History

• The maser, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation," operated under a similar principle to the laser. However, it used microwaves rather than visible light. While at Columbia University in 1953, Charles Townes built the first maser with the assistance of several colleagues. In 1956, Townes accepted a job as a consultant at Bell Laboratories. There he encountered Arthur Schawlow, whom he had worked with at Columbia University several years before. Meanwhile, in 1957, Townes' student Gordon Gould was the first person to use the term "laser." He designed the device in a laboratory notebook that he had notarized in a candy store. In 1958, Townes and Schawlow published a paper entitled "Infrared and Optical Masers." Because he believed he had to build a working model, Gould did not apply for a patent for his laser design until several months after Townes and Schawlow had patented the maser.
  
  

Effects

• Because Townes and Schawlow's maser could be extended to the optical spectrum, they were credited with the invention of the laser. Gould's patent was denied. In 1960, Townes and Schawlow patented the laser. Due to a Marxist association in his youth, Gould couldn't work on the laser research that took place at the Technical Research Group. In 1960, Theodore Maiman built a working laser at the Hughes Research Laboratory in California. Gould fought in court and won his first patent in 1977. He began to collect more than $30 million in royalties in 1988.
  
  

Function

• Today, lasers are used in common devices such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives, grocery store scanners and laser printers. They are used to send telephone signals across fiber-optic cable. Lasers are also used in many medical applications such as tumor removal and eye surgery, and in dentistry for drilling cavities. It's also used for cosmetic procedures.
  
  

Benefits

• Laser-based optical disks work very well for storing movies and music. They produce a clearer picture and truer sound than phonograph records or magnetic tape. When used for computer backups, CDs can store significantly more data than floppy disks and aren't as easily damaged or erased. In medical and dental applications, lasers are more precise and do less damage than scalpels or drills. They reduce the amount of pain and bleeding the patient experiences.
  
  

Potential

• Scientists at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom have performed experiments to use lasers to create nuclear fusion reactions. Researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville have worked on a laser that could deflect asteroids thought to be on a collision course with Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has cooperated with Osaka University to develop solar-powered lasers that could beam energy to Earth from space to be used as a power source.