Laser: 50 Years Of Discoveries 50 Years of Discoveries

This unique book provides an overview of the principle and applications of lasers enriched with numerous illustrations. Being over fifty years old, lasers continue to amaze us. Their performance characteristics are constantly reaching new limits, and the scope of their applications continues to expand. Yet, it took years of effort by teams of physicists to transform the fundamental notions of Einstein into the first experimental beam of laser light. And history is still going on as fundamental research is now triggered by its remarkable properties. This book addresses every aspects of laser light, from its fundamental principles to its industrial applications, at a level particularly suited for high school teachers, students, and anybody curious about science and technology. This unique book provides an overview of the principle and applications of lasers enriched with numerous illustrations. Being over fifty years old, lasers continue to amaze us. Their performance characteristics are constantly reaching new limits, and the scope of their applications continues to expand. Yet, it took years of effort by teams of physicists to transform the fundamental notions of Einstein into the first experimental beam of laser light. And history is still going on as fundamental research is now triggered by its remarkable properties. This book addresses every aspect of laser light, from its fundamental principles to its industrial applications, at a level particularly suited for high school teachers, students, and anybody curious about science and technology. -- Back cover 1. What is a laser? / Lucile Julien and Catherine Schwob -- 2. Lasers of all sizes / Philippe Balcou, Sebastien Forget and Isabelle Robert-Philip -- 3. Information and communication using lasers / Mehdi Alouini and Fabien Bretenaker -- 4. Ultrashort light sources / Nicolas Forget, Manuel Joffre and Thierry Ruchon -- 5. Ultrastable lasers and high-precision measurements / Christian Chardonnet, Pierre-Francois Cohadon and Saida Guellati-Khelifa -- 6. Photons and atoms / Michele Leduc and Nicolas Treps -- 7. Medical applications / A. Claude Boccara and Serge Mordon -- 8. All the things this book does not mention