Lasers : harnessing the atom's light / James P. Harbison, Robert E. Nahory
- Bib ID:
- 374228
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Harbison, James P
- Description:
-
- New York : Scientific American Library : Distributed by W.H. Freeman, c1998
- viii, 214 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm.
- ISBN:
- 0716750813
- Summary:
-
In Lasers, physicists and laser researchers James P. Harbison and Robert E. Nahory explain the principles behind laser technology and the possibilities it presents. This technology is based on ideas from one of the most celebrated yet arcane aspects of twentieth-century physics, the theory of quantum mechanics. The authors draw us into this subatomic world, describing how atoms inside lasers are stimulated to release photons in the form of a single, potent beam of light. These beams can repair a damaged retina, play a compact disc, or guide a commercial plane.
Lasers tells the story of the insights and inspirations that have advanced laser technology. Following the creation of the first successful lasers in 1960 - the ruby crystal laser and the gas laser - scientists and engineers have developed an astounding array of lasers for a myriad of uses. The most versatile of all is the semiconductor laser, the light source for the optical communications networks that send voice, data, and video signals around the world. Lasers also explores the workings of these semiconductor lasers, demonstrating how they exploit the properties of semiconductor solids to create light.
- Full contents:
-
- 1. From Pure Physics to Pure Light
- 2. Light from the Atom
- 3. Inventing the Laser
- 4. Bonds, Bands, and Semiconductors
- 5. The Semiconductor Laser
- 6. Growing Semiconductor Crystals
- 7. The Shrinking Laser
- 8. Laser Frontiers.
- Notes:
-
- "ISSN 1040-3213."
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-204) and index.
- Subject:
- Lasers
- Other authors/contributors:
- Nahory, Robert E
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 1998
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