How Lasers Work & Their Applications Lasers have become an important tool in contempo

Lasers work by creating light energy, amplifying it, and then directing it out in a single, powerful beam. Various types of media can be used for the creation of light energy. Therefore, there are various types of lasers which exist today. Some lasers use solid materials, such as crystals for producing light. Others use gases, chemicals, or dyes as a basis for light. Semiconductors, materials which transmit electricity "better than nonconductors such as rubber, but not as well as copper," are also often used as a medium for light production (3:70). Inside the laser, the chosen material

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sed on the principles of stimulated emission. However, this new device would seek to create light energy rather than microwave energy. Townes and Schawlow realized that a light energy device would have more practical applications than the maser did. In order to describe their new device, the men chose the name "laser," which stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. In 1958, Townes and Schawlow released a paper in which they described their plans for building a laser. Whereas the maser had used ammonia gas as its medium for energy production, the new laser would make use of potassium gas (1:77). Scientists across the nation took an immediate interest in the subject, and some researchers began trying to develop their own laser devices. As as result of this competitive spirit, it was Theodore H. Maiman, rather than Townes and Schawlow, who built the first workable laser. Maiman, who was employed by Hughes Research Laboratories, decided to create a laser that used solid material rather than gas. Maiman decided that solids would be a better medium because "they could give him higher power, be more rugged, operate under less restrictive temperature conditions, and make possible smaller-sized devices
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Approximate Word count = 1926
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)