Developed the theory; Townes shared the 1964 Nobel Prize
Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov
Soviet physicists who shared the 1964 Nobel Prize
Gordon Gould
Coined the word “laser” and fought a long patent battle
Plate 087
16 May 1960
Malibu, California, United States
No photograph is shown for this exhibition. The museum displays an image only where it can show the object honestly.
About this date
Theodore Maiman operated the first laser, a ruby laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in California on 16 May 1960.
About credit
Several groups worked on the idea simultaneously. Maiman did not win a Nobel Prize, which is often noted.
Chapter II
The world before
Life before the Laser
Ordinary light spreads in all directions and colours. Intense, controlled light was not available.
II
The human achievement
How it came about
Maiman used a ruby crystal and a flash lamp to produce red laser light. Semiconductor lasers appeared in 1962 and became small enough for compact disc players and fibre optics. The name is an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.”
III
Understanding the invention
How it works
The Laser, explained in two steps.
01
Step 01 of 02
Stimulated emission
A passing photon prompts an excited atom to emit an identical photon, so light builds up.
Stimulated emission
A mirror cavity
IV
The transformation
What changed for humanity
Communication
Fibre optics carry the internet.
Medicine and industry
Laser eye surgery and precision cutting.
Lasers read barcodes and discs, carry internet data in optical fibre, cut metal and perform eye surgery.
V
Before and after
Life before and after The Laser
Before
Magnetic heads and mechanical readers.
After
Optical discs read by laser.
On larger screens, drag the divider (or use the arrow keys) to give more room to the world before or after.
