Today in Technology History
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July 11
On July 11, 1927, Theodore Harold Maiman was born in Los Angeles. He built the first laser.
Maiman came from a working class family; he supported himself during college by fixing electrical appliances. By 1955, he had a Ph.D. from Stanford.
In the late 1950s, Maiman worked at a corporate research laboratory, studying "masers" -- devices used to produce intense and steady microwave radiation. It had been predicted that a similar technique might produce "pure" light in the visible spectrum.
Research teams around the country raced to build the first such device, but Maiman beat them to it -- working with a small budget, and using a technique that other researchers had overlooked. In 1960, using a polished ruby, Maiman produced the first example of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation: laser. He quickly patented his work. Although there are disputes over who first came up with the idea for lasers, it is certain that Maiman's was the first actually built.
Laser light is important because it consists of a single color, and because it is coherent -- meaning it does not scatter, like the light from a flashlight. That makes it extremely useful, which is why lasers are now used for communications, surgery, making CDs and DVDs, scanning barcodes and more. Militaries around the world are trying to build laser weapons, too.
Maiman founded a company, and later worked for other high-tech firms. He is still alive. Just last year he wrote a book, The Laser Odyssey.
Related links:
Click here for the Encyclopedia Britannica entry for Maiman.
Click here to read an article based on an interview with Maiman.
Click here to visit the homepage for Maiman's book.
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