct myopia without the need for invasive surgery. Lasers are widespread in the entertainment industry: CDs and DVDs wouldn’t exist without them. And lasers might one day unlock one of the great riddles of the universe by detecting gravitational waves, which Einstein predicted but which have thus far not been found.

Taken for granted now, lasers were once regarded as a solution in search of a problem. Until it was invented and proven practical, there was no apparent need or desire for the laser. The idea of using concentrated beams of light as a power source simply wasn’t something that struck most people (including scientists) as an especially promising idea. Moreover, the one scientist who is arguably most responsible for conceiving of the laser had no intention of inventing such a thing. On the contrary, the laser was something of an afterthought, a potentially interesting elaboration on an instrument designed to amplify the strength of microwaves. To understand the genesis of lasers, you first need to understand something about microwave technology. For that reason, the kitchen is a good place to start.

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