A brief laser timeline includes the use of the Visualase laser (last entry)
- 1917: Einstein proposes the theory of “stimulated emission,” by which a photon, or light particle, induces an atom to emit an identical photon.
- 1953: American physicist Charles Townes builds forerunner of the laser, a “maser,” for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
- 1957: Gordon Gould, a doctoral student under Townes, coins the term “laser,” theorizing that light could be used to excite atoms into making a coherent beam of light. Later files a patent; legal dispute lasts nearly three decades.
- 1960: First laser, built by Theodore Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories in California, becomes operational.
- 1961: Laser used for first time in surgery, to destroy retinal tumor.
- 1962: Invention of the semi-conducting diode laser, the mainstay of small commercial lasers today.
- 1969: Laser’s use in telemetry makes headlines. A beam bounced back by a mirror deployed by the Apollo 11 crew measures the distance between Earth and the Moon to within a few yards.
- 1971: Lasers enter the arts, with light shows and the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Dennis Gabor, a British-Hungarian, for holography.
- 1982: First Compact Disc player. First CD to be pressed is “52nd Street” by Billy Joel.
- 1991: First laser surgery to correct short-sightedness. Gulf War sees first use of laser-guided munitions.
- 1996: Toshiba sells first digital versatile disc (DVD) player.
- 2008: French neurosurgeons use fiberoptic laser and keyhole surgery to destroy brain cancer.
Full article:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/laser-a-timeline-1973907.html
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