Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea

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Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers

published by the American Institute of Physics

This online exhibit explores the discovery of laser technology. It combindes audio clips with archival photos to provide a context for understanding the impact of lasers. The exhibit explores more than the technology. It includes history of the competition to create the original laser as well as the social impact of this innovation.

Links are provided to information and tutorials that introduce the physics of lasers to audiences with little or no background in the subject.

https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
General Physics - History Optics - Modern Optics = Lasers	- Informal Education - High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set = Sound

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- General Publics - Learners - Educators	- text/html - application/pdf - image/gif - text/plain	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2010 American Institute of Physics
Keywords:: Arthur Schawlow, Charles Townes, Gordon Gould, maser, photon, stimulated emission
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created January 30, 2012 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: February 23, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Other Collections:: The Physics To Go

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1A. The Scientific Worldview

9-12: 1A/H2. From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how things work. More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge. Continuity and change are persistent features of science.

1B. Scientific Inquiry

9-12: 1B/H7. New ideas in science are limited by the context in which they are conceived; are often rejected by the scientific establishment; sometimes spring from unexpected findings; and usually grow slowly, through contributions from many investigators.

1C. The Scientific Enterprise

6-8: 1C/M7. Accurate record-keeping, openness, and replication are essential for maintaining an investigator's credibility with other scientists and society.

3. The Nature of Technology

3A. Technology and Science

9-12: 3A/H1. Technological problems and advances often create a demand for new scientific knowledge, and new technologies make it possible for scientists to extend their research in new ways or to undertake entirely new lines of research. The very availability of new technology itself often sparks scientific advances.
9-12: 3A/H2. Mathematics, creativity, logic, and originality are all needed to improve technology.
9-12: 3A/H3a. Technology usually affects society more directly than science does because technology solves practical problems and serves human needs (and also creates new problems and needs).

4. The Physical Setting

4E. Energy Transformations

9-12: 4E/H2. In any system of atoms or molecules, the statistical odds are that the atoms or molecules will end up with less order than they originally had and that the thermal energy will be spread out more evenly. The amount of order in a system may stay the same or increase, but only if the surrounding environment becomes even less ordered. The total amount of order in the universe always tends to decrease.
9-12: 4E/H5. When energy of an isolated atom or molecule changes, it does so in a definite jump from one value to another, with no possible values in between. The change in energy occurs when light is absorbed or emitted, so the light also has distinct energy values. The light emitted or absorbed by separate atoms or molecules (as in a gas) can be used to identify what the substance is.

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Record Link

<a href="https://psrc.aapt.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=11683">American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers. College Park: American Institute of Physics, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

(American Institute of Physics, College Park, 2010), WWW Document, (https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/).

AJP/PRST-PER

Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers (American Institute of Physics, College Park, 2010), <https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/>.

APA Format

Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers. (2010). Retrieved March 16, 2025, from American Institute of Physics: https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/

Chicago Format

American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers. College Park: American Institute of Physics, 2010. https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/ (accessed 16 March 2025).

MLA Format

Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers. College Park: American Institute of Physics, 2010. 16 Mar. 2025 <https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers}, Publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {16 March 2025}, Year = {2010} }

Refer Export Format

%T Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers %D 2010 %I American Institute of Physics %C College Park %U https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/ %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D 2010 %T Center for History of Physics: Bright Idea - The First Lasers %I American Institute of Physics %V 2025 %N 16 March 2025 %9 text/html %U https://history.aip.org/exhibits/laser/

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Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

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